Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds!: Collected Essays, 1934-1998 - Softcover

Ian T. MacAuley; Arthur C. Clarke

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312267452 ISBN 13: 9780312267452

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, 2001

Synopsis

Arthur C. Clarke is one of this century's most visionary and versatile thinkers. In the crowning achievement of his extraordinary career, Clarke has collected his ground-breaking non-fiction pieces into one volume. Charting an exceptional career of over six decades, the essays in Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds! reveal Clarke's piercing mind and lively wit as well as the march of science through our modern age.

About this title

Review:

"Nobody has done more in the way of enlightened prediction than Arthur C. Clarke," wrote Isaac Asimov, no slouch in that department himself. And indeed, this collection of Clarke's essays contains an astonishing amount of prophecy, in everything from space exploration to computer technology. Clarke, probably best known as the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, is one of the most prolific science authors of the 20th century, even though his science fiction works got all the glory. His expertise in tracking scientific innovation and his predilection for far-flung adventure are well represented here. Reading these articles illuminates the enormous amount of research that good science fiction writers do in the course of learning their craft. The collection spans more than 60 years of Clarke's musings. Highlights include essays on undersea and lunar living, working with Stanley Kubrick on the movie version of 2001, and tributes to his favorite authors--Lord Dunsany, Robert Bloch, and Isaac Asimov, especially. Clarke gives each essay a context, and he good-naturedly points out his old errors and failed predictions. Clarke is a fascinating person, a man of great depth and passion, and fans of his science fiction will be pleasantly surprised that his straightforward, bemused style comes through in his nonfiction as well. --Therese Littleton

About the Author:

Sir Arthur C. Clarke, CBE was born in England in 1917 and has lived in Sri Lanka since 1956. He is the author of such bestselling books as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Childhoods End and Rendezvous with Rama.

About this edition

• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0312267452
• ISBN 13: 9780312267452
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 576