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 Th
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