Tom Clancy 101: The Reader's Guide to His Best Works

Published by Esther Fung, June 19, 2024


In 1982, an insurance broker in Maryland found himself with more spare time. Two years ago, he had bought the agency where he worked from its previous owner, who also happened to be his wife’s grandmother. Now, he had some extra time and found himself thinking back to his dream of writing a novel. So, inspired by his love for naval history, he began writing a story about a rogue Soviet submarine captain and a CIA analyst who is sure he is going to defect to the United States. 


Two years later, he sold the book to the Naval Institute Press for $5,000. His hope was to sell at least five thousand copies. That book, The Hunt for Red October, sold over two million copies and launched the author, a man named Tom Clancy, into a career that would span almost three decades and transform the military thriller genre forever.

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Who is Tom Clancy?

Even if you don’t read military history books, you have probably heard of Tom Clancy. His books dominated the bestsellers list for decades, defining, according to author Jon Land, “an era, not just of thrillers but of pop culture in general.”


This best-selling writer was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1947. In 1969, he graduated from Loyola University Maryland with a B.A. in English literature and a GPA of 1.9 out of 4.0. He is best known for his books about Jack Ryan, and his 1989 work, Clear and Present Danger, was the best-selling novel of the decade. In addition to being a writer, he was part owner of the Baltimore Orioles. Clancy passed away from heart failure on October 1, 2013. 

Was Tom Clancy in the military?

Despite Clancy’s passion for American naval and military history, he was never in the military himself. He did join a ROTC program as a college student at Loyola, but his poor eyesight made him ineligible to serve. 


Did Tom Clancy write Jack Ryan?

Portrayed in adaptations by stars like Harrison Ford and John Krasinski, Jack Ryan is Clancy’s most famous character and one of the most well-known CIA agents in fiction. Like Clancy, Ryan is Irish Catholic and was born in Baltimore. They both also attended Loyola High School. From here, their paths diverge. 


After graduation, Ryan joined the US Marine Corps but was discharged at age twenty-three after being injured when his helicopter crashed in Crete. He then worked as a stockbroker at Merrill Lynch, became a millionaire, earned a doctorate in history, taught courses at the US Naval Academy, and published multiple nonfiction history books. 


Ryan joined the CIA as a consultant at the suggestion of a Georgetown professor and Jesuit priest named Father Tim O'Riley. After being knighted by the Queen for foiling a kidnapping scheme on the Prince of Wales, he officially joined the CIA. 


There are over thirty books in the Jack Ryan series. Clancy wrote the first ten books, spanning from The Hunt for Red October to The Teeth of the Tiger, published in 2003. The next four works were written with both Clancy and a series of co-writers. After his death in 2013, some of those ghost writers continued the Jack Ryan series on their own. 

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Best Tom Clancy books

The most popular Tom Clancy books on Pango are The Hunt for Red October, The Sum of All Fears, and Rainbow Six. Published in 1991, The Sum of All Fears is a political thriller in which Jack Ryan races against time to prevent a nuclear war triggered by terrorists who detonate a bomb in the United States. Rainbow Six, a 1998 release, isn't a Jack Ryan book. Instead, it follows CIA agent John Clark and his team as they work to stop an environmental terrorist group from releasing a deadly virus.

Tom Clancy books in order

See all thirty books that Clancy wrote in publication order below. Please note that this list includes works that he produced with co-writers but does not include ones that feature his characters but were not written by him.


* indicates nonfiction


  1. The Hunt for Red October (1984)
  2. Red Storm Rising (1986)
  3. Patriot Games (1987)
  4. The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1988)
  5. Clear and Present Danger (1989)
  6. The Sum of All Fears (1991)
  7. Without Remorse (1993)
  8. Submarine: A Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship (1993)*
  9. Debt of Honor (1994)
  10. Armored Cav: A Guided Tour of an Armored Cavalry Regiment (1994)*
  11. Fighter Wing: A Guided Tour of an Air Force Combat Wing (1995)*
  12. Executive Orders (1996)
  13. SSN: Strategies for Submarine Warfare (1996)
  14. Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit (1996)*
  15. Airborne: A Guided Tour of an Airborne Task Force (1997)*
  16. Into the Storm – On the Ground in Iraq (1997)*
  17. Rainbow Six (1998)
  18. Carrier: A Guided Tour of an Aircraft Carrier (1999)*
  19. Every Man a Tiger — the Gulf War Air Campaign (1999)*
  20. The Bear and the Dragon (2000)
  21. Special Forces: A Guided Tour of U.S. Army Special Forces (2001)*
  22. Red Rabbit (2002)
  23. Shadow Warriors — Inside the Special Forces (2002)*
  24. The Teeth of the Tiger (2003)
  25. Battle Ready (2004)*
  26. Dead or Alive (2010)
  27. Against All Enemies (2011)
  28. Locked On (2011)
  29. Threat Vector (2012)
  30. Command Authority (2013)
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