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Tom Clancy
67 quotes
“Life is about learning; when you stop learning, you die.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Appraiser's Handbook: A Guide for Doctors (2007) by Nick Lyons, Susanne Caesar, Abayomi McEwen, p. 11.
“The odds against becoming the next Frederick Forsythe are, of course, somewhere between merely exponential and astronomical-incredible. I’ll settle for a book-jacket with my name on it.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) first seen 1983 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Personal correspondence, 5 February 1983. Published in "Becoming Tom Clancy: Letters from Tom -- Part 1," Pied Type (Oct 2, 2013)
“I’ve made up stuff that’s turned out to be real, that’s the spooky part.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) first seen 1986 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The New York Times (27 July 1986)
“I like writing. It's the most fun I've ever had at anything. You can build your own little world and — like a kid with his toy trains, — except instead of trains I have tanks and ships and airplanes and things... I get to make them do all the things I want them to do, and if I don't like the way things work out, I start again.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) first seen 1986 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with Don Swaim (1986)
“I write strictly for fun... as long as it stays fun I'll continue to do it.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) first seen 1986 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with Don Swaim (1986)
“Victory comes only to those prepared to make it, and take it.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Patriot Games (1987)
“If a hero must have an unmarked grave, it should at least be close to where his comrades fell." "Comrades?" "One way or another we all fight for the things we believe in. Doesn't that give us some common ground?”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) first seen 1988 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jack Ryan and MG Dalmatov, SA; The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1988), p. 796
“There's two kinds of people in the world, the ones who need to be told and the ones who figure it out all by themselves.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) first seen 1993 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Without Remorse (1993), p. 231
“Man is a creature of hope and invention, both of which belie the idea that things cannot be changed.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Things rarely happen for a single reason. Even the cleverest and most skilled manipulators recognize that their real art lies in making use of that which they cannot predict.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) first seen 1994 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Debt of Honor (1994), ch. 5
“Nothing is as real as a dream. The world can change around you, but your dream will not. Your life may change, but your dream doesn't have to. Responsibilities need not erase it. Duties need not obscure it. Your spouse and children need not get in its way, because the dream is within you. No one can take your dream away.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) first seen 1995 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Writers (1995) Published by A. Deutsch
“Never ask what sort of computer a guy drives. If he's a Mac user, he'll tell you. If not, why embarrass him?”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) first seen 1996 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Escape The Pace: 100 Fun And Easy Ways To Slow Down And Enjoy Your Life (2002) by Lisa Rickwood; this quote appears at least as early as 1996 online
“Back then "cruel and unusual punishment" meant the rack and burning at the stake — both of those things that had been used in pre-Revolutionary America — but in more recent rulings it has been taken to mean the absence of cable television and denial of sex-change operations, or just overcrowding in the prisons.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) first seen 1996 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Executive Orders (1996), p. 613
“The difference between reality and fiction? Fiction has to make sense.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Attributed to an interview on Larry King Live; also quoted in Quotable Quotes (1997) edited by Deborah Deford Attributed variant: The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense.
“The difference between me and you is that I do good fiction.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jokingly to news reporters. Speech at the National Press Club (18 May 1999).
“In case you haven't noticed, we live in a world that is for the first time in all of recorded human history unlikely to have a major war. There used to be this country called the Soviet Union; it's not there anymore. The reason is our technology was better than theirs. Probably what pushed the Russians over the edge was SDI. It was really a combination of SDI and CNN. They realized they couldn't beat us so they decided to change the ball game.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Democracy is spreading across the world. Democracy is only possible with easy access to information and good communications. And technology is a way of facilitating communications.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Look, this is simple. The good old days are now. OK? The human condition today is better than it's ever been, and technology is one of the reasons for that.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What underclass? I mean you know, what underclass? Do you know any of them? Do they have automobiles? Most of them probably do. Do most of them have television sets? Do most of them have telephones? Well, if they can afford automobiles, they can afford computers. And since they have television sets, they already have access to communications technology. And since they have telephones, they can talk to one another. Wherein are they deprived?”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Look, technology is another word for tool. There was a time when nails were high-tech. There was a time when people had to be told how to use a telephone. We got past that. Technology is just a tool. People use tools to improve their lives.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our tools keep getting better, and as a result of that, our lives keep getting better.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People live longer today than they ever have. They live happier lives, they have more knowledge, they have more information. All this is the result of communications technology and the tools with which man has equipped himself. How is any of that bad?”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I was one of the first generations to watch television. That's technology. TV is like any other kind of tool. TV exposes people to news, to information, to knowledge, to entertainment. How is it bad? Computers are going to be even bigger. TVs are one-way. You sit there and you watch it. Computers, you interact with.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No matter what you or anyone else does, there will be someone who says that there's something bad about it. Whenever somebody comes up with a good idea, there's somebody else who has never had a good idea in his life who stands up and says, "Oh, you can't do that...”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'd rather talk to people who do things than complain about other people who do things. I say they're idiots.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fighting wars is not so much about killing people as it is about finding things out. The more you know, the more likely you are to win a battle. Take the AEGIS system in the navy. It's a radar computer system for air-battle management. What it does is give the commander an extra 15 minutes to decide what he's going to do to fight a battle, and those 15 minutes are decisively important.