Although Reckless Disregard has the look and feel of a political hit piece, it should not be dismissed without careful reading. Patterson paints a chorus of liberal Democrats as consistently viewing the US military as increasingly unnecessary in the modern world. Hit piece or not, American voters of all stripes will be well served by reading Reckless Disregard and asking whether a strong US military is more likely with Kerry or Bush residing in the White House? Under which man's leadership will America be safer today and tomorrow?

Author Lt. Col. Robert "Buzz" Patterson, USAF, Retired, is passionate about his respect for the USA military. From his perspective liberal Democrats - Carter, Clintons, Gore, Kerry and Ted Kennedy - are dangerous leaders in that they either do not understand or care about the military, or both.

Considering Reckless Disregard as a whole, the book is worth reading. However, it is a bit disappointing when compared to Patterson's Dereliction Of Duty (reviewed 8/16/2004). Patterson's earlier book is a first person account whereas Reckless Disregard has significant portions either authored by others or is reprinted material.

I found the appendix to be a valuable addition to the book, although the font size of the reprint of President Bush's National Security Strategy is too small and the quality of the print of John Kerry's testimony makes the reading tedious. This is unfortunate and careless editing. ( )