The Sum of All Fears by Tom Clancy

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(Mass Market Paperback - Reissue)

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Synopsis

A NEW WORLD ORDER...ON THE BRINK OF DESTRUCTION

Peace may finally be at hand in the Middle East -- as Jack Ryan lays the groundwork for a plan that could end centuries of conflict. But ruthless terrorists have a final, desperate card to play; with one terrible act, distrust mounts,forces collide, and the floundering U.S. president seems unable to copewith the crisis.

With the world on the verge of nuclear disaster, Ryan must frantically seek a solution -- before the chiefs of state lose control of themselves and the world.

Annotation

The chilling, action-packed #1 bestseller The New York Times Book Review calls" a whiz-bang page-turner"--from the author of The Hunt For Red October and Clear and Present Danger. As Deputy Director of the CIA, Jack Ryan faces the challenge of his career when his proposal for a Middle East peace plan is thwarted by terrorists who intend to destroy Israel--after detonating an atomic bomb on American soil. "Very nearly scoops reality."-- Chicago Tribune.

Publishers Weekly

Clancy evolves from storyteller to novelist in his latest techno-thriller, as gadgets take second place to politics and personalities. In the late 1990s the world is cautiously emerging from the Cold War; even the Arab-Israeli conflict is being resolved, thanks to the cleverness of Clancy's hero Jack Ryan. But as confrontation yields to cooperation, what becomes of displaced terrorists? Palestinians without a cause and East Germans without a country seek to rekindle U.S.-U.S.S.R. animosity. A small nuclear device is exploded at the Super Bowl; in Berlin American and Russian troops are tricked into firing on each other; residual suspicions carry the action from there. After the solution of the Middle East crisis serves as an exciting preliminary to the main plot, the novel's middle parts seem a recycling of situations and characters from Red October and Cardinal of the Kremlin. But in the last third of the book Clancy integrates story lines, taking readers on a nonstop roller-coaster ride to a nail-biting finish. Fundamentally, Clancy is writing about a vital and elusive quality: grace under pressure. Whether terrorists or statesmen, Clancy's characters face a common challenge--situations that break down pretensions of rank, power and ideology. Their responses, carefully and empathetically constructed, make this book compelling instead of merely ingenious. (Aug.)

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Biography

Known for originating the techno-thriller genre, Tom Clancy writes complex novels dense with hardware and international intrigue. Perhaps the strongest indication of his power as a writer is the fact that he is often treated by the media like a character in one of his books, asked for opinions about military readiness and the subject of rumors about being debriefed by the Pentagon. Not bad for a former salesman who was rejected for service because of bad eyesight.

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Customer Reviews

One of Clancy's best!by Anonymous

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March 04, 2004: The Sum of All Fears is a high-tech novel with a traditional flare. The story begins with the Yom Kippur War of 1973 between Israel and the opposing Arab states. In a state of confusion, Israel goes on nuke-alert and in the process, a nuclear-armed fighter jet explodes in the Golan Heights, losing the nuke in the process. About 20 years later, after the Persian Gulf War, DDCI Jack Ryan establishes a final peace plan for the Middle East which includes the official partition of Israel and Palestine. Meanwhile, Ismeal Qati, an Islamic fundamentalist, as well as his sidekick Ibrahim Ghosn, believe that the U.S. shouldn't interfere. At the same time, a Druse farmer finds the bomb and gives it to Qati to detonate. Qati, however, finds that it is a nuclear bomb and calls a German physicist to refabricate the bomb. Meanwhile, G?nther Bock, a German radical, joins up with Qati, as well as Marvin Russell, a Native American fugitive. In America, Ryan is butting heads with the new president (J. Robert Fowler) as well as his National Security Advisor (Elizabeth Elliot). They want him out and find ways to fabricate a sex-scandal to possibly get him impeached. However, Ryan uses the press to proclaim his innocense and rekindles the love he felt for his wife so long ago... In Russia, a corrupt spy for the CIA (agent SPINNAKER) misinforms the CIA of a possible coup in the government to try to topple Secretary Narmonov. This leads the CIA to believe that three nukes are gone from the Russian's arsenal... which will unltimately lead to the greatest scandal yet... Just before halftime at the Super Bowl in Denver, a nuclear detonation is reported to have occurred very near the stadium where the game was being played. This begins a series of finger-pointing by the shaken heads-of-state of both the United States and Russia. However, just as both super-powers are about push the button to begin a devastating nuclear war, Clark and Chavez cameo to capture Qati and Ghosn as they land in Mexico City in an attempt to flee the U.S. Ryan contacts Narmonov over the hot-line in the NMCC and tells him of the developments. Narmonov puts everything on hold and suggests the U.S. do the same. The books final pages involve the public excecution of Qati and Ghosn in Saudi Arabia. This book, minus the first 200 pages, kept me intrigued until the final finger-biting moments when Ryan is awaiting the final hot-line reply. The last 200 pages fly by with amazing speed. YOU SIMPLY CANNOT PUT THIS ONE DOWN!!! This is a must-read for anyone who wants to read an incredibly accurate (minus the real secrets to a nuclear bomb) novel that entertains as well as teaches.

One of Clancy's bestby Anonymous

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August 17, 2003: Having read most of Clancy's fiction works, I would place this book in the top three. I liked Rainbow Six and Without Remorse better, but this book was simply one of the best novels I've ever read. The ending is unbelievable, I coulnd't put it down. I had to read the last 200 pages all in one day.


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