Battle Ready

Commanders

by Tom Clancy, Anthony C. Zinni, Tony Koltz

The fourth volume in Tom Clancy's Commanders series. Each is a stand-alone title, but together the bestselling 'Into the Storm', 'Every Man a Tiger' and 'Shadow Warriors' offer powerful insight into warfare today, Not only through the eyes of fiction's most famous strategist but also our foremost contemporary military leade

Genres: Military Fiction, Nonfiction, History, Military History, Biography, War, Thriller

451 pages, Paperback

First published May 24, 2004

About the author

Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. was an American novelist and military-political thriller pioneer. Raised in a middle-class Irish-American family, he developed an early fascination with military history. Despite initially studying physics at Loyola College, he switched to English literature, graduating in 1969 with a modest GPA. His aspirations of serving in the military were dashed due to severe myopia, leading him instead to a career in the insurance business.
While working at a small insurance agency, Clancy spent his spare time writing what would become The Hunt for Red October (1984). Published by the Naval Institute Press for an advance of $5,000, the book received an unexpected boost when President Ronald Reagan praised it as “the best yarn.” This propelled Clancy to national fame, selling millions of copies and establishing his reputation for technical accuracy in military and intelligence matters. His meticulous research and storytelling ability granted him access to high-ranking U.S. military officials, further enriching his novels.
Clancy’s works often featured heroic protagonists such as Jack Ryan and John Clark, emphasizing themes of patriotism, military expertise, and political intrigue. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, he became one of the best-selling authors in America, with titles like Red Storm Rising (1986), Patriot Games (1987), Clear and Present Danger (1989), and The Sum of All Fears (1991) dominating bestseller lists. Several of these were adapted into commercially successful films.
In addition to novels, Clancy co-authored nonfiction works on military topics and lent his name to numerous book series and video game franchises, including Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, and Splinter Cell. His influence extended beyond literature, as he became a part-owner of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team and was involved in various business ventures, including a failed attempt to purchase the Minnesota Vikings.
Politically, Clancy was a staunch conservative, often weaving his views into his books and publicly criticizing left-leaning policies. He gained further attention after the September 11 attacks, discussing intelligence failures and counterterrorism strategies on news platforms.
Clancy’s financial success was immense. By the late 1990s, his publishing deals were worth tens of millions of dollars. He lived on an expansive Maryland estate featuring a World War II Sherman tank and later purchased a luxury penthouse in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
He was married twice, first to Wanda Thomas King, with whom he had four children, and later to journalist Alexandra Marie Llewellyn, with whom he had one daughter.
Tom Clancy passed away on October 1, 2013, at the age of 66 due to heart failure. His legacy endures through his novels, their adaptations, and the continuation of the Jack Ryan series by other writers.

Reviews

[Mangalam Shiva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent narration by the US General about his life story in the Marines who take part in tackling the various problems in the International trouble spots. I liked the inspiring messages as told by the General and the author Tom Clancy/

[SteVen Hendricks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Review – Battle Ready – Tom Clancy/Gen. Tony Zinni (Retired)
This book – “Battle Ready” – in collaboration with General Tony Zinni, former US Marine – is one of four books in Clancy's ‘nonfiction’ Commanders’ series, which has also featured collaborations with Gen. Fred Franks Jr. of the Army, Gen. Chuck Horner of the Air Force and Gen. Carl Stiner, former U.S. Special Operations commander. The book begins with the 1998 CentCom-coordinated attack on Saddam Hussein (the unfortunately named Operation Desert Fox), then through Zinni's service as a Marine infantry officer during Vietnam and his racially charged Headquarters and Service stint on Okinawa in the early '70s. The book then flashes forward to the end of the Cold War and moves along from there, with details on Zinni's European command service, including 1990 meetings with a recently de-Sovietized Russian Army and support operations during the Persian Gulf War. Zinni joined CentCom just in time for the Somalia debacle (Black Hawk Down), and he is very candid in this book about its failings. Over the next years, Zinni played cat-and-mouse with Saddam regarding weapons inspections throughout the late '90s, but it is Zinni's closing statement in this book, "The Calling," that will send chills down the backs of non-buff Clancy readers, summing up his service and the ways in which he feels his generation's legacy is in jeopardy. Often too detailed for non-fiction Clancy enthusiasts, the Commander series books are used as background material and research by other writers trying to understand all the components of intelligence, military strategy, geopolitics and other elements of warfare, politics, and combat. Very interesting non-fiction Clancy read.

[Noel Burke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this on my computer. Pretty good story and intersting historical insight into Veitnam, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Israel.

[Tom Brinkmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and well written look behind the scenes, the backstory to many military related events through which we lived and thought we understood by reading the newspaper.
Best chapter can be read independently, chapter 8 The Calling, a reflection on the military in our country, what we ask of it and expect from it, as well as things we need to consider going forward.

