Red October Launched Him

Whether you read all 17 of his New York Times best sellers or just a couple, you have to admit Tom Clancy was a great story teller. He had that skill of writing a good story, with interesting, identifiable  characters. He mixed in military and technical elements that had some experts believing he had access to defense secrets.  He covered subjects that were topical; nuclear weapons, the war against drugs, industrial espionage, and terrorists to name just a few. As you can tell I enjoyed his writing. Some of his best writing I think came early. Books like; Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger.

Clancy did some interesting things with the profits from the sale of his books; he bought a tank, gave to his favorite charities and bought partial ownership in the Baltimore Orioles. His only real exposure to the military was in college when he was in ROTC but he late dropped that class.He also, after his career was underway, got a ride on a nuclear submarine. After graduating from Loyola University he became an insurance agent until he started writing. He has a new book scheduled for release this December, “Command Authority.”