The Hunt for Red October popular belief that Clancy had access to top-secret intelligence in researching for the novel, he consulted technical manuals, discussions with former submariners and books like Norman Polmar’s "Guide to the Soviet Navy" and "Combat Fleets of the World" in order to maintain accuracy in describing Soviet submarines. He then submitted the first draft of the novel to the Naval Institute Press, where he previously wrote an article on the MX missile for their magazine "Proceedings of the U.S. Naval Institute". Three weeks later, the publication company returned his manuscript, along with a request to cut about a hundred pages’ worth
The Hunt for Red October sales qualifying the bestseller lists from mass market paperback back to hardcover, a trend that other “brand-name” authors such as Stephen King, Clive Cussler, Michael Crichton, and Danielle Steel would later follow. On April 20, 2018, "The Hunt for Red October" was included in the list of 100 most-loved books in the U.S., compiled by PBS as part of their new series and multi-platform initiative "The Great American Read". The book appeared in a fake commercial ad serving as a teaser trailer for the third season of the Netflix web television series "Stranger Things", which was released on July 16,