The Hunt for Red October

by Tom Clancy

Unabridged read by J Charles

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The Hunt for Red October - Tom Clancy - AudioBook CD

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Marko Ramius, a Lithuanian who has risen to high levels of trust in the Soviet Navy, intends to defect to the United States with his officers and the experimental nuclear submarine Red October, a Typhoon-class submarine equipped with a revolutionary stealth propulsion system. The propulsion system is described as a pumpjet or magnetohydrodynamic system nicknamed "Caterpillar Drive", making sonar detection extremely difficult. The result, as is immediately apparent to Jack Ryan and the admirals in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is a strategic weapon platform that is capable of sneaking its way into American home waters and launching nuclear missiles with little or no warning. It is also not lost upon Ramius, whose defection is spurred by several other factors as well. In particular he is deeply affected by the death of his wife due to a doctor's incompetence. Because the doctor was the son of a Politburo member, he was above reproach. His wife's untimely death, in conjunction with a long-standing dissatisfaction with the callousness of the Soviet establishment towards its sailors and the fear of the destabilizing effect of the Red October in world affairs, ultimately exhausts Ramius' tolerance for the Soviet system's failings.

In the beginning of the novel, Ramius kills Political Officer Ivan Putin to ensure he will not interfere with the defection. In a letter to Admiral Yuri Padorin (whom Ramius refers to as Uncle Yuri), Ramius states that he is going to defect. This has the same purpose and effect as Hernán Cortés' burning of his ships in the new world: it destroys the possibility of retreat and leaves no option for his men but to press on and win or die. The entire Soviet Northern Fleet (with the specific exception of missile submarines, to avoid confusion) is deployed to sink the Red October, approaching under the cover story of a search and rescue mission well within 400 km (about 250 miles) of the American coast, an excellent place to start a war of aggression if the explanations cannot be trusted. Jack Ryan, a naval historian turned CIA analyst, deduces Ramius' plans. The U.S. high command agrees warily, while also planning for contingencies in case the Soviet Fleet has other intentions than their stated cover. As tensions rise between the U.S. and Soviet fleets, the crew of the USS Dallas, a Los Angeles class attack submarine, discover the secret to detecting the Red October. Ryan must contact the Red October's rebellious captain to prevent the loss of a decisive technological advantage. Through a combination of circumstances, Ryan becomes responsible for seeing the sub - and Ramius - to safety from the pursuing Soviet fleet. The U.S., in order to make the Soviets believe that the Red October has been destroyed, rescues its crew after Ramius declares a shipboard emergency; he and the officers heroically stay aboard to scuttle the submarine. Shortly thereafter, a decommissioned US ballistic missile submarine, the Ethan Allen, is blown up underwater. These two events fool the Soviets into thinking that the Red October has been lost. However, a GRU agent masquerading as a ship's cook attempts to destroy the Red October from within by firing a missile engine, hoping to incinerate the ship. During the confrontation with the agent, one of Ramius' top officers is killed, while Ramius and a British officer who boarded the vessel with Ryan are wounded. The agent is eventually killed by Ryan in the sub's missile compartment.

Meanwhile Captain Tupolev, the captain of a Soviet Alfa-class attack submarine and a former student of Ramius, while trailing what he thinks to be an Ohio-class submarine, realizes that it is the October, and pursues it. The two U.S. submarines escorting the Red October are unable to fire due to rules of engagement, and as a result the October is torpedoed but survives. After a tension-filled standoff, leading to the Red October sinking Tupolev's submarine by ramming it broadside, the Americans guide Red October safely into the eight-ten dry dock in Norfolk, VA. The final piece of the deception involves the recovery of a pressure meter on the deep ocean floor by a US Navy deep exploration/salvage sub through sleight-of-manipulator, in the presence of a Russian military attache. This proves the wreck of the Ethan Allen is the Red October, as far as the Soviets are concerned. Now they only have to find the attack sub that disappeared at the same time.

About the Author Tom Clancy

Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. 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 movie scripts written by ghost writers and many 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. Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. was born in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. He attended Loyola Blakefield in Towson, Maryland, graduating with the class of 1965. He studied English Literature at Loyola College in Baltimore, graduating in 1969. Though he wanted to serve in the United States military, he was rejected after failing a required hearing exam in the ROTC. Before making his literary debut, he spent some time running an independent insurance agency.In 1993, Tom Clancy joined a group of investors that included Peter Angelos and bought the Baltimore Orioles from Eli Jacobs. On 26 June 1999, Clancy, at age 53, married freelance journalist Alexandra Marie Llewellyn. Llewellyn is the first cousin of Colin Powell, who originally introduced the couple to each other. In 2008, the use of Clancy's name was purchased by French videogame manufacturer Ubisoft for an undisclosed sum. It will be used in conjunction with video games and related products such as movies, and books.

The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and The Sum of All Fears have been turned into commercially successful films with actors Alec Baldwin, Ben Affleck, and Harrison Ford as Clancy's most famous fictional character Jack Ryan, while his second most famous character John Clark has been played by actors Willem Dafoe and Liev Schreiber. The first NetForce novel was adapted as a television movie, starring Scott Bakula and Joanna Going. The first Op-Center novel was released to coincide with a 1995 NBC television mini-series of the same name (Tom Clancy's Op-Center) starring Harry Hamlin and a cast of stars. Though the mini-series didn't continue the book series did, but it had little in common with the first mini-series other than the title and the names of the main characters.

Tom Clancy has written several nonfiction books about various branches of the U.S. armed forces . Tom Clancy has also branded several lines of books with his name that are written by other authors, following premises or storylines generally in keeping with Tom Clancy's works:

* Tom Clancy's Op-Center
* Tom Clancy's Power Plays
* Tom Clancy's Net Force
* Tom Clancy's Net Force Explorers
* Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
* Tom Clancy's EndWar
* Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
* Tom Clancy's HAWX

In 1997, Tom Clancy signed a book deal with Penguin Putnam Inc. (both part of Pearson Education), that paid him US million for the world-English rights to two new books. He then signed a second agreement for another US million for a four-year book/multimedia deal. Tom Clancy followed this up with an agreement with Berkley Books for 24 paperbacks to tie in with the ABC television miniseries Tom Clancy's Net Force aired in the fall/winter of 1998. The OP-Center universe has laid the ground for the series of books written by Jeff Rovin, which was in an agreement worth US million bringing the total value of the package to US million. All but two of Tom Clancy's novels feature Jack Ryan or John Clark.

The Hunt for Red October - Tom Clancy - AudioBook CD