Tom Clancy

Tom Clancy
Born	(1947-04-12) April 12, 1947 Baltimore County, Maryland, U.S.
Occupation	Novelist
Nationality	United States
Period	1984 - 2003
Genre	Thriller, Crime fiction

Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (born April 12 1947), better known as Tom Clancy, is a US author of bestselling political thrillers, best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War. His name is also a brand for similar books written by ghost writers and a series of non-fiction books on military subjects and merged biographies of key leaders. He is also part-owner of the Baltimore Orioles, a Major League Baseball team. He officially is the Orioles' Vice Chairman of Community Projects and Public Affairs. Tom Clancy is also known for writing popular video games.

Biography

Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. was born April 12, 1947, in Calvert County, Maryland. He attended Loyola Blakefield in Towson, Maryland, graduating with the class of 1965. He went on to study English Literature at Loyola College in Baltimore, graduating with the class of 1968. He said he studied English because he was not smart enough to do physics. Before making his literary debut, he spent some time running an independent insurance

Clancy married his first wife, Wanda, in the 1970s. After having four children together, they divorced in 1998.

In 1993, Tom Clancy joined a group of investors that included Peter Angelos and bought the Baltimore Orioles from Eli Jacobs. In 1998, he attempted to purchase the Minnesota Vikings and had a purchase agreement in place, but the deal fell through after his divorce settlement decreased his net worth significantly.

In 1999, Clancy, at age 52, married 32-year-old fellow writer Alexandra Marie Llewellyn, on June 26.

Political views

Clancy has generally been regarded as a political conservative, and has donated over $200,000 to Republican Party political candidates.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Clancy was an early and, to many, surprising defender of Islam. He was interviewed on CNN later that day. Clancy has also associated himself with General Anthony Zinni, a critic of the Iraq War and the George W. Bush administration, and has been critical of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Bibliography

The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and The Sum of All Fears have been turned into commercially successful films with actors Alec Baldwin, Ben Affleck, and Harrison Ford as Clancy's most famous fictional character Jack Ryan, while his second most famous character John Clark has been played by actors Willem Dafoe and Liev Schreiber. The first NetForce novel was adapted as a television movie, starring Scott Bakula and Joanna Going. The first Op-Center novel was released to coincide with a 1995 NBC television mini-series of the same name (Tom Clancy's Op-Center) starring Harry Hamlin and a cast of stars. Though the mini-series didn't continue the book series did, but it had little in common with the first mini-series other than the title and the names of the main characters.

The website IMDB reports that Tom Clancy's novel Without Remorse is to be made into a movie and is expected to be released in 2008. Filming is to commence in 2008. No other details are available (27 June 2007).

With the release of The Teeth of the Tiger, Clancy introduced Jack Ryan's son and two nephews as main characters. Presumably, he has retired Jack Ryan as a central character.

Clancy has written several nonfiction books about various branches of the U.S. armed forces (see non-fiction listing, below). Clancy has also branded several lines of books with his name that are written by other authors, following premises or storylines generally in keeping with Clancy's works:

• Tom Clancy's Op-Center
• Tom Clancy's Power Plays
• Tom Clancy's Net Force
• Tom Clancy's Net Force Explorers
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

These are sometimes referred to by fans as "apostrophe" books; Clancy did not initially acknowledge that these series were being authored by others, only thanking the actual authors in the headnotes for their "invaluable contribution to the manuscript".

In 1997 Tom Clancy signed a book deal with Penguin Putnam Inc. (both part of Pearson Education), that paid him US$50 million for the world-English rights to two new books. He then signed a second agreement for another US$25 million for a four-year book/multimedia deal. Clancy followed this up with an agreement with Berkley Books for 24 paperbacks to tie in with the ABC television miniseries Tom Clancy's Net Force aired in the fall/winter of 1998. The OP-Center universe has laid the ground for the series of books written by Jeff Rovin, which was in an agreement worth US $22 million bringing the total value of the package to US$97 million.

All but two of Clancy's novels feature Jack Ryan and/or John Clark.

By publication date

• The Hunt for Red October (1984)

  Clancy's first novel. Jack Ryan assists in the defection of a respected Soviet naval captain, along with the most advanced ballistic missile submarine of the Soviet fleet. The movie (1990) stars Alec Baldwin as Ryan and Sean Connery as Captain Ramius.

