Known for writing highly-technical, often incredibly detailed stories about military action and espionage, one could easily mistake Tom Clancy for a veteran. After all, how could a layman know so much about the military?
However, the late author never served in the military. In fact, though Clancy joined the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps, he was deemed ineligible due to his nearsightedness.
Instead, Clancy worked as a salesman for an insurance company in Owings, Maryland. During his spare time, he would write novels, eventually churning out his first published work, 'The Hunt for Red October'.
During his life, Clancy wrote 14 novels. There are over 100 million copies of his books in print. Since his death, a number of writers have carried on his franchises, most notably Mark Greaney.
In 1996, Clancy founded Red Storm Entertainment, which created games in under the Tom Clancy moniker. Currently, Red Storm is owned by Ubisoft and has produced over 40 Tom Clancy games.
