Tom Clancy Quotes (83 quotes) | Quotes of famous people

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Debt of Honor

Tom Clancy

Tom Clancy: 83 quotes 1 like

Famous Tom Clancy Quotes

“The only way to do all the things you'd like to do is to read”

Tom Clancy

“Success is a finished book, a stack of pages each of which is filled with words. If you reach that point, you have won a victory over yourself no less impressive than sailing single-handed around the world.”

Tom Clancy

“Fix your eyes forward on what you can do, not back on what you cannot change.”

Tom Clancy

“Courage is being the only only one who knows how terrified you are.”

Tom Clancy book Red Rabbit

Source: Red Rabbit

“The point of life was to press on, to do the best you can, to make the world a better place.”

Tom Clancy book Clear and Present Danger

Source: Clear and Present Danger

“Remember, for every shot you fire, someone, somewhere, is making money.”

Tom Clancy

Tom Clancy Quotes about people

“What the government is good at is collecting taxes, taking away your freedoms and killing people. It's not good at much else.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, Kudlow & Cramer interview (2003)

“The army led America in integration… The army recognized early on that, you know, black people are pretty much the same as white people; they just tend to be a little bit darker. They make just as good soldiers.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, In Depth with Tom Clancy (2002)

“The more information a guy has, the more likely he is to say, "Hey, King Charlie, you really blew that call." That's why democracy happened. The control of information is something the elite always does, particularly in a despotic form of government. Information, knowledge, is power. If you can control information, you can control people.”

Tom Clancy

1990s, Schafer interview (1995)

“There's two kinds of people in the world, the ones who need to be told and the ones who figure it out all by themselves.”

Tom Clancy book Without Remorse

Without Remorse (1993), p. 231
1990s

“The People's Republic of China is still a Marxist, Leninist, Maoist nation. So, you know, communism is still involved there. They haven't figured their way out of that particularly ideological box yet and that's their misfortune.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, Larry King Live (2000)

“Colleges typically did not tell you that ninety percent of your education came after you hung the parchment on the wall. People might ask for a rebate.”

Tom Clancy book The Teeth of the Tiger

Source: The Teeth of the Tiger

Tom Clancy Quotes about the world

“Certainly, we live in a different world … for the first time in all of known human history, we live in a world absent of the likelihood of superpower conflict. Now we live in a world in which there are superpowers, but we're not butting heads all the time. That's a very good thing for the world… but… there's still a few bad guys out there.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, CNN interview (2000)

“There's nothing that's ever happened in the world that didn't start in one human mind.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, In Depth with Tom Clancy (2002)

“In case you haven't noticed, we live in a world that is for the first time in all of recorded human history unlikely to have a major war. There used to be this country called the Soviet Union; it's not there anymore. The reason is our technology was better than theirs.”

Tom Clancy

1990s, Schafer interview (1995)
Context: In case you haven't noticed, we live in a world that is for the first time in all of recorded human history unlikely to have a major war. There used to be this country called the Soviet Union; it's not there anymore. The reason is our technology was better than theirs. Probably what pushed the Russians over the edge was SDI. It was really a combination of SDI and CNN. They realized they couldn't beat us so they decided to change the ball game.

“Historically, anything that gets information to people is good for the world. The most important human being who ever lived, if you want to leave out religious figures, would be Johannes Gutenberg… that's when the liberation of human thought happened, because people could read the thoughts of people across the world, and have thoughts of their own, and publish them and spread information around.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, Larry King Live (2000)
Context: Historically, anything that gets information to people is good for the world. The most important human being who ever lived, if you want to leave out religious figures, would be Johannes Gutenberg... that's when the liberation of human thought happened, because people could read the thoughts of people across the world, and have thoughts of their own, and publish them and spread information around. Anything that gets information to people is good. America has prospered because we're the most information-friendly society in the world.

“Democracy is spreading across the world. Democracy is only possible with easy access to information and good communications. And technology is a way of facilitating communications.”

Tom Clancy

1990s, Schafer interview (1995)

“Nothing is as real as a dream. The world can change around you, but your dream will not.”

Tom Clancy

As quoted in Writers (1995) Published by A. Deutsch
1990s
Context: Nothing is as real as a dream. The world can change around you, but your dream will not. Your life may change, but your dream doesn't have to. Responsibilities need not erase it. Duties need not obscure it. Your spouse and children need not get in its way, because the dream is within you. No one can take your dream away.

Tom Clancy: Trending quotes

“The difference between reality and fiction? Fiction has to make sense.”

