The phenomenal bestselling author of The Hunt for Red October and The Sum of All Fears, Tom Clancy is one of America's most acclaimed storytellers. Now he targets a CIA analyst and his family in the deadliest game of our time -- international terrorism. In an explosive wave of violence, an ultra-left-wing faction of the IRA hunts one man for his act of salvation in an assassination attempt. And now he must pay . . . with his life.

Two men possess vital information on Russia's Star Wars missile defense system. One of them is CARDINAL -- America's highest agent in the Kremlin -- and he's about to be terminated by the KGB. The other one is the American who can save CARDINAL and lead the world to the brink of peace . . . or war. Here is author Tom Clancy's heart-stopping masterpiece -- a riveting novel about one of the most intriguing issues of our time.

The sudden and surprising assassination of three American officials in Colombia. Many people in many places, moving off on missions they all mistakenly thought they understood. The future was too fearful for contemplation, and beyond the expected finish lines were things that, once decided, were better left unseen. Tom Clancy's new thriller is based on America's war on drugs . . . and the covert -- and shocking -- U. S. response.

Somewhere under the Atlantic, a Soviet sub commander has just made a fateful decision . . . the Red October is heading west. The Americans want her. The Russians want her back. And the most incredible chase in history is on . . . The Hunt for Red October is the runaway bestseller that launched Tom Clancy's phenomenal career. A military thriller so accurate and convincing that the author was rumored to have been debriefed by the White House. Its theme: the greatest espionage coup in history. Its story: the chase for a runaway top secret Russian missile sub. Its title: The Hunt for Red October.

Clancy shows how an ordinary man crossed the lines of justice and morality to become the CIA legend Mr. Clark.

Jack Ryan's first days with the CIA may be the Pope's last days alive. Long before he was President or head of the CIA, before he fought terrorist attacks on the Super Bowl or the White House, even before a submarine named Red October made its perilous way across the Atlantic, Jack Ryan was an historian, teacher, and recent ex-Marine temporarily living in England while researching a book. A series of deadly encounters with an IRA splinter group had brought him to the attention of the CIA's Deputy Director, Vice Admiral James Greer'as well as his counterpart with the British SIS, Sir Basil Charleston'and when Greer asked him if he wanted to come aboard as a freelance analyst, Jack was quick to accept. The opportunity was irresistible, and he was sure he could fit it in with the rest of his work. And then Jack forgot all about the rest of his work, because one of his first assignments was to help debrief a high-level Soviet defector, and the defector told an amazing tale: Top Soviet officials, including Yuri Andropov, were planning to assassinate the Pope, John Paul II. Could it be true? As the days and weeks go by, Ryan must battle, first to try to confirm the plot, and then to prevent it, but this is a brave new world, and nothing he has done up to now has prepared him for the lethal game of cat-and-mouse that is the Soviet Union versus the United States. In the end, it will be not just the Pope's life but the stability of the Western world that is at stake. . . and it may already be too late for a novice CIA analyst to do anything about it. ""Clancy creates not only compelling characters but frighteningly topical situations and heart-stopping action,"" wrote The Washington Post about The Bear and the Dragon. ""Among the handful of superstars, Clancy still reigns, and he is not likely to be dethroned any time soon."" These words were never truer than about the remarkable pages of his breathtaking new novel. This is Clancy at his best'and there is none better.