Tom Clancy Essay, Research Paper

Jeremy Mitchell

Miss Hopkins

College English 10

2 November 2001

Tom Clancy

Author Tom Clancy was born on April 12th 1947 in Baltimore,

Maryland. He and his parents, a mail carrier and a credit employee lived

a normal life for all of Tom’s childhood. After graduating from high school

in Baltimore Clancy attended Loyola College in his hometown, where he

majored in English. Tom graduated from college in 1969 and soon there

after married Wanda Thomas. Wanda was an insurance agency manager

and turned Tom on to the business. (World Biography, 70)

Although Clancy wanted a career in the military, he was denied

due to very poor eye sight. He became an insurance broker in the city of

Baltimore and then in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1973 Tom joined the

O.F. Bowen Agency, and later became part owner in 1980. Throughout

his life Clancy maintained an interest in the armed forces. Tom researched

his favorite aspects of the military and built up ideas for books in his mind

during the 1970’s. Throughout the seventies and up until he wrote his

first book in 1984 he spent any and every extra minute writing.

(World Biography, 70)

Clancy’s characters and settings have, for the most part varied from

book to book, besides taking place on a battle front somewhere. He has

written many books, some fiction and some non-fiction. There is one main

reoccurring character in the fiction novels, a man by the name of Jack Ryan.

Ryan first appeared in The Hunt for Red October. Full name Jack Patrick

Ryan, he acts as the protagonist, or hero in all the books he shows up in.

Clancy does a very good job of building onto Ryan’s character throughout

the many books he stars in.(Tom Clancy FAQ)

Tom Clancy has a strong interest in the military, which he shows via

his writings. Clancy doesn’t just make up stuff or guess when he puts it

in his books, he does extensive research on everything before he writes

a single word about it. Tom’s many novels have the purpose of

entertaining and spreading his great interest in the armed forces. He has

also written educational books on certain branches of the military. Tom’s

literary style stays consistent through all of his novels.(World Biography, 70)

Tom Clancy has written many books, 20 to be exact. One of his

better, and more popular novels is titled Clear and Present Danger. It is

about the main hero, Jack Ryan heading to Columbia to expose a drug cartel

after three U.S. officials are killed and the president goes crazy. Another

one of Clancy’s better novels is The Cardinal of Kremlin, in which again,

Jack Ryan goes undercover to Russia to help a Russian U.S. informant

escape from his country. Most of Tom’s books are thrilling and very

realistic, they really get the point across that he likes the military and wants

to turn others on to the technological wonders of it.(Eddies Book Reviews)

“Clancy FAQ.” 26 October 2001

“Eddies Book Reviews.” 26 October 2001

“Tom Clancy.”

Encyclopedia of World Biography. 1998