Tom, whose bestsellers include "The Hunt for Red October," "Red Storm Rising," Patriot Games," "Clear and Present Danger," and "The Sum of All Fears," captured the imagination of many readers across the world. To date there are over 100 million of his books in print.
In addition several of Tom's books have become Hollywood blockbuster films, and some of his writings have also been turned into electronic games.
With such incredible success, it would seem logical that Tom would have become a writer right from the start, but that was not the case.
For years Tom was an insurance salesman.
So how did he become a writer?
Tom loved to read and had an insatiable appetite for military stories. On weekends he began to write what he hoped would someday become a published work.
But as Tom became more absorbed in his writings, he began to let go of everything not directly related, and his insurance sales fell.
It wasn't until Tom was 37 years old in 1984 that his first book, "The Hunt for Red October" was published. When that book became a sensation, Tom's insurance selling career was over.
Tom Clancy
Tom then wrote one bestselling novel after the next, and never slowed down.
That is until October 1st, 2013 when after a brief illness, at the age of 66 Tom passed away at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. However his pen was not yet stilled.
On December 3, 2013 Tom's final novel, "Command Authority," was published, and it too will likely become a bestseller.
