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Tom Clancy Quotes
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Thomas Leo "Tom" Clancy Jr. was an American novelist best known for his technically detailed espionage and military-science story lines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of his novels were bestsellers, and more than 100 million copies of his books are in print. His name was also used on movie scripts written by ghost writers, nonfiction books on military subjects, and video games. He was a part-owner of the Baltimore Orioles and vice-chairman of their community activities and public affairs committees.

Clancy's literary career began in 1984 when he sold The Hunt for Red October for $5,000. His works, The Hunt for Red October , Patriot Games , Clear and Present Danger , and The Sum of All Fears , have been turned into commercially successful films. Actors Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and Chris Pine have played Clancy's most famous fictional character, Jack Ryan; his second-most famous character, John Clark, has been played by actors Willem Dafoe and Liev Schreiber. Clancy died on October 1, 2013, of an undisclosed illness.

✵ 12. April 1947 – 1. October 2013
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Tom Clancy: 83   quotes 1   like

Tom Clancy Quotes

“The average guy is smart enough to know the difference between what works and what doesn't, and if you have bad information, sooner or later, you figure it out and you get onto something else.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, Larry King Live (2000)

Guy

“To truly feel like we're fighting terrorism, we need as much intelligence and infiltration as possible into known rivals of democracy. Once that information is collected, a sincere commitment must be made to thwart their effects through unified/joint military resolve.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, GameSpy interview

Feeling , Democracy , Intelligence , Fight

“[…] The image superimposed on Ricci's field of view by his visor display showed a pair of guards in hooded parkas, goggles, and wool scarves taking relaxed strides along their patrol of the building's north side. Their shoulder-slung FN P90 assault weapons fired the same ammunition as his FN Five-seveN pistol: small rounds, big punch. […]”

Tom Clancy

With Jerome Preisler and Martin H. Greenberg; Bio-Strike (2000), p. 405
2000s

“People, I am actually fairly smart. Why has this not occurred to anyone? The information is all out there, if you go looking for it, and the classified stuff just comes from analyzing the unclassified stuff and connecting the dots…”

Tom Clancy

"Clancy Speaks Again, Briefly" (12 February 2000)
2000s

People

“Things rarely happen for a single reason. Even the cleverest and most skilled manipulators recognize that their real art lies in making use of that which they cannot predict.”

Tom Clancy book Debt of Honor

Debt of Honor (1994), ch. 5
1990s

Art

“The hard part is discriminating between factual reporting and journalistic fiction. Last year at the National Press Club I said out loud and in public [C-SPAN was there] that the difference between me and a lot of reporters is that I do good fiction. Some were polite enough to chuckle.”

Tom Clancy

"Clancy Speaks Again, Briefly" (12 February 2000) http://www.clancyfaq.com/Clancy%20Speaks%20Again%20Briefly.htm
2000s

Parting

“I've been telling people for 12 years that if you want to get a nuclear device into the United States, just bring it through the port of Miami disguised as cocaine.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, Kudlow & Cramer interview (2003)

People

“The difference between me and you is that I do good fiction.”

Tom Clancy

Jokingly to news reporters. Speech at the National Press Club (18 May 1999).
1990s

“"If a hero must have an unmarked grave, it should at least be close to where his comrades fell." "Comrades?" "One way or another we all fight for the things we believe in. Doesn't that give us some common ground?"”

Tom Clancy book The Cardinal of the Kremlin

Jack Ryan and MG Dalmatov, SA; The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1988), p. 796
1980s

Way , Fight

“Our tools keep getting better, and as a result of that, our lives keep getting better.”

Tom Clancy

1990s, Schafer interview (1995)

“The average guy is fairly smart, if you give him the ability to make decisions for himself. That's the whole premise of America, and that's why America has prospered, and it prospers because if the average guy can get information, he can make his own decisions.”

Tom Clancy

2000s, Larry King Live (2000)

Guy , Decision