Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (born April 12, 1947) is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War. His name is also a brand for similar books written by ghost writers and a series of non-fiction books on military subjects and merged biographies of key leaders. He is also part-owner of the Baltimore Orioles, a Major League Baseball team. He officially is the Orioles' Vice Chairman of Community Activities and Public Affairs.
He is one of the best-known and most financially successful American authors of the past two decades. Clancy has also made millions from the movies that have been adapted from his novels, the rights to the Net Force ABC-TV miniseries, and his game company, Red Storm Entertainment, which he founded in 1996.
Clancy has generally been regarded as a political conservative, and has donated over US$256,000 to Republican Party political candidates.
Clancy was an early and, to many, surprising defender of Islam. He was interviewed on NBC. A week after the attack, on The O'Reilly Factor, Clancy stated that left-wing politicians in the United States were partly responsible for September 11 due to their "gutting" of the CIA. Clancy has also associated himself with General Anthony Zinni, a critic of the George W. Bush administration, and has been critical of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.He was categorized as a northern paleoconservative.