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, 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. At his death more than 100 million copies of his novels were in print, and a remarkable 17 had reached No. 1 on the New York Times’s best-seller list. Mr. Clancy iwas survived by his second wife, Alexandra Llewellyn Clancy, and their daughter, Alexis Jacqueline Page Clancy. He had four children from his first marriage: Michelle E. Bandy, Christine C. Blocksidge, Thomas L. Clancy III and Kathleen W. Clancy.