Tom Clancy was born in Baltimore, Maryland on April 12, 1947. He graduated with a degree in English from Loyola College in 1969, became an insurance agent, and in 1973 became the owner of an insurance agency. It was not until 1980 that he started writing novels. His works include Red Storm Rising, The Cardinal of the Kremlin, The Sum of All Fears, Rainbow Six, Dead or Alive, and Threat Vector. His books The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, and Clear and Present Danger were adapted into major motion pictures. He also wrote nonfiction books including Into the Storm: A Study in Command, Submarine, Armored Cav, Fighter Wing, Airborne, and Reality Check: What's Going on Out There? He died on… October 2, 2013 at the age of 66. His last book, Command Authority, co-authored with Mark Greaney, was published posthumously in December 2013 and made the New York Times bestseller list.
Tom Clancy is the author of twelve novels, most recently, Red Rabbitand The Bear and the Dragon, and the co-author of the Commanders books Into the Stormand Every Man a Tiger. He is also the co-author of the nonfiction series that includes Submarine, Armored Cav, Fighter Wing, Marine, Airborne, Carrier, and Special Forces, and the co-creator of the Op-Center, Power Plays, and Net Forceseries. General Carl Stiner, now retired, was commander in chief of SOCOM from 1990 to 1993, and previously spent a large part of his career as commander of many of the nation's preeminent contingency strike forces, such as the XVIII Airborne Corps, the 82nd Airborne Division, and the Joint Special Operations… Command. Among the missions with which he was involved are the Achille Lauro hostage rescue, the invasion of Panama, and operations during Desert Storm.