Transitions: Bestselling US author Tom Clancy dead at 66

Clancy wrote 28 spy fiction novels and inspired numerous Hollywood films and video games.

WASHINGTON: Tom Clancy, the famous American writer whose spy and military thrillers became worldwide best-sellers and inspired several Hollywood hit films and video games, passed away at a Baltimore hospital on Tuesday at the age of 66, his New York publisher announced.

The cause of death wasn't immediately announced.

Clancy authored 28 books in all, including 'The Hunt for Red October', 'Patriot Games' and 'Clear and Present Danger'.

He always employed political intrigue and military tactics to string out fast-paced, thrilling narratives.

The admiration and fan-following he earned within the US armed forces with his books helped him get those crucial insights which informed his writings.

Before he became a writer, Clancy used to run a small independent insurance agency. Later as a writer, his tremendous book sales enabled him to join a group of investors who bought the baseball team Baltimore Orioles in 1993.


Many of his books were not only bestselling works in themselves but had also inspired numerous movies and video games of massive appeal.

His debut novel, 'The Hunt for Red October' was released in 1984 and adapted into a highly successful film in 1990, starring Alec Baldwin and Sean Connery.  The book did not only help launch a highly successful career, but made Clancy one of three authors to have sold more than two million copies in the 1990s (other two being John Grisham and J. K. Rowling).

As news of his death spread on the web, Tom Clancy quotes began flooding in  on Twitter:

Tom Clancy: "Secrecy is a tool for national security, but like any tool it must be used intelligently." http://t.co/DDMP0zn9vI

— Brian Ries (@moneyries) October 2, 2013

"The difference between reality and fiction? Fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy

— HuffPost (@HuffPost) October 2, 2013

Tom Clancy's latest work, written with Mark Greaney, is entitled Command Authority and is due to be published in December.