Comprehensive information and links about Tom Clancy

Tom Clancy This article is about Tom Clancy the novelist; for the member of the Irish folk band The Clancy Brothers, see Tom Clancy (singer) author of bestselling political thrillers, best known for his technically-detailed espionage and military science story-lines during the Cold War. His name is also a brand for similar books written by other authors.

While some reviewers regard Clancy's prose as pedestrian, many of his books have been spectacular bestsellers. Clancy fans cite intricate plots, attention to detail and technical accuracy in military and intelligence topics.

Clancy is one of only two authors to have sold two million copies on a first printing in the 1990s. His 1989 novel

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.

Clancy 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, he spent some time running an independent insurance business.

Clancy married his first wife, Wanda, in 1970. After having several children together, they divorced in 1998. Wanda was represented by Baltimore lawyer Sheila Sachs ([1]). Divorce papers filed by Wanda in 1996 gave the reason that Tom Clancy had "committed adultery with one Katherine Huang", ([2]) supposedly a New York assistant district attorney he met on the Internet. 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 ([3]). Also, according to the Tom Clancy FAQ website:

dlIt 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.

Clancy is known to be very protective of his personal life. He has 4 children.

In 1998, Tom Clancy attempted to purchase the Minnesota Vikings, and had a purchase agreement in place, but the deal fell through after 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 9 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 many movie adaptations of popular novels, there is controversy amongst fans concerning the (non-)canonicity of the movies, most of which take fairly extensive liberties with the original plot. Recently, there have been talks about a movie based on the bestselling novel, .

In recent years, his novels have become more political, showcasing his conservative philosophy. In the novels , Jack Ryan is President of the United States. Some of Ryan's policies include a more aggressive War on Drugs (with an emphasis on arresting high-profile drug users to curtail demand) and replacing the progressive income tax with a flat tax. Some fans have objected to this focus on domestic politics rather than military subjects. Of course, Clancy's political opinions were very much in evidence in previous novels; those opinions typically addressed foreigndefense policies.

Nevertheless, Clancy's 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 , which starts off as a political novel, and metamorphoses into a war procedural two-thirds of the way through.

With the release of , Clancy introduced Jack Ryan's son and two nephews as main characters. Presumably, he has retired Jack Ryan as a central character. Many fans have expressed disappointment in Clancy's recent fiction works and sales of his books have reflected the growing trend of readers turning away from Clancy.

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:

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 manu".

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 bookmultimedia 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 two of Clancy's novels feature Jack Ryan andClancy'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.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 Ryaniverse. He co-wrote it with Larry Bond.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.First appearance of John Clark. Secret anti-satellite lasers (SDI), high-stakes diplomacy, spies and computer geeks.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.Israel loses a nuclear weapon, 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.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.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.... 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. 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.Released to tie in with the computer game of the same name. John Clark leads an elite anti-terrorist unit and averts worldwide genocide attempt by terrorists who are motivated by environmentalism. (Jack Ryan is mentioned, but does not appear.)War between Russia and China. Ryan recognizes the independence of Taiwan and the US Air Force helps Russia defeat Chinese invasion. (Note: Like many such writers, Clancy's knowledge of China is lacking compared to his knowledge of the old Soviet Union, with many resulting weaknesses.)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.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.

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:

All of the games bearing the Clancy name have been very successful spawning several sequels and expansions.