>>534374
In the order in which they occur in the storyline (and when they occur):
Without Remorse (1970–71, 1973) - Starts late 1970, during clean-up of Hurricane Camille's aftermath. Continues the following spring, in 1971. This time frame is based on past-tense references to Operation KINGPIN, the real-life rescue attempt at the Song Tay POW camp in Vietnam (November 1970) and by recurring references to the 1971 Major League Baseball season, in which Pittsburgh defeated Baltimore in the World Series. Jack Ryan's father, Emmet Ryan a Baltimore police detective, is a prominent character. The Epilogue is titled "February 12, 1973. Jack appears briefly in this novel.
Patriot Games (1981, based on a reference to Ryan's age, which is 31 at the novel's beginning. This roughly fits with a reference to the Princess of Wales expecting a baby (Prince William was born in summer 1982). Similarly, there is a specific reference to both 1985 and 1986 in the past tense, suggesting the events of the novel took place after these dates.)
Red Rabbit (1982), summer, the KGB operation reference is 15 8 1982 - 666 and it is mentioned that this is the date the first message was sent about killing the Pope, also there is an inconsistency since Suslov is alive in the book, but he died in January 1982, and described in the book actual Pope John Paul II assassination attempt took place May 13th 1981. However, the book also makes references to the Baltimore Orioles winning the World Series with their "new shortstop Ripken", which occurred in 1983.
The Hunt for Red October (1984)
The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1986) - The first chapter is set in January and states that Ryan is 35 years old. It also has references to the other books set earlier. For example, the Foleys have been in Moscow for almost four years. The book must begin (not including a prologue set at the end of the previous year) in January 1986.
Starting with the following novel, the series becomes distinctly different from real history as noted below.
Clear and Present Danger (1988) - This novel, like all previous novels, refers to POTUS as "the President" instead of giving a name, allowing the materials in the novel to be "inserted" into history, but by the end of the novel, the nameless president has been replaced by someone with a name: Governor of Ohio Bob Fowler.
The Sum of All Fears (1990–91) – Israel partially cedes sovereignty over Jerusalem to the Vatican and Saudi Arabia, and the city becomes a United Nations protectorate policed by Swiss Guards. Jerusalem's residents can choose between either Vatican, Israeli, or Islamic judicial law. Denver is devastated by a terrorist nuclear explosion. The book occurs after the Persian Gulf War and before the USSR's dissolution. While it is implied that both events occur at the same time in the Ryanverse as in actual history, 1991, in the earlier chapters, it states that it had almost been two Novembers since President Fowler had been elected, making the beginning set in 1990. Complicating the issue, though, is that the novels refer to Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush as past Presidents, though the nameless President and Fowler appear to serve during the time of these two Presidents.