Definitely not his best. As a matter of fact, pretty bad. He kept using the same phrases again and again, as if he were cutting and pasting from chapter to chapter. The research was not good enough either. Clancy tries to show the USSR, and specifically Russia, as a formerly feudal empire. As a matter of fact, he even equates the Russian peasantry with serfs. Unfortunately, nobody told Mr. Clancy about the fact that feudalism never made it that far East. The USSR was not composed of formerly feudal societies, and that is, indeed, one of the many reasons Communism as Lenin and Stalin imposed, was not successful. Maybe things would have been different had the USSR had a similar historical background as “the rest of Europe.” Nevertheless, it would probably not have been much different given the very small percentage of arrable land available, and the lack of diverse natural resources. Fortunately for them, now they have found oil. Unfortunately for Mr. Clancy, I think this is the worse book he has ever written. Next time, do better research; and always check your sources and your claims!