• Red Storm Rising (1986)

  War between NATO and USSR. The basis of the submarine combat game of the same name, this is one of two Clancy novels to date not set in his Ryanverse, (although the protagonist of the story has many similarities with Jack Ryan). He co-wrote it with Larry Bond.

• Patriot Games (1987)

  Ryan saves the Prince of Wales from terrorists, who go after Ryan and his family. The 1992 movie stars Harrison Ford as Ryan, and has a fictional lord instead of the Prince of Wales. (John Clark later tells Jack Ryan in Clear and Present Danger that he was on the helicopter that had to turn back when attacking the terrorist camps in northern Africa.) It should be noted that the events of "Patriot Games" are mentioned as part of Jack Ryan's past in "The Hunt for Red October", and therefore is a prequel to that story.

• The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1988)

  First appearance of John Clark and Sergey Golovko. Secret anti-satellite lasers (SDI), high-stakes diplomacy, spies and computer geeks (Major Gregory is introduced here and shown later as updating SAM software in The Bear and the Dragon).

• Clear and Present Danger (1989)

  Drug war in Colombia involving American military forces in a covert war against the Medellín Cartel. Ryan and Clark finally meet; first appearance of Domingo "Ding" Chavez who is one of the scouts in the special forces teams and Clark's protege in later novels. The movie (1994) stars Harrison Ford as Ryan, Willem Dafoe as Clark and Raymond Cruz as Chavez.

• The Sum of All Fears (1991)

  Israel loses a nuclear weapon, which Islamic terrorists use to foment war between U.S. and Soviets, which is averted by Ryan in a cliffhanger. The 2002 movie stars Ben Affleck as Ryan, Liev Schreiber as Clark, and changes the identity and motivation of the terrorists to neo-Nazis.

• Without Remorse (1993)

  Chronologically the first book featuring John Kelly/John Clark, detailing Clark's life before joining the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Set during the Vietnam War era, it tells about the past of John Kelly, how he assumed the Clark mantle, and tells how Clark became a CIA officer. Jack Ryan's father (Emmett Ryan) has a key role; Jack Ryan has a tiny cameo.

• Debt of Honor (1994)

  Ryan as National Security Advisor, and John Clark and Domingo Chavez as agents with Russian cover, help win a military and economic war with a nuclear-armed Japan. Golovko makes a cameo here. The Indian navy threatens Sri Lanka but invasion is prevented by two US carrier battle groups

• Executive Orders (1996)

  Sequel to Debt of Honor. Ryan, propelled into the presidency as a result of events in Debt of Honor, survives press hazing, assassination attempts and biological warfare—Clark and Chavez trace the virus to a Middle Eastern madman, and the U.S. military goes to work.

• SSN: Strategies for Submarine Warfare (1996)

  Follows the missions of USS Cheyenne in a future war with China precipitated by their invasion of the disputed Spratly Islands. Also not a Ryaniverse book, SSN is actually a loosely connected collection of "scenario" chapters in support of the eponymous computer game.

• Rainbow Six (1998)

  Released to coincide with the computer game of the same name. John Clark and Ding, who is now John's son-in-law, lead an elite multi-national anti-terrorist unit that combats a worldwide genocide attempt by eco-terrorists motivated by radical environmentalism and sponsored by a global biotechnology corporation and its 'Gates-like' founder. (Jack Ryan is the U.S. President and only mentioned or referred to as either 'The President' or 'Jack'.)

• The Bear and the Dragon (2000)

  War between Russia and China. Ryan recognizes the independence of Taiwan and the United States Armed Forces help Russia defeat the Chinese invasion of Siberia.

• Red Rabbit (2002)

  Back when he was a humble CIA analyst, Ryan aids in the defection of a Soviet officer who knows of a plan to assassinate the Pope.

• The Teeth of the Tiger (2003)

  Features the rise of Jack Ryan's son, Jack Ryan Jr., as an intelligence analyst, and then a field consultant, for The Campus, an off-the-books intelligence agency with the freedom to discreetly assassinate individuals "who threaten national security", following the retirement of Jack Sr. from the Presidency. Note: This is the latest book of the Jack Ryan series by Tom Clancy, introducing his son and his two nephews as heirs to his spook-legacy.

