The Hunt for Red October Clancy's writing style, which included technical details about weaponry, submarines, espionage, and the military. The accurate nature of Clancy's writing was well known among the American military that Clancy remarked in a 1986 interview: “When I met Navy Secretary John Lehman last year, the first thing he asked me about the book was, ‘Who the hell cleared it?’” The novel shares elements with James Clavell’s works, particularly "Shōgun" (1975) and "Noble House" (1981), where political power is used instead of physical confrontation with an enemy. Clancy portrays the Soviets as evil, comparing and contrasting their philosophies, morals, and values from
The Hunt for Red October Writers. "No one encapsulated the mindset and mentality of the Reagan era more, as the Cold War was heating up for the last time and we were entering a new age of modern warfare. Clancy's books tapped into our fears and helped define our psyches, even as he reinvigorated the thriller genre by bringing millions of new readers into the fold.” The book was instrumental in restoring confidence in the American military and government, which had endured a bitter defeat in Vietnam War and foreign policy failures during the late 1970s. The book also led to a shift in book