Free US Law Dictionary

Clear and Present Danger

Clear and Present Danger is a novel by Tom Clancy, written in 1989, and is a canonical part of the Ryanverse. In the novel, Ryan is thrown into the position of CIA Acting Deputy Director and discovers that he is being kept in the dark by his colleagues who are conducting a covert war against the MedellĂ­n Cartel based in Colombia. The title of the book is based on the legal phrase "clear and present danger".

The novel sold 1,625,544 hardcover copies, making it the #1 bestselling novel of the 1980s.