SummaryLong before he was President or head of the CIA, before he
fought terrorist attacks on the Super Bowl or the White
House, even before a submarine named Red October made its
perilous way across the Atlantic, Jack Ryan was an
historian, teacher, and recent ex-Marine temporarily living
in England while researching a book. A series of deadly
encounters with an IRA splinter group had brought him to
the attention of the CIA's Deputy Director, Vice Admiral
James Greer-as well as his counterpart with the British
SIS, Sir Basil Charleston-and when Greer asked him if he
wanted to come aboard as a freelance analyst, Jack was
quick to accept. The opportunity was irresistible, and he
was sure he could fit it in with the rest of his work. And then Jack forgot all about the rest of his work,
because one of his first assignments was to help debrief a
high-level Soviet defector, and the defector told an
amazing tale: Top Soviet officials, including Yuri
Andropov, were planning to assassinate the Pope, John Paul
II. Could it be true? As the days and weeks go by, Ryan must
battle, first to try to confirm the plot, and then to
prevent it, but this is a brave new world, and nothing he
has done up to now has prepared him for the lethal game of
cat-and-mouse that is the Soviet Union versus the United
States. In the end, it will be not just the Pope's life but
the stability of the Western world that is at stake. . .
and it may already be too late for a novice CIA analyst to
do anything about it. "Clancy creates not only compelling characters but
frighteningly topical situations and heart-stopping
action," wrote The Washington Post about The Bear and the
Dragon. "Among the handful of superstars, Clancy still
reigns, and he is not likely to be dethroned any time
soon." These words were never truer than about the
remarkable pages of his breathtaking new novel. This is
Clancy at his best-and there is none better.
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