Thirty-five 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, 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.


USA Today bestselling author Ward Larsen is an eight-time winner of the Florida Book Award. He has also been nominated for the Macavity Award. A former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, Larsen flew twenty-two missions in Operation Desert Storm. He has served as a federal law enforcement officer and as an airline captain, and he is a trained aircraft accident investigator.