Tom Clancy: By the Numbers

Number of Presidents who were blurbed on his first novel: 1

  • Share
  • Read Later

Number of novels written:  20 (including Command Authority, on sale this December)

 Number of novels written (solely under his name):  14

 Number of non-fiction books written (with and without a co-writer):  11

 Number of feature films based on his books:  5  (The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears — the fifth, Jack Ryan: Shadow One, will released later this year)

 Number of actors who’ve played favorite Clancy protagonist Jack Ryan:  4  (Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and in the upcoming film, Chris Pine)

Number of books that reached No. 1 on New York Times best-sellers list:  17

Most recent book to do so:  Threat Vector, 2012

Number of years he worked as an insurance agent before finally selling his first novel, The Hunt for Red October 15

Amount he was initially paid for Red October:  $5,000

Number of copies he hoped Red October would sell:  5,000

Number of copies Red October sold in its first 6 months:  45,000

Number of Presidents who were blurbed in paperback copies of Red October 1 (in a 1985 TIME article on the book, Ronald Reagan described it as “the perfect yarn”)

Number of copies Red October sold to date:  3 million +

Amount he was paid, in 1988, in his first post-Red October deal:  $3 million (for 3 books)

Amount he was paid, in 1997, for a large multi-book deal:  $97 million

Net worth at the time of his death:  $300 million