[Adam]

ISBN 9780283072840
++++++======++++++

Note: This is 451 pages, not 350. And published in U.K. by PanMacMillan not the original of G.P. Putnam's Sons in the U.S.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Zinni talks about his exploits - and he is truly a hero - as if everyone he disagrees with is an idiot and he can't do anything wrong (except when he added the Zinni Doctrine to the talks between Arafat and Sharon; he admits his fault there). Famously, this was the book that criticized Operation: Iraqi Freedom, but he doesn't make much of a case as to why we shouldn't have gone in other than the typical "MoveOn.org" reasons: the intelligence was faulty/there were no WMDs (although he himself points out that we had no way of verifying the weapons we KNEW had been there as recently as 1998 were destroyed and that Hussein would've used them if he had them); and we should've built a stronger coalition instead of "alienating" our allies (when, in fact, the coalition for the operation was about the same size as it was for Operation: Desert Storm in 1991). But the redeeming quality of this book is that Zinni did perform well in Vietnam and does have some good points as to running the military vis-a-vis the Joint Chiefs and the theater commanders (CINCs) around the world.

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great information, these guys are so smart.

[Andrew Keen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rate it 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4 since I've met Gen. Zinni and he taught at my alma mater (William & Mary) while I was an undergrad there. The best parts of the book are Zinni's firsthand experiences in Vietnam and Somalia, which are revealing accounts of these conflicts and how US goals were pursued. The book gets a bit dry with accounts of who commanded what in the Marines and who did what in peace negotiations. Zinni is an effective advocate for military involvement in "Operations Other Than War" and the involvement of NGOs. He makes an informed case for modernizing the military and its command structure.

[Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book. Even though it has a 2004 copyright it is still relevant today. I really appreciated his story about being an advisor with the Vietnamese Marines. They were a great force!

A couple of gripes about the format. Not being a professional military man, all the alphabet soup in the book was annoying. I also did not like the italics used so much in the story, my eyes at my age had difficulty reading them.

All in all, a good, well paced book. A lot of really "behind the scenes" information we really do not get in the media and other news today about the military. Well done.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was reading this book with the intention of reading an exciting fictional novel like a typical Tom Clancy adventure, but this turned out to be a biography of General Tony Zinni. It was sort of interesting, but it read more to me like some kind of history assignment I had to complete. It felt tedious a lot of the time. Still, I learned a lot about the history and events during his tenure as a marine.

[FellowBibliophile KvK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb book of lessons learned by a Marine General who publicly objected to the Iraq War in 2004, when opportunistic born-again anti-Iraq War activists Douglas Porch, Gian Gentile and Kevin Tillman voiced zero objections to the war.

[Corey Szczypka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on audiobook. It was interesting, especially the insight on Vietnam. Some of the timeline jumping was a little confusing for me (not too versed in war history).

[Almantas · Rating 5 out of 5]

General Tony Zinni is an impressive individual. I had the privilige to listen to him.

[Ian Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book Gen. Zinni for the realism then Tom for some story telling.

[Karen Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting read about the USA and their participation with various wars.

[marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

on my bookshelf for years and finally picked it up.
Love story turns adventure story and travel story. Dated but still entertaining .

[E. L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book. Like to read about Marines.

[Monzenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good nonfiction account of a military man's experience, from Vietnam to Iraq. Even has valuable noncombat experiences. Ending becomes sort of a leadership book.

[Jeremiah Roeder · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main reason this book got 3 stars was the final chapter. A lot of the book was a struggle to get through, that while informative, was very dry. The final chapter saved it a little bit though.

[Evan · Rating 2 out of 5]

3/4 finished, got too bogged down in acronyms and names. Hard to follow towards the last 1/3.

[Stefanie Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Silvana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first non-fiction work from Tom Clancy that I’ve read. It’s the fourth Commander books he’s written, after Into the Storm, Shadow Warrior and Every Man A Tiger. Each (like this one) is some kind of a semi-autobiography of a certain (retired) general from the US Armed Forces.

In Battle Ready, Clancy’s source is General Tony Zinni, a battle-hardened soldier who started his illustrious career in the US Marine. The book is divided into eight chapters, almost in parallel with his various assignments. I really enjoy the first five chapters of the book, because they offer a vivid, front-seat and astounding recollection of Zinni’s experiences in the Vietnamese jungles and swamps, Okinawa camps, Turkish/Northern Iraqi’s barren land and Somalia. Most of his duties were classified as Operations Other Than War (OOTW), that have been seen as the most advanced models for military-civil operations, peacekeeping and humanitarian missions. Zinni’s surely one of the US Armed Forces who is fortunate enough to excel in OOTW.