By series plot chronology

i am gay

Novels not in the series

• Red Storm Rising (1986)
• SSN (1996)

Op-Center universe

• Op-Center (1995) by Jeff Rovin
• Mirror Image (1996) by Jeff Rovin
• Games of State (1996) by Jeff Rovin
• Acts of War (1997) by Jeff Rovin
• Balance of Power (1998) by Jeff Rovin
• State of Siege (1999) by Jeff Rovin
• Divide and Conquer (2000) by Jeff Rovin
• Line of Control (2001) by Jeff Rovin
• Mission of Honor (2002) by Jeff Rovin
• Sea of Fire (2003) by Jeff Rovin
• Call to Treason (2004) by Jeff Rovin
• War of Eagles (2005) by Jeff Rovin

NetForce universe

• Net Force (1998) by Steve Perry
• Hidden Agendas (1999) by Steve Perry
• Night Moves (1999) by Steve Perry
• Breaking Point (1999) by Steve Perry
• Point of Impact (2001) by Steve Perry
• CyberNation (2001) by Steve Perry
• State of War (2003) by Steve Perry and Larry Segriff
• Changing of the Guard (2003) by Steve Perry and Larry Segriff
• Springboard (2004) by Steve Perry and Larry Segriff
• The Archimedes Effect (2006) by Steve Perry and Larry Segriff

Young Adult

• Virtual Vandals (1999)
• The Deadliest Game (1999)
• One Is the Loneliest Number (1999)
• The Ultimate Escape (1999)
• The Great Race (1999)
• End Game (1999)
• Cyberspy (1999)
• Shadow of Honor (2000)
• Private Lives (2000)
• Safe House (2000)
• Gameprey (2000)
• Duel Identity (2000)
• Deathworld (2000)
• High Wire (2001)
• Cold Case (2001)
• Runaways (2001)
• Cloak and Dagger (2003)
• Death Match (in the UK released in 2002 as "Own Goal") (2003)

Power Plays universe

• Politika (novel, 1997) by Jerome Preisler
• Politika (computer game, 1997) by Red Storm Entertainment
• ruthless.com (novel, 1998) by Jerome Preisler
• ruthless.com (computer game, 1998) by Red Storm Entertainment
• Shadow Watch (novel, 1999) by Jerome Preisler
• Shadow Watch (computer game, 1999) by Red Storm Entertainment
• Bio-Strike (novel, 2000) by Jerome Preisler
• Cold War (novel, 2001) by Jerome Preisler
• Cutting Edge (novel, 2002) by Jerome Preisler
• Zero Hour (novel, 2003) by Jerome Preisler
• Wild Card (novel, 2004) by Jerome Preisler

Splinter Cell universe

• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (2004) by Raymond Benson as David Michaels
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Operation Barracuda (2005) by Raymond Benson as David Michaels
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Checkmate (2006) by unknown author as David Michaels
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Fallout (2007) by David Michaels

Non-fiction

Guided Tour

• Submarine - A Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship (1993)
• Armored Cavalry - A Guided Tour of an Armored Cavalry Regiment (1994)
• Fighter Wing - A Guided Tour of an Air Force Combat Wing (1995)
• Marine - A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit (1996)
• Airborne - A Guided Tour of an Airborne Task Force (1997)
• Carrier - A Guided Tour of an Aircraft Carrier (1999)
• Special Forces - A Guided Tour of U.S. Army Special Forces (2001)

Study in Command

• Into the Storm - On the Ground in Iraq (with Fred Franks) (1997)
• Every Man a Tiger - the Gulf War Air Campaign (1999)
• Shadow Warriors - Inside the Special Forces (2002)
• Battle Ready (with Anthony Zinni (2004)

Other

• The Tom Clancy Companion - Edited by Martin E. Greenberg - Writings by Clancy along with a concordance of all his fiction novels, detailing characters and military units or equipment.

