First, I have no real problem with Ryan's Boy Scout virtues. It's simply nice to see a counterbalance to that. From reading most of the Ryan books, I have a good idea of what makes him tick. I didn't really have much of a clue as to what made John Clark tick - until I read this book. Establishing some of his driving forces and telling how he wound up in the CIA seem to be the goals of this book, and those goals are accomplished. I didn't really see much of how he became a "CIA legend," though - I would very much like to see another book that covers some of his early ventures with the CIA, to better establish that.

The Vietnam segment seemed slightly out of place, but in order to achieve the goal of telling how he was recruited into the CIA, was necessary. It also seems to me to have been written the way it was (no pitched battle for the prisoners) because it would have detracted from the main story, and because it served to link to the involvement of the traitors, the elimination of which served as a sort of induction into the Company. At least, that's how I saw it.

I only have so much space, so there are a lot of reviews I can't address. However, I want to focus right in on the complaints of Kelly being able to kill so coldly, without remorse as it were.

If you read Dave Grossman's book On Killing, you will come upon a certain item - in combat, it's estimated that 2% of soldiers are what have been deemed "aggressive sociopaths." The label does not specifically mean that they're sociopaths in all aspects - but they are able to kill without hesitation, and without suffering the mental trauma that other soldiers often carry when they kill.

The character of John Kelly fits the characteristics of an aggressive sociopath. He can kill when he deems it necessary and feel no regrets about it, yet also feel compassion for others. It is paradoxical, but Kelly is such a man, and such men do not only exist in fiction. They exist in the real world as well, only in such a small percentage of the population that we basically don't know they're there.

I don't say killing drug dealers is right or wrong. Not my call to make. But I do feel that a man who can turn his attention from simple revenge to helping girls who are, to put it simply, in bad situations is not simply a stone cold murderer.

I don't think Kelly saw killing other drug dealers as excessive, either. I think he treated the whole thing as a military operation and acted accordingly. Right, wrong, I can't say, it's just what he did.

As for the mistake of bringing Pam to her home turf undisguised, with no real protection - he'd survived Nam, and so was probably a little cocky at the thought of dealing with what he considered basic thugs, and understandably so. And he had no idea how violent the streets had gotten in his time away. The jungles of Vietnam were what he was used to - he just wasn't ready for Baltimore to be a different kind of jungle.

Would I do the same thing Kelly did? No. I would cry out for punishment and vengeance, but I wouldn't have the skills to obtain it. Kelly did, as well as the mindset.

Ultimately...it's a book. A collection of pages with words on them, nothing more, nothing less. So I'm going to leave it at that.
First, I have no real problem with Ryan's Boy Scout virtues. It's simply nice to see a counterbalance to that. From reading most of the Ryan books, I have a good idea of what makes him tick. I didn't really have much of a clue as to what made John Clark tick - until I read this book. Establishing some of his driving forces and telling how he wound up in the CIA seem to be the goals of this book, and those goals are accomplished. I didn't really see much of how he became a "CIA legend," though - I would very much like to see another book that covers some of his early ventures with the CIA, to better establish that. The Vietnam segment seemed slightly out of place, but in order to achieve the goal of telling how he was recruited into the CIA, was necessary. It also seems to me to have been written the way it was (no pitched battle for the prisoners) because it would have detracted from the main story, and because it served to link to the involvement of the traitors, the elimination of which served as a sort of induction into the Company. At least, that's how I saw it. I only have so much space, so there are a lot of reviews I can't address. However, I want to focus right in on the complaints of Kelly being able to kill so coldly, without remorse as it were. If you read Dave Grossman's book On Killing, you will come upon a certain item - in combat, it's estimated that 2% of soldiers are what have been deemed "aggressive sociopaths. " The label does not specifically mean that they're sociopaths in all aspects - but they are able to kill without hesitation, and without suffering the mental trauma that other soldiers often carry when they kill. The character of John Kelly fits the characteristics of an aggressive sociopath. He can kill when he deems it necessary and feel no regrets about it, yet also feel compassion for others. It is paradoxical, but Kelly is such a man, and such men do not only exist in fiction. They exist in the real world as well, only in such a small percentage of the population that we basically don't know they're there. I don't say killing drug dealers is right or wrong. Not my call to make. But I do feel that a man who can turn his attention from simple revenge to helping girls who are, to put it simply, in bad situations is not simply a stone cold murderer. I don't think Kelly saw killing other drug dealers as excessive, either. I think he treated the whole thing as a military operation and acted accordingly. Right, wrong, I can't say, it's just what he did. As for the mistake of bringing Pam to her home turf undisguised, with no real protection - he'd survived Nam, and so was probably a little cocky at the thought of dealing with what he considered basic thugs, and understandably so. And he had no idea how violent the streets had gotten in his time away. The jungles of Vietnam were what he was used to - he just wasn't ready for Baltimore to be a different kind of jungle. Would I do the same thing Kelly did? No. I would cry out for punishment and vengeance, but I wouldn't have the skills to obtain it. Kelly did, as well as the mindset. Ultimately... it's a book. A collection of pages with words on them, nothing more, nothing less. So I'm going to leave it at that.