Tom Clancy

Attributed to an interview on Larry King Live; also quoted in Quotable Quotes (1997) edited by Deborah Deford
Attributed variant: The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense.
Clancy here expresses an idea evoked in similar statements made by others, all derived from the orignial made by Lord Byron:
Lord Byron: Truth is always strange; stranger than fiction.
Mark Twain: Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities, truth isn't.
G. K. Chesterton: Truth must necessarily be stranger than fiction, for fiction is the creation of the human mind and therefore congenial to it.
Leo Rosten: Truth is stranger than fiction; fiction has to make sense. (attributed)
1990s

Reality , Sense

“We saw people in Northern Ireland, Catholics acting like savages and Protestants acting like savages… We have people who call themselves Muslims acting like savages. It's not because of their religion, it's because they're fools.”

Tom Clancy

Interview with Judy Woodruff https://listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=kSjrLYT1hr8 (11 September 2001), CNN
2000s
Context: Ending your own life is not something the average person does. Everybody's assuming these are Islamic terrorists. Well, if so they've defiled their own religion. Islam does not permit suicide. It says you go to hell if you do something like this... We saw people in Northern Ireland, Catholics acting like savages and Protestants acting like savages... We have people who call themselves Muslims acting like savages. It's not because of their religion, it's because they're fools.

People , Religion , Fools

“The more information available to the average person, the greater the synergy that develops from it.”

Tom Clancy

1990s, Schafer interview (1995)
Context: America is the most inventive country in the world. Why? Because everybody has access to information. In the Soviet Union it was illegal to take a photograph of a train station. Look what happened to them. They tried to classify everything. The more information available to the average person, the greater the synergy that develops from it.

Personality

Tom Clancy Quotes

“You don't pick generals off park benches. … They are experts at what they do and lot of thinking goes into it.”

Tom Clancy

1990s, CNN interview (1999)
Context: My vision for this book and the others in the series is to let people know what kind of commanders we have. You don't pick generals off park benches. … They are experts at what they do and lot of thinking goes into it. And I want to get across to people the intellectual dimension of command, to let people know that it's hard to be a general. And the people we have with general stars on their shoulders are pretty smart and pretty good guys.

Thinking

“Fighting wars is not so much about killing people as it is about finding things out. The more you know, the more likely you are to win a battle.”

Tom Clancy

1990s, Schafer interview (1995)
Context: Fighting wars is not so much about killing people as it is about finding things out. The more you know, the more likely you are to win a battle. Take the AEGIS system in the navy. It's a radar computer system for air-battle management. What it does is give the commander an extra 15 minutes to decide what he's going to do to fight a battle, and those 15 minutes are decisively important.

War , People , Fight

“I wanted a different way in which to tell my stories.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, GameSpy interview
Context: I wanted a different way in which to tell my stories. Coming up with concepts for computer games gives me another avenue of creative expression. It's not just me telling the story, it's me designing the idea for a story and letting the players write their own ending.

Way

“There are people in government who don't want other people to know what they know. It's just another example of elitism. And I spit on elitism. Show me an elitist, and I'll show you a loser.”

Tom Clancy

1990s, Schafer interview (1995)

“I think it's going to be remembered as the last major war on planet Earth, if we're lucky, if we maintain our foreign policy properly. … It will be remembered as the last time major countries had to put people in the field and put them in harm's way.”

Tom Clancy

On the 1991 Gulf War
1990s, CNN interview (1999)
Context: I think it's going to be remembered as the last major war on planet Earth, if we're lucky, if we maintain our foreign policy properly. … It will be remembered as the last time major countries had to put people in the field and put them in harm's way. It may be the last of all human nature wars, which is a nice way to remember any kind of a war, as the last one.

War , People , Way , Thinking

“Computers are going to be even bigger. TVs are one-way. You sit there and you watch it. Computers, you interact with.”

Tom Clancy

1990s, Schafer interview (1995)
Context: I was one of the first generations to watch television. That's technology. TV is like any other kind of tool. TV exposes people to news, to information, to knowledge, to entertainment. How is it bad? Computers are going to be even bigger. TVs are one-way. You sit there and you watch it. Computers, you interact with.

Way

“The drafters of the Constitution had made one simple but far-reaching error. They'd assumed that the people selected by The People to manage the nation would be as honest and honorable as they'd been. One could almost hear the "Oops!"”

Tom Clancy book The Bear and the Dragon

emanating from all those old graves. The people who'd drafted the Constitution had sat in a room dominated by George Washington himself, and whatever honor they'd lacked he'd probably provided from his own abundant supply, just by sitting there and looking at them. The current Congress had no such mentor/living god to take George's place, and more was the pity, Ryan thought.
The Bear and the Dragon (2000), Ch. 12 : Conflicts of the Pocket
2000s

People , Error

“Beware the fury of a patient man”

Tom Clancy

“Nothing is as real as a dream. Responsibilities need not erase it. Duties need not obscure it. Because the dream is within you, no one can take it away.”

