Fifteen years ago Tom Clancy was an insurance broker with a passion for naval history. In 1984 his first novel, The Hunt for Red October, was catapulted onto the bestseller lists. The book, which focuses on a Russian submarine captain who defects, along with his sub, to the United States, was famously made into a film starring Sean Connery. Former U.S. President Reagan pronounced the book 'non-put-downable'.

Clancy, who invented the genre known as the techno-thriller, has since established himself as a master at building heightened realist scenarios by 'turning up the volume' on current events.

The walls of Clancy's office are lined with war games, books on weapons, and government-produced maps, all tributes to his lifelong fascination with technology and the military. The success of his books has resulted in his 'adoption' by the military. He is regularly welcomed aboard jets, submarines, and destroyers. Admirals and generals give him access, Pentagon officials debrief him, and many of his books are required reading at military colleges.

It is this access to a wide variety of sources and information within military and intelligence circles that sets Clancy apart. Although he scoffs at the idea that he has ever breached government security in his books, Clancy does admit that he has been able to tap into what he calls 'The Great Chain', a network of intelligence officers and operatives, military men, defence contractors, and government employees who feed him information.