FROM THE PUBLISHER

Arthur C. Clarke is one of this century's most visionary and versatile thinkers. The author of more than eighty books of fiction and nonfiction, Clarke writes with a unique combination of scientific erudition, imagination, and insatiable curiosity that has mesmerized and inspired countless numbers of readers. Clarke has collected his nonfiction works into one volume. With new introductions to each decade's body of work, Clarke offers both personal reflections and historical scope to his uncannily accurate predictions and observations. Charting an exceptional career, these essays display his piercing mind and lively wit while revealing how science has expanded exponentially on its own inventions throughout the century.

FROM THE CRITICS

Gary K. Wolfe

...[S]erves as a useful reminder of the astonishing fecundity of Clarke's mind over some six decades....[S]prinkled with plenty of fascinating bits...but as a resource on Clarke's life and intellect, it's a bit of a jumble sale. —Locus

Publishers Weekly

Though best known as the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Clarke has been a scientist and writer of nonfiction for almost two-thirds of a century. This collection is organized chronologically by decade, affording the reader insights into Clarke's odyssey from gifted amateur to cultural icon. In his essays, Clarke promotes the notion that science fiction's role should be inspirational rather than informative, but that science itself is merely a tool to serve the higher ends of humankind. Clarke retains uncommon sense regarding scientific pursuits: "We must not mistake ever-increasing scientific knowledge with `progress,' however that is defined." Part of the Clarke legend springs from how much of our technology and its cultural effects he has foreseen. Included here is a 1945 paper that Clarke calls "the most important thing I ever wrote," in which he invented the idea of geosynchronous satellites for telecommunications. Despite the length of Clarke's career, his language, like his thinking, is always fresh, even contemporary. When he critiques New Age believers, he does so because "their New Age is exactly the opposite, a thousand years past its sale date." As a whole, this collection provides an island of promise for those who fear technological disaster in their future, and a look into the mind of one of the leading intellectual lights of this half century. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Written over seven decades, these essays by Clarke, most famous for his sf novels (e.g., 2001: A Space Odyssey), cover a range of science topics--especially space exploration. Arranged chronologically with an introduction by Clarke for each decade, they provide a kind of eyewitness history of how the scientific community's dreams and hopes changed over the course of the 20th century. The book isn't a detailed accounting of events but a scholar's reflections. It is interesting to see where scientific vision has been mistaken over the years--and even more interesting to see how often the vision was correct. Recommended for academic libraries supporting history of science programs and for large public libraries.--William Baer, Brigham Young Univ. Lib., Provo, UT Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Gary K. Wolfe - Locus

...[S]erves as a useful reminder of the astonishing fecundity of Clarke's mind over some six decades....[S]prinkled with plenty of fascinating bits...but as a resource on Clarke's life and intellect, it's a bit of a jumble sale.

Scientific American