Did Tom Clancy use the Freedom of Information Act when writing The Hunt for Red October?

June 4, 2011 2:35 PM

Did Tom Clancy use the Freedom of Information Act when writing The Hunt for Red October?

I seem to recall an interview from the CompuServe days where he said, indeed, he did. But recent searches reveal no such information.

My question: Did Tom Clancy use FOIA? Citation?

posted by rentalkarma to Writing & Language (5 answers total)

Are you asking how he got all the technical stuff right? This lays it out:



Looks like he just found a bunch of books and technical journals in addition to interviewing people with firsthand experience.
posted by world b free at 4:04 PM on June 4, 2011

Ah, sorry:

http://blogs.amctv.com/movie-blog/2007/11/tom-clancy-on-w.php
posted by world b free at 4:05 PM on June 4, 2011

He also just made some stuff up. You cannot hide a missile sub in the Pamlico Sound, way way too shallow.
posted by codswallop at 5:07 PM on June 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

Clancy link from above.
posted by Splunge at 7:17 PM on June 4, 2011

Clancy's answers sound about right, with maybe an omission of one or two sources. Was your question just one of those solve a bet for me things, or strictly about FOIA?

If it was about how much of it was true, or was the book realistic, I was in the US Navy specializing in ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) right around the time it was being written, and spent about 18 hours a day, "really" hunting Yankee, Delta, Charlie, and Victor class subs right in the same area. Drop me a Memail if it is about anything tactical.
posted by timsteil at 12:23 PM on June 5, 2011