Video games

In 1996, Clancy co-founded the computer game developer Red Storm Entertainment and ever since he had his name on several of Red Storm's most successful games. Red Storm was later bought by publisher Ubisoft Entertainment, which continues to use the Clancy name. This game series includes

• Red Storm Rising: A submarine sim game loosely based on the novel of the same name. Produced in 1990 by MicroProse for IBM PC Compatible, C64, and Amiga.
• SSN: The novel of the same name is based on it.
• Shadow Watch: Turn based strategy based on the Power Play novel [1].
• Rainbow Six Series: Squad-based first-person shooters, based on the novel of the same name, typically taking place in closed urban environments.
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (1998)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear (1999)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Take-Down (2001)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield (2003)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3 (2003)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow (2004)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown (2005)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Critical Hour (2006)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas (2006)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (2008)
• Ghost Recon Series: Squad-based first-person shooters/third-person shooters. As opposed to the Rainbow Six games, Ghost Recon usually takes place in larger, outdoor environments.
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon (2001)
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Desert Siege (2003)
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder (2003)
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Jungle Storm (2004)
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 (2004)
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike (2005)
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter (2006)
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 (2007)
• Splinter Cell Series: Third person stealth games, lately spawned a line of books written by a series of different authors, all writing under the pseudonym David Michaels.
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (2002)
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (2004)
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (2005)
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Essentials (2006)
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent (2006)
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction (2008)
• End War Series : Upcoming franchise set in a speculative World War 3, taking place in 2020.
  • Tom Clancy's End War (2008)
• Air Combat Series : Upcoming air combat.
  • Tom Clancy's Air Combat (2008)

There were also video games based on the novel The Hunt for Red October and the film adaptation thereof. The two games were published by Grandslam Entertainment. The version based on the film was available on the ZX Spectrum, Amiga, Atari ST, IBM PC, Amstrad, Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES and Game Boy systems, whereas the version based on the book was available on the Atari ST, Amiga, Amstrad 1512 pc, Amstrad CPC, Apple Macintosh, ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 systems. In 2002 and 2003 a video game based on the film version of The Sum of All Fears was released for the PC and Nintendo Gamecube system.All though very similar to the Rainbow Six games The Sum Of All Fears was poorly received.

Many of the games bearing the Clancy name have been very successful, spawning several sequels and expansions. It is unknown how much input Clancy actually has into the games.

Board games

• The Hunt for Red October (1988)

  Naval wargame published by TSR, Inc., based on the novel of the same name. It covered modern naval warfare between NATO and the Warsaw Pact.

• Red Storm Rising (1989)

  Ground warfare wargame published by TSR, Inc., based on the novel of the same name. It covered an attack on NATO forces in western Europe by the Warsaw Pact. It included rules for integration with The Hunt for Red October game of the year before. The publisher reused the system for Europe Aflame (1989), a strategic World War II game, and A Line in the Sand, a strategic game about the First Gulf War.

• Tom Clancy's Politika [2]

Trivia

• Clancy is one of only two authors to have sold two million copies on a first printing in the 1990s. (John Grisham is the other author.) Clancy's 1989 novel Clear and Present Danger sold 1,625,544 hardcover copies, making it the #1 bestselling novel of the 1980s.[3]

• Clancy received an honorary doctorate in humane letters and delivered the commencement address at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1992, and has since worked a reference to the school into many of his main works. [4]

• Clancy is in fact, an honorary Beefeater holding the title "Supernumerary Yeoman"[5]. On the television show Ace of Cakes his wife commissioned a special birthday cake in the shape of the Tower of London in acknowledgment of his status. On the episode, Tom Clancy referred to the Beefeaters as "Just a terrific bunch of guys". Clancy himself claims he does not visit London without stopping for some beer at the Yeoman Warder's Club.

See also

• List of bestselling novels in the United States
• List of other novelists
• Dale Brown
• Stephen Coonts
• John le Carré
• Ian Fleming
• James Clancy Phelan
• Frederick Forsyth
• Charles Cumming

External links

• Transcript of interview with Deborah Norville on the War in Iraq - April 2004
• Detailed Tom Clancy Book Reviews
• Tom Clancy FAQ
• Internet Book Database of Fiction bibliography
• 1984, 1986 interviews of Tom Clancy by Don Swaim at Wired for Books

Literary reviews and criticism

• "Something for the Boys" by Christopher Hitchens, The New York Review of Books, November 14, 1996. A review of Clancy's Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit.

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