I guess I’m more into combat actions and field operations, so I felt kinda bored when I read the remaining chapters. As he kept getting steady promotions, Zinni became more involved in the more abstract, conceptual, management thingies. Yeah, I gotta admit he has numerous ideas – ranging from how to improve the Marine’s role to how the US military should deal with non-state actors – that are quite creative and carefully thought, however, too much reflections (self, institutional, global) got me dozed off a few times. Anyway, I still concur with his opinion that the US Government does not really have a grasp on their own New World Order concept. That is why US post-Cold War global engagements were not really succesful. Many lives have been saved throughout all those so-called humanitarian interventions, yes, but the real underlying problems: poverty, ethnic strife, religious fanaticism, corruption, totalitarianism and many more remain.

Zinni’s previous commands such as the Deputy Director of Operations, US European Command (EUCOM), Director of Operations, Somalia Task Force and Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force, made him well-acquainted with diverse crises all over the world. After his retirement, he does not stop saving the world. He became a “warrior diplomat” who was involved in a variety of peacemaking efforts, most notably in Aceh, Pakistan and of course, the Middle East. That is so frickin’ cool. How this guy can absorb all the knowledge he has now and how he gets a knack of mastering both the arts of fighting and diplomacy is an alluring mystery to me.

Well, I reckon no matter how many times I got dozed off, this book still rocks. Not many people like Zinni in this world, that’s for sure, thus reading his memoir has a privilege of its own.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps the best book I've ever read. Follow the life of General Tony Zinni (Ret.) from the green Second Lieutenant in the Vietnam War through his 40 years of military service, and later diplomacy and peacekeeping work. America needs more people like Zinni in leadership positions.

From a lecture to the U.S. Naval Academy, April 2003.
"I chose my topic 'The Obligation to Speak the Truth.' I told these future leaders that speaking the truth could be painful and costly, but it was a duty. Often those who need to hear it won't like it and may even punish you for it; but you owed the truth to your country, your leaders, and your troops."
"I have been amazed that the men who bravely faced death an the battlefield are later, as senior officers, cowed and unwilling to stand up for what is right or to point out what is wrong."

General Tony Zinni (Ret.) is a very humble man, who in telling his story takes little credit for what went well, and too much credit when it didn't. You don't have to agree with all of Zinni's ideas, actions, and positions, but you will definitely come away with a complete respect for this man.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_...
http://www.generalzinni.com/

[Bob Schmitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the first chapter Zinni talks about how terrible Saddam was and how he had WMD etc, etc. I was ready for a standard hard line, American's are great and the military is great book. It was only 1/2 that. Zinni does give cautions about soldiers not challenging orders and positions they see as wrong and how the new military will need to be better at building democracies instead of just killing people and busting things.

For me the most interesting part of the book was Zinni's participation as a special envoy (unpaid) to negotiate between Arafat and the Ariel Sharom, his discussions of the different views and positions. In the end he says Arafat was not interested in peace but loved the state of defiant victim. Now that question is settled. All in all it was not a very interesting read for me compared to many other military books.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Clancy joins with retired Marine General Tony Zunni to write about tactical and stragetic development of the United States Marine Corps from Viet Nam to the post 911 Middle East and the war on terrorism. General Zunni recounts his combat experiences in Viet Nam and sums up the lessons learned over the next thirty years. While technolgy helps, it is the men and women on the ground who have to sieze and hold territory otherwise enemy forces can reoccupy it. The hearts and minds of the people have to be won in order for any fight to ultimately successful. This book is part of Clancy's Commanders series.

[Cooper]

This is a non-fiction book based on the Vietnam war. This was written by Tom Clancy with a retired 5ft 10 squad and riot squad leader. The U.S. army was placed into vietnam by Lynden Johnson. We wanted no part of the war. We had already had air strike go in. It made sense to put troops on the ground. So we did. We drafted more men than we had in world war 2. The U.S. lost 18000 men in the U.S.. It was devastating for thousands of people across America. If you like Non-fiction books that involve war, I would highly recommend this book.

[Wenzel Roessler · Rating 3 out of 5]

The life and career of General Tony Zinni. I understand that we're looking at one side of the story as he talks about Vietnam, Somalia , Indonesia, and the Middle East. Parts of this book feel like I'm reading the textbook but I do have to say I have a better respect for what the military stands for. We forget about peacetime missions such as helping refugees and all the political and logistical problems surrounding that. That was very eye-opening, along with all the political issues involved in a peace talk meeting.

[Ray Stafford · Rating 4 out of 5]

i loved it. i've also read every man a tiger about the air operations during the gulf wars. the book goes back to the Vietnam war and traces the development of military doctrine and tactics. placing more reliance on the initiative and comprehension of front line officers and non coms and the rewards and benefits that that trust has reaped. as always excellent and engaging writing from Clancy

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first several chapters covering active duty in Vietnam were interesting and intriguing. The next dozen or so I managed to wade through were devoid of personal insight on Zinni's part and apparently a self-congratulatory while pretending to be humble discussion of his rise to fame, glory and high rank.

[Rae · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Clancy "biography" of General Tony Zinni (retired). I am struck by how many of our military and political leaders were deeply effected by the Vietnam experience and how it colors all of their current decision-making.