A Soldier's Duty

April 30, 2001
In this brisk and assured fiction debut, set in a near-future Washington, D.C., Washington Post
Pentagon correspondent Ricks (author of Making the Corps, an account of boot-camp training) crafts a taut, stimulating tale of contemporary military dilemmas, public and personal. The central issue is the military's role in a democracy: given an unpopular commander-in-chief and an even more unpopular commitment of U.S. troops as peacekeepers in Afghanistan, what is a self-respecting general to do? Ignore his military sense and say yes to a bad political decision, like stolid, hard-drinking army chief-of-staff John Shillingsworth? Or defy orders and attack the position of the civilian government, like flashy, Custeresque B.Z. Ames, vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff? As the two debate the issues with their romantically involved aides, Majors Cindy Sherman and Buddy Lewis, U.S. troops get bogged down in Afghanistan, lives are lost, officers are court-martialed and a shadowy group of officers called the Sons of Liberty slowly moves from e-mail dissent to outright treason. Ricks uses a crisp, reportorial style to get into the heads of all his characters, and by making them passionate about their positions, he succeeds in creating a genuine debate in which both sides make good sense. Only when the actions of the Ames side become murderous does the book flirt with predictability, but it never goes too far, thanks to Ricks's control of the narrative. This engrossing read will satisfy those who want ideas as well as action—it's an unusually thoughtful military thriller. (May 22)Forecast:The intrigue here is mostly D.C-based and often intellectual, and may not appeal to readers of mainstream thrillers. But those who appreciate a more challenging perspective will be in their element. A five-city author tour and national advertising are scheduled.

February 1, 2001
From a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist at the Washington Post, the tale of two Pentagon aides-de-camp--conveniently in love with each other--who discover that the generals they serve are thinking that maybe it's time to overthrow the President.

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2001
In 2004, the U.S. Army is doing what it hates, holding the fort in another Third World intervention. Anonymous malcontents calling themselves Sons of Liberty are a big headache for Army Chief General Shillingsworth, who is no more enamored of the operation than they are but believes that "Theirs not to reason why / Theirs but to do and die" applies to the U.S. Army. His rival for the next chairmanship of the joint chiefs, General Ames, has no truck with such retro thinking and sees his ascension as vital to the armed forces' future. Enter the antagonists' factotums, Majors Cindy Lewis for Shillingsworth and Buddy Lewis for Ames, who, of course, fall for each other, which is irrelevant to stopping the Sons' sedition. With the help of a CIA cyberwhiz, Lewis identifies the Sons, who promoted themselves via e-mail (oops). Ames' response then sparks the culminating action. This all feels rather instructional, teaching civilians the ways of military culture, which Ricks' book about marine boot camp, " Making the Corps" (1997), did better.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)