The hunt for the real Tom Clancy
Students sat on the floor, leaned against the walls and formedlong lines waiting to ask author Tom Clancy questions about hisstories, life and interests.
Clancy addressed high school and college students in an openforum in the Hughes-Trigg Ballroom on Tuesday.
He later spoke as a lecturer for The Lacerte Family Lecture as apart of the Tate Lecture Series.
Clancy spoke of the colorful stories where he was”supposedly” debriefed after writing some of his books.He denied the stories.
Clancy said that the closest he ever came to a debriefing waswhen he was writing his book The Cardinal of theKremlin.
Clancy said that although he has never been briefed by the CIAor FBI, he meets with military and government officials prior tothe creation of his books, outlining everything for them andallowing them to check his book for secrets.
“I met with a former bureau guy, Jim Baker and BillWebster of the CIA,” Clancy said. [Baker] questioned me aboutsome facts concerning a nuclear installation that exists in Russiathat I describe in detail in my book. He told me the informationwas classified and demanded to know where I had obtained mymaterials.”
Clancy explained to Baker that he had purchased a picture viathe Internet from Space Media Networks in Sweden.
The image had been slightly retouched, and Clancy verballydescribed what he saw.
“Baker was plainly amazed,” Clancy said.
Clancy promised Baker that he would let him review the bookprior to publication to screen for secrets.
Clancy promised to delete anything Baker said to as long as hehad a viable reason for it.
No corrections were requested and the book went into print.
Clancy’s books, such as The Hunt for Red October and Sumof All Fears, have also been made into movies.
When Clancy was asked how he felt about the actors that had beenfeatured in those films, Clancy said, “Y’all sure ashell are trying to get me into trouble, aren’tyou?”
Clancy said that Alec Baldwin was a “hell of a good guy.His politics are way too left for me, but he is a really talentedand intelligent man.”
In addition, Clancy said that he offered to adopt Ben Afflecklast year.
“Ben is something unusual in Hollywood. He is an educated,soft spoken, highly literate man who is well-read and conversant onmany subjects,” he said.
Speaking of Sean Connery, a Scotsman who stated in an interviewwith Jay Leno that he finds it offensive to be called a Brit,Clancy said, “Connery is a hell of a nice guy, but all ofthem Brits are. Connery is the salt of the Earth.”
One young high school girl asked why Clancy only writes aboutthe military.
His response was that “it’s a hell of a lot moreexciting than writing about [an accountant.]”
“I don’t write like Danielle Steele because she is agirl and writes girly books. I’m a man. I write books formen. Just because there happen to be a few discriminating women outthere who like my books as well, so much the better.”
When asked direct questions about how much money he earns,Clancy hedged away.
He informed one student that he has no idea what his books sellfor and prefers it that way.
He said that he is amazed when his accountant hands him a pileof papers to sign at the first of the year.
“After I look at this monstrous stack of papers inmy [accountant’s] hands and sign all of the appropriateforms, I get to see the bottom dollar,” Clancy said.
“I usually say something like ‘I made all ofthat?’ Then I see that 40 percent goes to Uncle Sam. I reallycan’t complain though. I vote in every election. Those idiotsin Congress are partially my fault,” he said.
Clancy is the author of 16 works of fiction, six works ofnon-fiction, has co-authored books with other writers, and is apartial creator of action-adventure software for a company that hecreated.
Born April 12, 1947, Clancy received his degree in English fromLoyola College in Baltimore.
He lives in Maryland where he writes and pursues otherrecreational interests.
Clancy, owner of the Minnesota Vikings football team, said thatsports are his main past time and love in his free time.
