SOURCE: "Making the World Safe for Conventional War," in New York Times Book Review. July 31, 1988, p. 6.

In the following review, Lekachman offers praise for The Cardinal of the Kremlin, which he considers "by far the best of the Jack Ryan series."

Jack Ryan, the engaging, all-American hero of Tom Clancy's previous spy thrillers. The Hunt for Red October and Patriot Games, is entangled here in the high-stakes battle between America and the Soviet Union over the development of Star Wars. Mr. Clancy, a high-tech freak, permits no doubts about the feasibility of a space shield ultimately capable of rendering nuclear weapons obsolete. He is equally certain that, despite Soviet protestations to the contrary, our adversaries have committed more resources to Star Wars technology than we have.

Many technical obstacles impede the superpowers' progress toward a nuclear-free world in which wars will presumably be fought the old-fashioned way—via...