Tom Clancy
Prolific writer Tom Clancy died Tuesday night, Oct 1st, at the John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. The cause of death has not been released.
He was best known for his technically detailed espionage and military thrillers. Several were made into movies including The Hunt for Red October, The Sum of All Fears, Patriot Games, and Clear and Present Danger. The first Net Force book was made into a television movie and the first Op-Center book was made into a mini-series.
He was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1947. He attended Loyola College as a physics major, but switched to English in his sophomore year. Before becoming an author, he ran an independent insurance agency.
In 1979, he began writing Patriot Games where his hero CIA agent Jack Ryan was introduced. In 1982, he set aside that book and started The Hunt for Red October which was based on a real incident in November 1979 about a Soviet missile frigate attempting to defect.
Seventeen of his novels have appeared on the New York Times bestsellers list. Besides his stand-alone novels, he has written several series available in paperback format. They are: Op-Center, Net Force, Net Force Explorers, Power Plays, Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six, and EndWar.
He was a part owner of a baseball team, the Baltimore Orioles, author of several non-fiction books, developed three board games, and co-founded the video game developer Red Storm Entertainment. He is one of only three authors to sell two million copies on a first printing (other two – J.K. Rowling and John Grisham).
His newest book, Command Authority, is due out in December.
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