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The Sum of All Fears
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Manufacturer: Berkley
Author: Tom Clancy
Publisher: Berkley
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $7.99
You Save: $ ( % )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Berkley
Author: Tom Clancy
Publisher: Berkley
Average Customer Rating:
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The Sum of All Fears Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780425184226
ISBN: 0425184226
Label: Berkley
Manufacturer: Berkley
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 928
Publication Date: 2002-05-07
Publisher: Berkley
Product Release Date: 2002-05-07
Studio: Berkley
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780425184226
ISBN: 0425184226
Label: Berkley
Manufacturer: Berkley
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 928
Publication Date: 2002-05-07
Publisher: Berkley
Product Release Date: 2002-05-07
Studio: Berkley
Editorial Review of The Sum of All Fears
When his proposal for a ground-breaking Middle Eastern peace plan falls through, Deputy Director of the CIA Jack Ryan must stop anti-Israeli agents from acquiring an atom bomb and using it against Israel. Reprint. NYT.
Customer Reviews of The Sum of All Fears
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Terrorists Set Off Nuclear Device In Denver at Super Bowl
Review: This was, I must say, my first Tom Clancy read. The plot was quite good involving a missing nuclear device from Israel; Terrorists of Arab and German extraction as well as a Native American accomplice. Many side plots including a duel between a U.S. and Soviet submarines. The book definitely shows how a real War could escalate out of control due to much confusion. Alot of good spy activity between the major players. The characters were well developed.The hero was CIA Deputy Director Jack Ryan. For my taste, though others may disagree, I found him to be a bit too much of a good guy and superhuman to be believable. I liked the book and found it to be a good -but even with the fine plot, at 914 pages- it was a ponderous read.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Excellent story, overly complicated technology
Review: The movie with the same does not follow Clancy's original plot however the movie is also worth seeing.
The Sum of All Fears is one of Clancy's best stories. A plot based on the loss of a tactical nuclear bomb, an event that could occur in the fog of war. A somewhat similar event occurred recently involving a B-52 ferrying six supposedly unarmed cruise missiles that had nuclear warheads installed.
My only criticism is Clancy's description of how the terrorist rebuilt the old nuclear warhead. He went off the deep end describing very complicated technology. That said, I have read the book twice and a copy resides on my bookcase.
Can a terrorist really place a nuclear device in a city. The answers is yes, they can. But the device will probably be a gun-type, not an implosion device. The Rings of Allah is a story of such an attack. Set in the 21 Century, it is a tale of what can really happen. The reader is introduced to gun-type nuclear weapons technology in a realistic, accurate manner. Implosion weapons are also explained.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Scary and realistic political thriller
Review: Don't let the massive size of this book deter you from reading it (it is 912 pages in the paperback version). This is one incredible book, very detailed and a very good political suspense thriller that was fascinating to read.
There were a few negatives about the book I'll get through right now. The book has little action in the majority of the book. The action, the "thriller", doesn't appear until page 713 or 714. The book is told from several perspectives, Jack Ryan's character being one of them (the main character of the story), and all of the viewpoints do tie into the story (there's one from the Russians, a few from military officers one aboard a missile submarine), but it got tedious at times trying to read through scenes with little action. For instance, one side story being told is from the terrorist perspective, and just trying to read through pages of how the terrorists made a hydrogen bomb got very boring, technical, and I felt my eyes glazing over. Some might find detailed descriptions on how to make an H-bomb exciting, but it was all I could do to keep reading during these parts.
Other than that negative, the book was still a good read. I will say one good thing about the very slow build-up of tension and anticipation ("What's around the corner?") is it keeps you reading for more to see what happens. I also think the portrayal of politicians, government officials, and the military, and the interaction between various players was intriguing to read about. The inner-workings of the government and military was described in very accurate detail, not to mention the geographical area (being a resident that lives outside the Beltway I got a laugh out of reading about DC during the winter, like Clancy writes, the city and surrounding area screeches to a dead halt when snow hits the ground, no one can drive here in snow).
Anyways, this book was frightening in that the disaster depicted in this book (a terrorist detonating a nuclear device in a U.S. city) is something that could happen in the real world. Great read, Clancy is known for the technical accuracy and realism in his fictional books, and I recommend it for any fan of political/military thrillers.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Movie not so hot!
Review: I could not get into Ben Affleck playing the role of Jack Ryan. I thought the movie was mediocre and just didn't do it for me. In my mind stick with the novel and pass up the movie.
