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Executive Orders
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Plot Summary of Executive Orders
"New President Jack Ryan must deal with hostile Arabs and angry Indians as well as trying to convince the country that the job is not enough for him. A Great story of international intrigue and action."
Cody Carlson, Resident Scholar

"The despots of the world see thier chance to destroy America when a plane crashes into the capitol killing most of the government. The president uses his resources to fight off various types of attacks to save the country."
Brennan Brown, Resident Scholar

"   The single worst act of terrorism in history leaves Jack Ryan the new President of a nation without a government. As he struggles to rebuild the government, Ryan faces threats from outside and within the U.S., from a newly-formed nation bent on crippling America to an agent sent to kill the very man he swore to protect...A gripping masterpiece not to be missed..."
Jacob Hurt, Resident Scholar

"Jack Ryan becomes President after a firey plane crash and has to rebuild the government. A war happens between US and Saudi Arabia vs. the new United Islamic Republic."
Mike, Resident Scholar

"The hero, or at the least one of the heroes, in the book is an ordinary guy that finds himself in extraordinary circumstances and in the process those who thought him to be weak find him a foe to be reckoned with. Those around him know the real guy and his foes end up paying for it in the end."
Karen, Resident Scholar

"In Executive Orders, Jack Ryan has just becomne president, following the events of Debt of Honour. He has to deal with an assortment of domestic problems, along with simply being president. And then, America is infected with an airborne form of Ebola by the newly formed United Islamic Republic, an amalgam of Iran and Iraq. While the infection is combatted, successfully, Ryan has to cope with attempted assasinations directed at himself and his family, and an invasion of Saudi Arabia by the UIR. "
Matt Line, Resident Scholar

"After the staggering climax of Debt of Honor, Executive Orders begins with the new American President, Jack Ryan, struggling to rebuild the government after the deaths of the President, the Congress, and the Supreme Court.

On the other side of the world, a sleeper agent of the Iranian Ayatollah murders the ruler of Iraq. Iran and Iraq merge under the banner of Islam and become the United Islamic Republic, with hopes of becoming a new world superpower.

In Africa, a strain of the Ebola virus infects a Belgian nun. This strain, Ebola Mayinga, transmitted through unknown means, is possibly the deadliest disease ever to surface on Earth.

Follow the trials and tribulations of Jack Ryan as he learns the ropes of the presidency, endures media criticism and attack, investigates claims of being a 'pretender' to the Presidency, sends American armed forces to fight off a UIR invasion of Saudi Arabia, and deals with the ultimate modern danger: the unleashing of Ebola Mayinga in the U.S. Mainland. And all the while, one of his trusted inner circle waits in the shadows, watching for his opportunity, plotting Ryan's death."

Dan, Resident Scholar

"Following the events of "Debt Of Honor", where a jumbo jet crashed into the Capitol building, killing the President, Supreme Court, and most of the Congress, Jack Ryan, whom only minutes early was sworn in as a caretaker vice president, finds himself the President of the United States.

On the other side of the world, A sleeper agent in the Iraqi President's bodyguards kills him. Sensing Iraq's state of weakness, Iran joins together with Iraq, forming "The United Islamic Republic", with hopes of becoming a new world superpower.

The Ayatollah Daryaei of Iran, with the support of China and India, launch a dangerous form of Ebola upon American, through weapons of mass destruction.

Jack Ryan, now whom has one problem after the other, struggles to maintain himself while dealing with these problems. What he lacks to descover is that one of HIS bodyguards, may not protect the man whom he swore to take a bullet for.
"

Jeremy, Resident Scholar

"Tom Clancy
Executive Orders
Harper Collins 1998
ISBN 0006479758

Capitol Hill is obliterated along with the president and the entire congress when a plane crashes into it. Is this a terrible accident or is it a terrorist act?

