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The following biography is from
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The Free Encyclopedia.
Thomas Leo Clancy
Jr. (born April 12, 1947), who writes under the
name Tom Clancy, is an American author of
political thrillers heavily based on
intelligence and military science concepts; his
name is also a brand for similar books written
by other authors. His earlier books have a
definite focus on the Cold War.
While the literary
merit of his books is disputed by many
professional authors and reviewers (who regard
Clancy's prose as pedestrian), most have been
bestsellers. Fans of his work appreciate the
well-thought-out plots and the apparent
attention to technical detail in military
matters.
In the year 1998,
Tom Clancy attempted to purchase the Minnesota
Vikings, and had a purchase agreement in place,
but the deal fell through when his divorce
settlement significantly decreased his net
worth. He is currently the Vice Chairman of
Community Projects & Public Affairs for the
Baltimore Orioles.
Tom Clancy was an
early, and to many, surprising defender of Islam
after the WTC terror attacks, when he was one of
the first experts interviewed on CNN on the day
of 9/11.
****
Biography
Tom Clancy was born
April 12, 1947 at Franklin Square Hospital, in
Baltimore, MD. He attended Loyola High School in
Towson, MD, graduating with the class of 1965.
Tom studied English
Literature at Loyola College in Baltimore,
graduating with the class of 1969. In a message
to the usenet newsgroup alt.books.tom-clancy, he
remarked that he studied English because "I
wasn't smart enough to do physics."
Before making his
literary debut, Tom spent some time running an
independent insurance business.
Tom Clancy's
married his first wife, Wanda, in 1970. After
having several children together, they divorced
in 1998. Wanda was represented by Baltimore
lawyer Sheila Sachs. Divorce papers filed by
Wanda in 1996 gave the reason that Tom Clancy
had "committed adultery with one Katherine
Huang," allegedly a New York assistant district
attorney he supposedly met on the Internet. An
E! Online article further alleges that Ms. Huang
used the internet aliases "Bin Bin" and "Ping
Ping." Much of the media attention focus on the
Clancys' divorce resulted from Tom's
then-pending bid to buy the Minnesota Vikings.
In 1999, Clancy, at
age 52, married 32-year old fellow writer
Alexandra Marie Llewellyn, on June 26. Also,
according to the Tom Clancy FAQ website:
It was previously
reported in the Washington Post that he was to
marry a niece of Colin Powell just after the
divorce to his first wife was finalized. We may
never know for sure given Mr. Clancy's zealous
protection of his personal life.
Tom Clancy has 4
children.
Video games
In 1996, Clancy
co-founded the computer game developer Red Storm
Entertainment and ever since has had his name on
several of Red Storm's most successful games.
Red Storm was later bought by publisher Ubisoft
Entertainment who continues to use the Clancy
name. These games series include:
Rainbow Six based
on the novel of the same name
Ghost Recon
Splinter Cell
recently spawned a line of books under the
pseudonym David Michaels
All of the games
bearing the Clancy name have been very
successful spawning several sequels and
expansions.
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 such as Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and
Ben Affleck as Clancy's most famous character
Jack Ryan. As with most series of movie
adaptations of popular novels, there is great
controversy amongst fans concerning the
(non-)canonicity of the movies, most of which
take fairly extensive liberties with the series'
plotlines.
In recent years,
his novels have become more political,
showcasing many of his conservative, neoliberal,
pro-military, pro-life, and law-enforcement
beliefs. In Executive Orders, Jack Ryan becomes
President of the United States. Some of Ryan's
policies include a new way of fighting the War
on Drugs and tax reform (with a flat tax). Some
Clancy fans have objected to this focus on
politics rather than on the military subjects
for which his earlier novels are famous.
Nevertheless, his books have continued to sell
briskly, perhaps due to momentum from his
previous popularity. Alternatively his books'
popularity could be due to his ideas resonating
positively with his fans. He returned, somewhat,
to his earlier approach with The Bear and the
Dragon, which starts off as a political novel,
and metamorphoses into a war procedural about
2/3 the way through.
Clancy has written
several nonfiction books about various branches
of the US armed forces (see non-fiction listing,
below) Clancy has branded several lines of books
with his name that are written by other,
acknowledged authors following premises or
storylines generally in keeping with Clancy's
works:
Tom Clancy's Net
Force
Tom Clancy's
Op-Center
Tom Clancy's Power
Plays.
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 Pearson Custom
Publishing and 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" in an agreement worth US$22 million
bringing the total value of the package to US$97
million.
(All but one 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 missile sub of the Soviet fleet.
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 Clancy's only novel to
date not set in his Ryaniverse. He co-wrote it
with Larry Bond.
Patriot Games
(1987)
Chronologically
first book featuring Ryan. Ryan saves the Prince
of Wales from terrorists, who go after Ryan and
his family. Movie (1992) stars Harrison Ford as
Ryan, and has a fictional lord instead of the
Prince of Wales.
The Cardinal of the
Kremlin (1988)
First appearance of
John Clark. Secret anti-satellite lasers (SDI),
high-stakes diplomacy, spies and computer geeks.
Clear and Present
Danger (1989)
Drug war in
Colombia. Ryan and Clark finally meet; first
appearance of 'Ding' Chavez. Movie (1994) stars
Harrison Ford as Ryan and Willem Dafoe as Clark.
The Sum of All
Fears (1991)
Israel loses a
nuke, which terrorists use to foment war between
US and Soviets -- averted by Ryan in a
cliffhanger. Movie (2002) stars Ben Affleck as
Ryan, and changes identity and motivation of the
terrorists.
Without Remorse
(1993)
Chronologically
first book featuring John Clark. Set during the
Vietnam war, tells how Clark became a CIA agent.
Jack Ryan's father (Emmett Ryan) has a key role;
Jack Ryan has a tiny cameo.
Debt of Honor
(1994)
Clark and Ding help
Ryan avert (win?) a war with Japan; a Japanese
pilot avenges his son's death by crashing his
airliner into the US Capitol, killing the entire
Congress, Supreme Court, and all but two White
House officials, which segues into...
Executive Orders
(1996)
Sequel to Debt of
Honor. Ryan, propelled into presidency, survives
press hazing, assassination attempts and
biological warfare -- Clark and Ding trace the
virus to a Middle Eastern madman, and the US
military goes to work.
SSN (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 tie in
with the computer game of the same name. John
Clark leads elite anti-terrorist unit and averts
worldwide genocide attempt by environmental
fanatics. (Jack Ryan is mentioned, but does not
appear.)
The Bear and the
Dragon (2000)
War between Russia
and China, Ryan recognizes independence of
Taiwan and US Air Force helps Russia defeat
Chinese invasion.
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 for The Campus, an
off-the-books intelligence agency, 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
chronology
Without Remorse
Patriot Games
Red Rabbit
The Hunt for Red
October
The Cardinal of the
Kremlin
Clear and Present
Danger
The Sum of All
Fears
Debt of Honor
Executive Orders
Rainbow Six
The Bear and the
Dragon
The Teeth of the
Tiger
Non-fiction
Submarine (1993)
Armored Cav (1994)
Fighter Wing (1995)
Marine (1996)
Into the Storm
(1997)
Airborne (1997)
Carrier (1999)
Every Man a Tiger
(1999)
Special Forces
(2001)
Shadow Warriors
(2002)
Battle Ready (with
Anthony Zinni, 2004, ISBN 0399151761)
Purple Heart (2005)
****
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