content: I come away from Clancy's books expecting two things:(1) to be entertained, and (2) to learn something. In this case, neither of the expectations was fullfilled. The plot is too predicable and a bit campy. And unlike most of his previous books, I did not learn a thing about how a machine works, how a system operates, or the effect of one form of political thought on another. His characters are at best, weak. And of the very few "snake eaters" that I have met, his characters are completely unlike the real thing. This book was almost as useless as Patriot Games-hence it will probably be a smash hit in the mass media movie arena.