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A field commander never has the information he needs. He has to go with his best hunch. The more information he has, the easier it is for him to win the battle.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The more information a guy has, the more likely he is to say, "Hey, King Charlie, you really blew that call." That's why democracy happened. The control of information is something the elite always does, particularly in a despotic form of government. Information, knowledge, is power. If you can control information, you can control people.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Countries that do not control knowledge and information tend to do better because the average guy who is exposed to a lot of information can get ideas and profit from them.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“America is the most inventive country in the world. Why? Because everybody has access to information. In the Soviet Union it was illegal to take a photograph of a train station. Look what happened to them. They tried to classify everything. The more information available to the average person, the greater the synergy that develops from it.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There are people in government who don't want other people to know what they know. It's just another example of elitism. And I spit on elitism. Show me an elitist, and I'll show you a loser.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My vision for this book and the others in the series is to let people know what kind of commanders we have. You don't pick generals off park benches. … They are experts at what they do and lot of thinking goes into it. And I want to get across to people the intellectual dimension of command, to let people know that it's hard to be a general. And the people we have with general stars on their shoulders are pretty smart and pretty good guys.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The thing you have to understand about fighter pilots is they never quite grow past the stage of little boys buzzing past girls on their bicycles.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That's the ultimate pornography... There's nothing more pornographic than glorifying war.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think it's going to be remembered as the last major war on planet Earth, if we're lucky, if we maintain our foreign policy properly. … It will be remembered as the last time major countries had to put people in the field and put them in harm's way. It may be the last of all human nature wars, which is a nice way to remember any kind of a war, as the last one.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) first seen 1991 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On the 1991 Gulf War
“[...] The image superimposed on Ricci's field of view by his visor display showed a pair of guards in hooded parkas, goggles, and wool scarves taking relaxed strides along their patrol of the building's north side. Their shoulder-slung FN P90 assault weapons fired the same ammunition as his FN Five-seveN pistol: small rounds, big punch. [...]”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) first seen 2000 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: With Jerome Preisler and Martin H. Greenberg; Bio-Strike (2000), p. 405
“The hard part is discriminating between factual reporting and journalistic fiction. Last year at the National Press Club I said out loud and in public [C-SPAN was there] that the difference between me and a lot of reporters is that I do good fiction. Some were polite enough to chuckle.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) first seen 2000 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Clancy Speaks Again, Briefly" (12 February 2000)
“People, I am actually fairly smart. Why has this not occurred to anyone? The information is all out there, if you go looking for it, and the classified stuff just comes from analyzing the unclassified stuff and connecting the dots...”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) first seen 2000 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Clancy Speaks Again, Briefly" (12 February 2000)
“Ending your own life is not something the average person does. Everybody's assuming these are Islamic terrorists. Well, if so they've defiled their own religion. Islam does not permit suicide. It says you go to hell if you do something like this... We saw people in Northern Ireland, Catholics acting like savages and Protestants acting like savages... We have people who call themselves Muslims acting like savages. It's not because of their religion, it's because they're fools.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with Judy Woodruff (11 September 2001), CNN
“Wars are begun by frightened men. They fear war, but more than that, they fear what will happen if they don't start one — or take equivalent action, I suppose.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Red Rabbit (2002)
“My wife will tell you I'm practically addicted to the History Channel … and I read a lot of history.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There's been historical conflict between China and Russia for well over 1,000 years. … People forget that the Mongols came all the way to the Baltic Sea and all the way to where St. Petersburg is today … And the Russians have a good sense of history and they remember that.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“China has a lot of people and not enough space and the Russians have not too many people and a lot of space.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Certainly, we live in a different world … for the first time in all of known human history, we live in a world absent of the likelihood of superpower conflict. Now we live in a world in which there are superpowers, but we're not butting heads all the time. That's a very good thing for the world... but... there's still a few bad guys out there.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'm a spy... I worked for the CIA 15 years. The cover was I worked for the insurance business.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“America is a country with a First Amendment, and you're allowed to publish just about anything you want, as long as it's not real secret information. Of course, nobody really does that except for, you know, you guys in the media.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There are things I know I know about I don't write about, which I could not responsibly put into my books. Interestingly enough, though, the scariest one of those things is not classified at all. But nevertheless, I don't write about it, because it would make the world a somewhat more dangerous place.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The People's Republic of China is still a Marxist, Leninist, Maoist nation. So, you know, communism is still involved there. They haven't figured their way out of that particularly ideological box yet and that's their misfortune.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Rainbow Six" was sort of a spinoff of one my books, which did pretty well. … Interestingly enough, I never play the games. I just sort of — it's more fun for me to help formulate them than it is to play them.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Historically, anything that gets information to people is good for the world. The most important human being who ever lived, if you want to leave out religious figures, would be Johannes Gutenberg... that's when the liberation of human thought happened, because people could read the thoughts of people across the world, and have thoughts of their own, and publish them and spread information around. Anything that gets information to people is good. America has prospered because we're the most information-friendly society in the world.”
Tom Clancy (1947–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source