Tom Clancy was born in Baltimore, Maryland on April 12, 1947. He graduated from Loyola College in 1969, became an insurance agent, and in 1973 became the owner of an insurance agency. It was not until 1980 that he started writing novels. His works include Red Storm Rising, The Cardinal of the Kremlin, The Sum of All Fears, and Rainbow Six. His books The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, and Clear and Present Danger were adapted into major motion pictures. He also works nonfiction books including Into the Storm: A Study In Command, Submarine, Armored Cav, Fighter Wing, Airborne, and Reality Check: What's Going on Out There?
Pieczenik has served as deputy assistant secretary under four U.S. secretaries of state. He is a Harvard-educated psychiatrist with an M.D. from Cornell University Medical College and a Ph.D. in international relations from MIT.
