Debt of Honor [Hardcover]

Tom Clancy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 31, 2011

Called out of retirement to serve as National Security Advisor to the president, Jack Ryan, with the help of CIA officers John Clark and Domingo Chavez, must prepare the untested president to meet the challenges of a new world order. 1,500,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Razio Yamata is one of Japan's most influential industrialists, and part of a relatively small group of authority who wield tremendous authority in the Pacific Rim's economic powerhouse. He has devised a plan to cripple the American greatness, humble the U.S. military, and elevate Japan to a position of dominance on the world stage. Yamata's motivation lies in his desire to pay off a Debt of Honor to his parents and to the country he feels is responsible for their deaths: America. All he needs is a catalyst to set his plan in motion. When the faulty gas tank on one Tennessee family's car leads to their fiery death, an opportunistic U.S. congressman uses the occasion to rush a new trade law through the system. The law is designed to squeeze Japan economically. Instead, it provides Yamata with the leverage he needs to put his plan into action. As Yamata's plan begins to unfold, it becomes clear to the world that someone is launching a fully integrated operation against the United States. There's only one man to find out who the culprit is: Jack Ryan, the new president's National Security Advisor.

From Publishers Weekly

Jack Ryan, now the President's National Security Adviser, finds himself embroiled in the buildup to a new world war-one in which the stock market and national economic policy are as critical as advanced weaponry. A power-hungry Japanese financier, still blaming America for his parents' deaths in WWII, plans to use his immense wealth to purchase his revenge. A fatal auto accident in the U.S., caused by faulty gas tanks in two Japanese cars, leads to the breakdown of U.S.-Japanese trade agreements. Spies track each other; nuclear weapons are built and hidden; Ryan and an assortment of his old colleagues maneuver ships, planes and spies into harm's way. As always, the author of Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger spins out story threads in a rich but bewildering tangle of plot and setting, then vigorously weaves them together. Here, the heart-stopping climax is unexpected, but oddly appropriate. As always, Clancy instructs (sometimes didactically) as he entertains, teaching us about currency trading, Asian business etiquette and the daily life of an American politician. Without taking up Japan-bashing, as Michael Crichton did in Rising Sun, or partisan politics, Clancy warns that recent downsizing in the defense establishment has so depleted our military resources that the country is vulnerable to aggression that can arise anywhere, anytime. 2 million first printing; BOMC selection.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 768 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; 1ST edition (August 31, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399139540
• ISBN-13: 978-0399139543
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (220 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #260,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tom Clancy is America's, and the world's, favorite international thriller author. Starting with THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, all thirteen of his previous books have hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. His books, THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, PATRIOT GAMES, CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER and THE SUM OF ALL FEARS have been made into major motion pictures. He lives in Maryland where he is a co-owner of the Baltimore Orioles.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Debt of Honor Brings Realistic Action and Espionage, December 6, 1999

By 

Danny Wilson (Denver, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Debt of Honor (Jack Ryan) (Mass Market Paperback)

Debt of Honor is a book by Tom Clancy about a war between Japan and the United States that starts over a trade disagreement. The turn of events that triggers the war are creatively thought out and frighteningly realistic. The book follows Jack Ryan as the President's National Security Advisor as well as his colleagues John Clark and Ding Chavez in the CIA. The novel covers all aspects of the war with great detail and wit including the diplomacy, espionage, technology, politics, and military usage of a war. The book pulled me in from the rising action in the beginning to the explosive ending that leads into Executive Orders, the next book in the Ryan saga. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed any of the Jack Ryan novels or movies.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Clancy ponders the Japanese threat, January 1, 2003

By 

Craig Wood (Menlo Park, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Debt of Honor (Jack Ryan) (Mass Market Paperback)

"Debt of Honor" is classic Clancy fare. The plot moves rapidly, skipping from place to place as our old friend Jack Ryan frets over a bevy of global crises. This time the threat comes from Japan, where a jingoistic industrialist plots to bring America to its knees, both economically and militarily. "Debt of Honor" is enjoyable enough to read. The action moves fast and the chapters are sliced into convenient, bite-sized portions. The book's weakness, perhaps, is that the plot--and many of the sub-plots--seem a little far-fetched. E.g., Japan's invasion of Guam and Saipan goes undiscovered by the US press for several days, until an enterprising weatherman from Idaho unearths the shocking news. But Clancy's knack for explaining the technical aspects of airplanes, submarines, aircraft carriers, et al, is as good as ever. This marriage of fact with fiction is always a highlight of a Clancy novel. "Debt of Honor" may not be for everyone, but those who enjoy this genre will likely be satisfied

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Imaginative and unlikely--an intriguing premise., May 30, 2004

By 

Roger J. Buffington (Huntington Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Debt of Honor (Jack Ryan) (Mass Market Paperback)

America and Japan are vital allies and trading partners and I am confident that the two countries will never again engage in armed conflict with one another. A limited form of armed conflict between Japan and the United States is the intriguing premise of this novel, one of Clancy's best. Although unlikely, there is nothing that takes place in this novel that is quite impossible. Just not real probable, but hey, that's why we have fiction.

The basic storyline is simple (no spoilers here). The trade friction between Japan and the United States comes to a head when the US enacts a trade bill which essentially targets Japanese firms which engage in sharp practices against the US. This gives a clique of power-wielding industrialists an opportunity to put Japan on a course whereby it seeks to establish military control over much of the Western Pacific area, including Saipan, which is a United States territory. Therein lies the story. Far out, but not impossible. Here, Clancy is stretching his imaginative muscles and the result is a quite good novel. As usual, Clancy's skillful speculation about, and knowledge of, military technology gives this one more authenticity than most authors would be able to manage.

This one brings back our old friends Jack Ryan, John Clark, and Ding Chavez, who are the central players on the American side. This novel features some of Clancy's best writing, and is not overlong like most of his later works. Further, the Japanese side is presented largely with respect and dignity, excepting the core bad guys who are portrayed as well, bad guys.

One of Clancy's best, and if you like his other ones, you will probably thoroughly enjoy this one.