Tom Clancy

Dreams

“I am a politician which means I am a liar and a crook. When I am not kissing babies I am stealing their lollypops.”

Tom Clancy

Kiss , Baby

“Life is about learning; when you stop learning, you die.”

Tom Clancy

As quoted in The Appraiser's Handbook : A Guide for Doctors (2007) by Nick Lyons, Susanne Caesar, Abayomi McEwen, p. 11.

Life , Learning

“It was one thing to use computers as a tool, quite another to let them do your thinking for you.”

Tom Clancy book The Hunt for Red October

Source: The Hunt for Red October

Thinking

“Being a victim is more palatable than having to recognize the intrinsic contradictions of one's own governing philosophy.”

Tom Clancy book The Hunt for Red October

Source: The Hunt for Red October

“It is a principle of diplomacy that one must know something of the truth in order to lie convincingly.”

Tom Clancy book The Hunt for Red October

Source: The Hunt for Red October

Truth , Lie

“There are only two ways we can be beaten: we die or we give up. And we're not giving up.”

Tom Clancy book Against All Enemies

Source: Against All Enemies

Way

“Find the enemy. Don't let the enemy find you. Reconnaissance! Reconnaissance! Reconnaissance!”

Tom Clancy book Executive Orders

Executive Orders

“The thing you have to understand about fighter pilots is they never quite grow past the stage of little boys buzzing past girls on their bicycles.”

Tom Clancy

1990s, CNN interview (1999)

Girl , Boy , Understanding , Past

“When the first mission of Rainbow Six was actually coming together we really started to realize that we might have a hit on our hands, but hadn't really expected the runaway success.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, GameSpy interview

Success

“Look, this is simple. The good old days are now. OK? The human condition today is better than it's ever been, and technology is one of the reasons for that.”

Tom Clancy

1990s, Schafer interview (1995)

“Countries that do not control knowledge and information tend to do better because the average guy who is exposed to a lot of information can get ideas and profit from them.”

Tom Clancy

1990s, Schafer interview (1995)

Guy , Idea , Knowledge , Country

“Man is a creature of hope and invention, both of which belie the idea that things cannot be changed.”

Tom Clancy

1990s

Hope , Idea , Change

“China has a lot of people and not enough space and the Russians have not too many people and a lot of space.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, CNN interview (2000)

People

“I write strictly for fun… as long as it stays fun I'll continue to do it.”

Tom Clancy

Interview with Don Swaim (1986)
1980s

“The military has always been a very introspective organization… One of the reasons why the army is so progressive is its always examining itself. The army is always looking for better ways to do its job.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, In Depth with Tom Clancy (2002)

Way

“No matter what you or anyone else does, there will be someone who says that there's something bad about it. Whenever somebody comes up with a good idea, there's somebody else who has never had a good idea in his life who stands up and says, "Oh, you can't do that…"”

Tom Clancy

1990s, Schafer interview (1995)

Life , Idea

“I'm a spy… I worked for the CIA 15 years. The cover was I worked for the insurance business.”

Tom Clancy

Said Jokingly.
2000s, Larry King Live (2000)

Business

“A field commander never has the information he needs. He has to go with his best hunch. The more information he has, the easier it is for him to win the battle.”

Tom Clancy

1990s, Schafer interview (1995)

“I don't discuss works in progress…”

Tom Clancy

Attributed variant: I don't discuss future works or works in progress.
2000s, GameSpy interview

“Ansara was sprinting up the tunnel, increasing the gap, but Moore was beginning to slow as he heard the thundering boots of men coming down the staircase behind them. He stopped, spun around, and dropped onto his belly as, lit by the flickering light from the tunnel entrance, a figure rushed forward, arm extended. For just a heartbeat Moore glimpsed his assailant's face: the cartel truck's driver.
Propped up on his elbows now, Moore fired once into the figure's chest, the round booting him sideways into the panels before he fell onto his back.
From behind him came two more men, the rest of the weapons-transfer crew, their Belgian-made cop-killer pistols flashing, the shots booming through the tunnel as one 5.7x28-millimeter round struck the pipe near Moore's elbow.”

Tom Clancy book Against All Enemies

With Peter Telep, Against All Enemies (2011), chapter 34
2010s

Men , Light

“Look, technology is another word for tool. There was a time when nails were high-tech. There was a time when people had to be told how to use a telephone. We got past that. Technology is just a tool. People use tools to improve their lives.”

Tom Clancy

1990s, Schafer interview (1995)

People , Time , Past

“There's been historical conflict between China and Russia for well over 1,000 years. … People forget that the Mongols came all the way to the Baltic Sea and all the way to where St. Petersburg is today … And the Russians have a good sense of history and they remember that.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, CNN interview (2000)

People , Way , History , Sense

“Back then "cruel and unusual punishment" meant the rack and burning at the stake — both of those things that had been used in pre-Revolutionary America — but in more recent rulings it has been taken to mean the absence of cable television and denial of sex-change operations, or just overcrowding in the prisons.”

