Tom Clancy, (full name Thomas Leo Clancy, Jr.) was born on April 12, 1947, in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.
Thirty years ago, Tom Clancy was a Maryland insurance broker. Before that, he had been an English
major at Baltimore's Loyola College. He had always dreamed of writing a novel. His first effort,
The Hunt for Red October, showed his passion for naval history. The book sold briskly as a result of
rave reviews, then catapulted onto the New York Times bestseller list after President Reagan pronounced
it "the perfect yarn."
From that day forward, Clancy established himself as an undisputed master at blending exceptional
realism and authenticity, intricate plotting, and razor-sharp suspense. He created the techno-thriller—
a suspenseful novel that relies on extensive knowledge of military technology and espionage.
His first novel, the surprise Cold War best seller The Hunt for Red October (1984; film 1990),
introduced his popular protagonist, CIA agent Jack Ryan, who was featured in a number of his
later books. Red Storm Rising (1986), Patriot Games (1987; film 1992), Clear and Present Danger 1989;
film 1994), The Sum of All Fears (1991; film 2002), Rainbow Six (1998), The Bear and the Dragon (2000),
The Teeth of the Tiger (2003), Dead or Alive (2010), and Command Authority (2013) are subsequent novels.
Tom Clancy was America's, and the world's, favorite international thriller author. Starting
with The Hunt for Red October, all of his previous books have hit #1 on the New York Times
bestseller list. His books, THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, PATRIOT GAMES, CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER,
THE SUM OF ALL FEARS, JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT and WITHOUT REMORSE have been made into major motion
pictures. A new TV series, TOM CLANCY'S JACK RYAN, is now airing.
Clancy’s nonfiction works included Into the Storm: A Study in Command (1997), co-written with
Fred Franks, Jr., and Every Man a Tiger (1999; updated ed. 2005), co-written with Chuck Horner.
Clancy also created video games and was co-owner (from 1993) of the Baltimore Orioles major league
baseball team.
He passed away due to heart failure on October 1, 2013, in Baltimore.
