The Hunt for Red October (Hardcover)

by Tom Clancy (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"The Hunt for Red October is Tom Clancy's superb, exciting story, only made better by the reading of Richard Crenna...Even if you have read the book and seen the movie, this cassette with Crenna's voice will give you two hours and 41 minutes of thrills...Don't miss this listening pleasure!" -- The News Chief

"I consider this Clancy's best work, and it's made even more exciting (if that's possible) by the superb performance of Richard Crenna." -- The Union Leader, October 1990 --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 387 pages
• Publisher: United States Naval Institute Press; First Edition edition (October 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870212850
• ISBN-13: 978-0870212857
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (310 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #186,620 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 2 in The Jack Ryan Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impossible to put down ! Intense cat and mouse game !, November 21, 2000

By	Darren Burton "virtualbloodhound" (Ogden, Utah United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Hunt for Red October (Jack Ryan) (Mass Market Paperback)

When this book came out, the Kremlin ordered 500 copies! The idea of a Soviet sub commander deciding to defect to the United States with his submarine was their deepest, darkest fear! The U.S. Navy and FBI also were very unhappy - they wanted to know who had been talking to Clancy - they couldn't believe that someone could find out all this by doing research. They were convinced that several people with Top Secret clearances had been talking to Clancy.

The storyline is this: Marko Ramius is the Russian Navy's most experienced and highly decorated submarine commander, who has become disillusioned with the Communist Party. After seeing the plans for the newest Russian submarine - "The Red October". A sub that is almost completely silent - a submarine with one purpose - "to start a nuclear war". Ramius decides to steal the submarine with the help of the officers of his crew after he is assigned the command of The Red October. Before leaving port on it's madien run, Marius mails a letter to the Secretary of the Navy telling him of his intent to steal the sub. The letter arrives 2 days after the Red October sails from port. The Soviets in a panic, send their entire fleet in the region after it trying to find and sink the Red October. The Soviets approach the United States telling them that Marius sent a letter to the Secratary of the Navy explaining his intent to launch a nuclear attack against the United States, and ask for help in hunting the sub down and destroying it.

Jack Ryan, currently a CIA analyst, who has written several books on naval warfare strategy, and who has met Marius at a diplomatic party, is asked to consult the President of the United States and the Chiefs of Staff at an emergency meeting. Jack mentions the possibility that the sub may be trying to defect. No one at the meeting believes it, but the President gives Jack permission to join up with an American sub on patrol and to attemp to make contact with the Red October to find out what Marius intentions are.

This book really opened my eyes up to what our capabilities are with submarines - I had no idea how advanced they are. This story is very fast paced and intense. It really makes you wonder how the U.S. would respond under these circumstances.

Great read!

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An impossible book to put down, May 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Hunt for Red October (Jack Ryan) (Mass Market Paperback)

Russia's newest Typhoon-class nuclear missile submarine the Red October, equipped with a silent Propulsion system, sets sail from Murmansk. Meanwhile a mysterious letter is sent from the captain of the Red October, Marko Ramius, to the Chief Political officer of the Soviet Navy. Ramius has made a fateful decision, the Red October is heading west. The Americans want her and the Russians want her back. Soon after the whole Soviet fleet from the Mediterranean and North Atlantic are sent to hunt down the mighty ship. CIA-analyst Jack Ryan believes that Ramius is trying to defeat the west, however the Pentagon thinks that Ryan is lying and believe the Soviets, who told them that Ramius is a "mad man" and will launch a nuclear weapon at the United States. The Race between NATO and the Soviet Union begins, as does the most incredible chase in history.

Tom Clancy developes a strong feeling of intensity throughout the book. The suspense captivates the reader and makes it remarkably hard to put the book down. By using a lot of explicit, factual detail, Clancy is able to captivate the mind of the reader. The dialect used in "The Hunt for Red October" is also a major key, which helps this book keep the interest of even the least attentive readers. Clancy kept each page, each paragraph exciting, interesting and full of detail.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Largest Hunt for an Invisible Sub, January 10, 2003

By	Eric Crowley (AZ) - See all my reviews

This realistic adventure hooks you from the very beginning to the end. While your not reading the book your thinking about future battles or the next idea Jack Ryan has to capture the typhon sub. The reader will be hooked tell the climatic ending.

This adventure is about a rouge solviet typhon sub with stealth capability, that was taken over by highly honored solviet officers, and Ramius the sapient sub master that trained the whole solviet sub fleet. While the duantless Jack Ryan and the C.I.A. are trying to figure out what the thing is, the solviets are trying to manipulate the americans to belive tha whole solviet fleet movment is just a big search and rescue. But the americans are smart, and they find out that there is a stealth sub in the sea that will defect. Then the race begins.

Tom Clancy is belived to have been briefed by the White House about this possible reality. If you are an adventure seeker and you want to read a book that will keep you awake all night, I would read The Hunt for the Red October.