Tom Clancy book Executive Orders

Executive Orders (1996), p. 613
1990s

Sex , Change

“America is a country with a First Amendment, and you're allowed to publish just about anything you want, as long as it's not real secret information. Of course, nobody really does that except for, you know, you guys in the media.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, Larry King Live (2000)

Secret , Guy , Country

“If you want to tell me I'm a bum, that's okay.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, In Depth with Tom Clancy (2002)

“People live longer today than they ever have. They live happier lives, they have more knowledge, they have more information. All this is the result of communications technology and the tools with which man has equipped himself. How is any of that bad?”

Tom Clancy

1990s, Schafer interview (1995)

People , Communication , Knowledge

“What underclass? I mean you know, what underclass? Do you know any of them? Do they have automobiles? Most of them probably do. Do most of them have television sets? Do most of them have telephones? Well, if they can afford automobiles, they can afford computers. And since they have television sets, they already have access to communications technology. And since they have telephones, they can talk to one another. Wherein are they deprived?”

Tom Clancy

1990s, Schafer interview (1995)

Communication

“"Rainbow Six" was sort of a spinoff of one my books, which did pretty well. … Interestingly enough, I never play the games. I just sort of — it's more fun for me to help formulate them than it is to play them.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, Larry King Live (2000)

Books , Game , Help

“I'd rather talk to people who do things than complain about other people who do things. I say they're idiots.”

Tom Clancy

1990s, Schafer interview (1995)

People

“Never ask what sort of computer a guy drives. If he's a Mac user, he'll tell you. If not, why embarrass him?”

Tom Clancy

As quoted in Escape The Pace: 100 Fun And Easy Ways To Slow Down And Enjoy Your Life (2002) by Lisa Rickwood; this quote appears at least as early as 1996 online
1990s

Guy

“My wife will tell you I'm practically addicted to the History Channel … and I read a lot of history.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, CNN interview (2000)

History , Reading

“Wars are begun by frightened men. They fear war, but more than that, they fear what will happen if they don't start one — or take equivalent action, I suppose.”

Tom Clancy book Red Rabbit

Red Rabbit (2002)
2000s

Men , War , Fear

“Victory comes only to those prepared to make it, and take it.”

Tom Clancy book Patriot Games

Patriot Games (1987)
1980s

Victory

“I’ve made up stuff that’s turned out to be real, that’s the spooky part.”

Tom Clancy

The New York Times (27 July 1986)
1980s

Parting

“The Soviet Union is dead and gone and replaced by the Russian Federation, which is a country we can be friends with now, thank God — and we want the Russians to prosper, and should help the Russians prosper in every way we can within reason.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, Larry King Live (2000)

God , Way , Help , Dead

“That's the ultimate pornography… There's nothing more pornographic than glorifying war.”

Tom Clancy

1990s, CNN interview (1999)
Variant: There's nothing more pornographic than glorifying war.

War

“The odds against becoming the next Frederick Forsythe are, of course, somewhere between merely exponential and astronomical-incredible. I’ll settle for a book-jacket with my name on it.”

Tom Clancy

Personal correspondence, 5 February 1983. Published in "Becoming Tom Clancy: Letters from Tom -- Part 1," Pied Type (Oct 2, 2013) http://piedtype.com/2013/10/02/tom-clancy-boy-writer-part-1/
1980s

Books

“Fifteen years ago, there was this country called the Soviet Union that had over 10,000 nuclear warheads pointed at us… they're not there anymore. That's a good thing. And when people talk about how the world is more dangerous now than it was because we had these terrorists running around, my reply is, you know, a terrorist is like a buzzing mosquito. About 15 years ago, there was a great, big vampire bat; that's several orders of magnitude different from a mosquito. So the world is much safer — a lot safer than it was. It's not perfectly safe, but it's a heck of a lot safer than it was.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, Larry King Live (2000)

People , World , Country

“I like writing. It's the most fun I've ever had at anything. You can build your own little world and — like a kid with his toy trains, — except instead of trains I have tanks and ships and airplanes and things… I get to make them do all the things I want them to do, and if I don't like the way things work out, I start again.”

Tom Clancy

Interview with Don Swaim (1986)
1980s

World , Way , Training

“There are things I know I know about I don't write about, which I could not responsibly put into my books. Interestingly enough, though, the scariest one of those things is not classified at all. But nevertheless, I don't write about it, because it would make the world a somewhat more dangerous place.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, Larry King Live (2000)