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Forty years ago Tom Clancy was a Maryland insurance broker with a passion for naval history. Years before, he had been an English major at Baltimore’s Loyola College and had always dreamed of writing a novel. His first effort, The Hunt for Red October—the first of the phenomenally successful Jack Ryan novels—sold briskly as a result of rave reviews, then catapulted onto the New York Times bestseller list after President Reagan pronounced it “the perfect yarn.” From that day forward, Clancy established himself as an undisputed master at blending exceptional realism and authenticity, intricate plotting, and razor-sharp suspense. He passed away in October 2013.

Steve Pieczenik is an author of political thrillers and a cocreator of the New York Times-bestselling Tom Clancy’s Op-Center and Tom Clancy’s Net Force series. He received an MD from Cornell University Medical College and a PhD in international relations from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Pieczenik’s books are informed by his more than two decades as an international crisis manager and hostage negotiator in the US Department of State for the administrations of presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush.

Jeff Rovin sold his first book at age 21 and has been a freelance writer ever since. He has worked as a consultant for television and movies and is a student of martial arts. He’s batty about New York, where he currently resides.