buster novel starting with "the hunt for red october" in 1984. if you didn't read his books -- and it's your loss if you didn't. you have more than likely seen or heard of movies based on the books. nischelle turner has more on this. am i the only one surprised when this news crossed? >> no. a lot of people are surprised, still in shock. we started getting word of it last night. we worked through the night to confirm it. he passed away yesterday at 66 years of age. you were talking about b his work and that he's an icon in the literary world. he crossed over the hollywood as well. he wrote 28 novels. 17 of them were new york times bestsellers. that's almost unheard of. you talked about the hunt for red october published in 1984. president reagan legitimized his work. that made the book a bestseller. he compliment ed the work and went on for "clear and present danger," "patriot games."