2026 Reading Challenge
Red Storm Rising

Questions About Red Storm Rising

by Tom Clancy

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Answered Questions (3)

Does anyone know when and/or why Larry Bond lost his co-writer credit on this one? (I am reposting the question here after mistakenly posting it on the audiobook's page.)
Micki The last paragraph of the author's note states:

Although Larry's name does not appear on the title page, this book is his as much as mine. We never did…moreThe last paragraph of the author's note states:

Although Larry's name does not appear on the title page, this book is his as much as mine. We never did figure out the division of labor, but what Larry and I accomplished was to complete a book as co-authors when our only contract was a handshake--and have a whole lot of fun doing it! It is for the reader to decide how successful we have been.

I always assumed that it was a "legal" thing and since a handshake is not a binding contract that Mr. Clancy then proceeded to have the novel published under his contract with G.P. Putnam's Sons. I did notice though when I went to the book to copy the paragraph above, that the Copyright is by Jack Ryan Enterprises Ltd, and Larry Bond.

Also after Mr. Clancy died, Mr. Bond did an interview with USNI News in which he stated:

"I was blathering on about “Convoy” and [Clancy] said, “That would make a good book.” He could see the potential of the story and asked me if I wanted to work on it with him. I was his apprentice, I wrote maybe five sentences of the thing. He would run chapters by me and I would look over particular weapon systems and [how the Russians might react]. If you’re going to apprentice for somebody, apprentice for Tom Clancy for God’s sake. I watched him put the story together. I watched him lay everything out, create the characters, and fix it when it wasn’t working right."
Interview: Larry Bond on Tom Clancy
By: Sam LaGrone
October 8, 2013
https://news.usni.org/2013/10/08/inte...

An even better interview was done by the FP group in which Larry Bond describes in more detail where he thought Tom Clancy found some of his ideas. http://foreignpolicy.com/2013/10/11/t...

Hope this helps a little bit. (less)
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The plot of the Soviet Union attacking NATO to get the oil fields in the Middle East didn't make any sense. They could have attacked the Middle East directly with all their force and no one could have stopped them. Why use such an logical plot?
Jack The premise is probably borrowed from history. I had to look up most of the historical details on wikipedia, but prior to Pearl Harbor, the US had pla…moreThe premise is probably borrowed from history. I had to look up most of the historical details on wikipedia, but prior to Pearl Harbor, the US had placed an embargo of oil exports to Japan. At the time, Japan imported most of its oil from the United States, and with the embargo, their primary source of oil was cut off. Japan considered invading southeast Asia for oil, but knew that it would probably provoke the United States. Japan decided that a war with the United States was possibly winnable, and the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was to be the decisive battle to prevent an effective response.

Also, at the time in which the book was written (1980's), the US was more dependent on oil from the Middle East. There was a couple of oil crises in the 1970s in the US when the supply of oil from the Middle East was affected. So, a Soviet invasion of the Middle East would have similarly provoked the US and NATO as well.(less)
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Loved the book, but didn't see the title on a list attributed to the author. Was there a title change or renamed? I don't see it on an Order of Books list. Any info would be great...Thank you.
Micki The reason you aren't seeing this book on any "Order of Books" list is because this is a stand-alone book. It does not use any of the characters that …moreThe reason you aren't seeing this book on any "Order of Books" list is because this is a stand-alone book. It does not use any of the characters that Mr. Clancy used in his other books. That being said and the fact that I am a real "Jack Ryan" and "John Clark" fan, I do remember this as being an excellent, well told story with a great cast of characters. I am currently reading the "Jack Ryan Universe" in chronological order by time they happened instead of order by publisher's date. When I am through I also plan on reading Mr. Clancy's stand-alone novels again.(less)
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