Thomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. (April 12, 1947 - October 1, 2013) was an American novelist and historian best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, and for video games that bear his name for licensing and promotional purposes. Seventeen of his novels were bestsellers, and more than 100 million copies of his books are in print. (Click here for full Wikipedia article)
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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.
America is the most inventive country in the world because everybody has access to information.
Beware the fury of a patient man.
Courage is being the only one who knows how terrified you are.
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.
Helicopters don't fly, they vibrate so badly the ground rejects them.
I've been telling people for 12 years that if you want to get a nuclear device into the United States, just bring it through the port of Miami disguised as cocaine.
I've made up stuff that's turned out to be real, that's the spooky part.
It is a principle of diplomacy that one must know something of the truth in order to lie convincingly.
Life is about learning; when you stop learning, you die.
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.
Man is a creature of hope and invention, both of which believe the idea that things cannot be changed.
Never ask what sort of computer a guy drives. If he's a Mac user, he'll tell you. If not, why embarrass him?
Remember, for every shot you fire, someone, somewhere, is making money.
Success will ruin your life.
That's the ultimate pornography... There's nothing more pornographic than glorifying war.
The army recognized early on that, you know, black people are pretty much the same as white people, they just tend to be a little bit darker. They make just as good soldiers.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Victory comes only to those prepared to make it, and take it.
Wars are begun by frightened men.
What do I know about sex? I'm a married man.
What the government is good at is collecting taxes, taking away your freedoms and killing people. It's not good at much else.
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...'
You'd better not kick a tiger in the ass unless you have a plan for dealing with his teeth.
Categories: Quotes of the day, Tom Clancy
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