Jack Ryan is thrust into the top seat at the White House with an entire congress to appoint. His presidential style is refreshing and to the point. I like the way Jack Ryan comes across as a no nonsense President who tells it as it is in no uncertain terms.

The US and Saudi Arabia become involved in a War with a new United Islamic Republic. The White House faces Terrorism on the home front on an unbelievable scale. Can Jack Ryan use his power of the Presidency to save the US from disaster at home and abroad?"

John Gautry, Resident Scholar

"       The book opens following a national disaster in which the entire U.S. government is wiped out, with the exception of the main character. He has just been sworn in as the Vice-President. Never having been into the political side of government service, [he has been serving the government in the intelligence community] he must rebuild a government that has become heavy with political dead weight.
       Due to the lack of his political experience an Islamic leader believes him to be weak. This leader is attempting to unify the Islamic nations under one flag. Beliving America to be weakened by the downfall of nearly her entire government, he attacks with biologic alweapons released at convention centers throughout America. Thousands die before the medical community can get things under control.
       The Islamic leader also tries to attack the President directly in an asssasination attempt on him and his family. Americas' response is the surgical removal of the people responsible for the attacks at the highest level. Instead of war on an entire country America only punishes the true culprits."

Joseph Kampman, Resident Scholar

"In the story, the new leader of Iran is determined to begin a modern jihad against the rest of the world, beginning with the conquest of Iraq, and eventually ending with the conquest of the entire Arabian Peninsula. The only thing he had to wait for was the perfect time. That time is now, he thought.

Meanwhile in America, a new president has just begun his first day in office. Without a congress, and nearly all of the cabinet officers dead, he must rebuild a nation's confidence in a new government. Even through threats on his family's life, he continues with his job, only to find out that those people closest to him were planning to murder him. Determined to find revenge, he looks for the mastermind of the operation. "

Richard Wong, Resident Scholar

"While the President, along with nearly all of Congress, is attending a ceremony on Capitol Hill, main character and former National Security Advisor Jack Ryan is at the White House, reluctantly swearing into a Vice Presidency which he would have more readily avoided. Ironically, this ultimately saves his life as the Capitol building is at that very instant the target of a terroristic act: a 747 passenger plane plummeting into it killing hundreds of government officials, leaving only 3 survivors, none of whom are the President nor a Member of Congress. Even more ironic, Jack is now forced to abandon his undesired Vice Presidency (which lasted all of five minutes) and become the new President of the United States, where he must perform the task of constructing almost an entirely new government and prevent a biological terroristic attack, all the while refusing to neither learn nor practice the game of politics which he so thoroughly despises."
Christopher Scroggin, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Executive Orders
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%




Tone of story - Dry-cynical
Time/era of story: - 1980's-1999
Spying/Terrorism Thriller Yes
Cloak & Dagger Plotlets: - preventing bomb/biohazard/disaster
War Thriller Yes
Armed Forces: - Army
Specific to - near future war
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Who's the terrorist enemy here? - arabs and/or muslims

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - politician/elected ruler
Age: - 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How much violence does he/she use? - just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male - an organization
Age: - 60's-90's
Profession/status: - dictator
Eccentric: Yes
Motive of antagonist - power
The antagonists are: - Islamic Fundamentalists
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast - Mid-Atlantic states
Desert? Yes
Desert: - hostile arabs
Misc setting - fort/military installation

Style
Part of a series? Yes
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths? - hundreds or more
A lot of techno jargon? Yes
Kind of jargon? - military technology
Unusual forms of death - biohazard/virus
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to Executive Orders
Chains of Command by Dale Brown
Flight of the Old Dog by Dale Brown
World War III by John Stanley
Vortex by Larry Bond
Flashpoint Quebec by Michael Karpovage


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Tom Clancy Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Jacob Hurt  

SCHOLARS:
Matt Line  Walid Khalid  Keith C  Anthony Selbe  Ben Noonan  Dan  Matt  Christopher Scroggin  Selman Ercan  


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