If you like Harrisson Ford as Jack Ryan then Ben Affleck is surely going to disappoint in my mind. Doesn't live up to Ford's persona on the big screen.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Couldn't Finish This Trash
Review: Once again, Clancy has proven he cares more about trash than truth. This book is full of meaningless profanity and disrespect for Christianity (with a strange love for Islam.) The book also speaks quite disrespectfully of America in general, especially it's government. To top it all off, I read a review somewhere that this book had mature sexual themes in it too. So what's one to do? I quit this book... and I advise anyone who cares about their purity and soul do the same.
Review Summary: Terrorists Set Off Nuclear Device In Denver at Super Bowl
Review: This was, I must say, my first Tom Clancy read. The plot was quite good involving a missing nuclear device from Israel; Terrorists of Arab and German extraction as well as a Native American accomplice. Many side plots including a duel between a U.S. and Soviet submarines. The book definitely shows how a real War could escalate out of control due to much confusion. Alot of good spy activity between the major players. The characters were well developed.The hero was CIA Deputy Director Jack Ryan. For my taste, though others may disagree, I found him to be a bit too much of a good guy and superhuman to be believable. I liked the book and found it to be a good -but even with the fine plot, at 914 pages- it was a ponderous read.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Excellent story, overly complicated technology
Review: The movie with the same does not follow Clancy's original plot however the movie is also worth seeing.
The Sum of All Fears is one of Clancy's best stories. A plot based on the loss of a tactical nuclear bomb, an event that could occur in the fog of war. A somewhat similar event occurred recently involving a B-52 ferrying six supposedly unarmed cruise missiles that had nuclear warheads installed.
My only criticism is Clancy's description of how the terrorist rebuilt the old nuclear warhead. He went off the deep end describing very complicated technology. That said, I have read the book twice and a copy resides on my bookcase.
Can a terrorist really place a nuclear device in a city. The answers is yes, they can. But the device will probably be a gun-type, not an implosion device. The Rings of Allah is a story of such an attack. Set in the 21 Century, it is a tale of what can really happen. The reader is introduced to gun-type nuclear weapons technology in a realistic, accurate manner. Implosion weapons are also explained.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Scary and realistic political thriller
Review: Don't let the massive size of this book deter you from reading it (it is 912 pages in the paperback version). This is one incredible book, very detailed and a very good political suspense thriller that was fascinating to read.
There were a few negatives about the book I'll get through right now. The book has little action in the majority of the book. The action, the "thriller", doesn't appear until page 713 or 714. The book is told from several perspectives, Jack Ryan's character being one of them (the main character of the story), and all of the viewpoints do tie into the story (there's one from the Russians, a few from military officers one aboard a missile submarine), but it got tedious at times trying to read through scenes with little action. For instance, one side story being told is from the terrorist perspective, and just trying to read through pages of how the terrorists made a hydrogen bomb got very boring, technical, and I felt my eyes glazing over. Some might find detailed descriptions on how to make an H-bomb exciting, but it was all I could do to keep reading during these parts.
Other than that negative, the book was still a good read. I will say one good thing about the very slow build-up of tension and anticipation ("What's around the corner?") is it keeps you reading for more to see what happens. I also think the portrayal of politicians, government officials, and the military, and the interaction between various players was intriguing to read about. The inner-workings of the government and military was described in very accurate detail, not to mention the geographical area (being a resident that lives outside the Beltway I got a laugh out of reading about DC during the winter, like Clancy writes, the city and surrounding area screeches to a dead halt when snow hits the ground, no one can drive here in snow).
Anyways, this book was frightening in that the disaster depicted in this book (a terrorist detonating a nuclear device in a U.S. city) is something that could happen in the real world. Great read, Clancy is known for the technical accuracy and realism in his fictional books, and I recommend it for any fan of political/military thrillers.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Movie not so hot!
Review: I could not get into Ben Affleck playing the role of Jack Ryan. I thought the movie was mediocre and just didn't do it for me. In my mind stick with the novel and pass up the movie.
If you like Harrisson Ford as Jack Ryan then Ben Affleck is surely going to disappoint in my mind. Doesn't live up to Ford's persona on the big screen.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Couldn't Finish This Trash
Review: Once again, Clancy has proven he cares more about trash than truth. This book is full of meaningless profanity and disrespect for Christianity (with a strange love for Islam.) The book also speaks quite disrespectfully of America in general, especially it's government. To top it all off, I read a review somewhere that this book had mature sexual themes in it too. So what's one to do? I quit this book... and I advise anyone who cares about their purity and soul do the same.