How did Tom Clancy Know???

[speed150mph]

I just finished reading red storm rising by Tom Clancy and I am absolutely astounded by what this man knew and wrote. He published this book in 1986, and included information about the most modern weapons of the time when they were new and I imagine top secret. And it was information from both sides. Examples include information on the perry class frigate Rueben James, which was commissioned mere months before the book was published. He talks about their gas turbine engines, their speed, their sonars and sensors. He talks about the speed of the T-80 tank, and capabilities of the sa-11 missile system. He mentions briefly the Akula class sub which was launched by the soviets a couple years earlier.

It just perplexes me how much Tom knew, and looking back now how perfectly accurate his details were, for someone who apperantly never served in uniform according to his bio on his site. And given that he never had the internet. I am a young buck who was born in the 90's so I have no clue if or how all this information was available. Can anyone tell me?

Btw I loved red storm rising, and suggested it to a bunch of friends, and am making missions for myself in dangerous waters. Best war book I've read yet :)

[Aktungbby]

It just perplexes me how much Tom knew, and looking back now how perfectly accurate his details were, for someone who apperantly never served in uniform according to his bio on his site. And given that he never had the internet. I am a young buck who was born in the 90's so I have no clue if or how all this information was available. Can anyone tell me?


"The Hunt for Red October” became a runaway best seller when President Ronald Reagan, who had been handed a copy, called it “my kind of yarn” and said that he couldn’t put it down. But its details about Soviet submarines, weaponry, satellites and fighter planes raised suspicions. Even high-ranking members of the military took notice of the book’s apparent inside knowledge. In a 1986 interview, Mr. Clancy said, “When I met Navy Secretary John Lehman last year, the first thing he asked me about the book was, ‘Who the hell cleared it?’ ”
No one did, Mr. Clancy insisted; all of his knowledge came from technical manuals, interviews with submarine experts and books on military matters, he said. While he spent time on military bases, visited the Pentagon and dined with military leaders, he said, he did not want to know any classified information.
“I hang my hat on getting as many things right as I can,” Mr. Clancy once said in an interview. “I’ve made up stuff that’s turned out to be real — that’s the spooky part.” press obit A gifted kind of a poor man's technical Jules Verne IMHO He just did his home work and and made it very fashionable.

[nikimcbee]

red storm rising by Tom Clancy

I really wish that they would make a mini-series out of this book. Story too involved for a movie.
I think this is my all time favorite fiction book.:up:

[ikalugin]

The devil is in the details really. When you look into his books - various items have wrong characteristics, for example MiG29 is a long range fighter, lacks IRST and so on. So while it (and other tech masturbation books of the time) may appear realistic, they are not.

[Jimbuna]

I really wish that they would make a mini-series out of this book. Story too involved for a movie.
I think this is my all time favorite fiction book.:up:

Pretty much up near the top for me to :yep:

[ikalugin]

Pretty much up near the top for me to :yep:

I would take The Red Army over it any day.

[Jimbuna]

I would take The Red Army over it any day.

Nah, in the book the PLA beat the Russian (Red Army) :03:

[ikalugin]

Nah, in the book the PLA beat the Russian (Red Army) :03:
I was talking about the Red Army by Ralph Peters.

[Jimbuna]

I was talking about the Red Army by Ralph Peters.

Ah, my bad :)

[mapuc]

I really wish that they would make a mini-series out of this book. Story too involved for a movie.
I think this is my all time favorite fiction book.:up:


+1

Markus

[ikalugin]

Ah, my bad :)

An excellent book, I would highly recommend it.

[Jimbuna]

An excellent book, I would highly recommend it.

Is this it? http://dobrochan.ru/src/pdf/1205/Red-Army-by-Ralph-Peters.pdf

[Mr Quatro]

Tom Clancy died on October 1, 2013. Clancy died at Johns Hopkins Hospital, but the reason has never been made public.


You can do your own search for why Tom Clancy died, but you won't find any answers ... a lot of tin foil hats sounding off that he was more right than wrong and even had a book coming out about Muslims in the White House.

Only 66 and a known heavy drinker, but yet he died so fast.

Doesn't anyone care about answers anymore?

It's reported that Tom wondered why anyone would report aboard a ship that sinks (submarines), but then he was able to meet some of the submarine officers through the insurance company that he owned in Maryland and he decided that submarine officers were like jet fighter test pilots.

[Platapus]

To properly evaluate Tom Clancy's accuracy it is important to not only look at the stuff he got right but also the stuff he got wrong.

I must have been the only person in the military that was not a TC fan. The only book of his I really enjoyed is one he said was his worst - Hunt for red october.

[Red October1984]

I read all but the three newest ones. I'm in the middle of Command Authority. I just can't find the time to read anymore. I even read SSN and his little game franchise books that bear his name but are written by other people.

I thought they were all excellent with the exception of the franchise books and SSN.

Whether or not he got every little detail right or not doesn't matter to me. He's a hell of a storyteller and his books will forever be my favorite. :rock:

[ikalugin]

Is this it? http://dobrochan.ru/src/pdf/1205/Red-Army-by-Ralph-Peters.pdf
Can't access it for some reason.

The prologue is about a squad of Soviet motorised infantrymen going around Germany, speculating if there would be war.

[Jimbuna]

Can't access it for some reason.

The prologue is about a squad of Soviet motorised infantrymen going around Germany, speculating if there would be war.

Probably is then....here is the beginning:

In the heart of a European forest, a young private
dreams of home and rock 'n roll. At command headquarters,
a four-star general pursues a family tradition
of military honor that reaches back centuries. They
could be any two soldiers in the world. It could be any
army—but it's not. The place is the East German border.
The time is tomorrow—and the Soviet Army is about to
attack...
While Western leaders debate the use of nuclear
weapons, the Soviet Army and its Warsaw Pact allies
crash across West Germany, exploiting the NATO armies'
deadly lack of preparation. In a matter of days,
refugees clog the roads and cities are in shambles. The
Soviet Army wages a brutal battle for Europe—even as
the hidden rivalries and divided loyalties within its ranks
begin to emerge.
In this extraordinary, controversial novel, author
Ralph Peters—a U.S. Army intelligence officer specializing
in the Soviet military—takes us inside an army of
dozens of languages and ethnic backgrounds, into the
belly of an armored personnel carrier, the cockpit of a
MIG, and onto the bloody battlefield where sophisticated
tanks duel like ancient, flame-spewing dragons.
From Chief of Staff Chibisov, fighting his ethnic heritage,
to the daring tank commander Bezarin, locked in
an unforgettable duel of wits with a British division, from
bitter veterans of Afghanistan to raw recruits, a host of
vivid characters are swept up in the chaos and drama.
Some will be heroes. Some will die, and others will have
their souls scarred forever.
As the NATO armies make their last, desperate stands
—divided by Soviet maneuvers and their own political
squabbling—RED ARMY thunders to a truly frightening
climax.

[ikalugin]

Yes, that is the book.

[Jimbuna]

Couldn't resist reading the last chapter so now I realise why you rate it :03:

[ikalugin]

Couldn't resist reading the last chapter so now I realise why you rate it :03:
I rate it not b/c of the end result, but because Soviets in it follow the Soviet way of fighting war and not some horribly biased view on how Soviets would fit their war. It is also less reliant on the -tech magic- and -luck magic- Clancy's books are built around.

[Jimbuna]

I still intend reading it through from the beginning then I will be able to make any comparisons with Red Storm Rising....which obviously had a different ending :):03:

[ikalugin]

Do write a review :)

[Jimbuna]

Neal still awaits a GWX article for a future SubSim Almanac so don't be making any bets with anyone.