“What are Arthur C. Clarke’s Best Books?” We looked at all of Clarke’s authored bibliography and ranked them against one another to answer that very question!

We took all of the books written by Arthur C. Clarke and looked at their Goodreads, Amazon, and LibraryThing scores, ranking them against one another to see which books came out on top. The books are ranked in our list below based on which titles have the highest overall score between all 3 review sites in comparison with all of the other books by the same author. The process isn’t super scientific and in reality, most books aren’t “better” than other books as much as they are just different. That being said, we do enjoy seeing where our favorites landed, and if you aren’t familiar with the author at all, the rankings can help you see what books might be best to start with.

The full ranking chart is also included below the countdown on the bottom of the page.

Happy Scrolling!

The Top Book’s Of Arthur C. Clarke

111 ) 2001 and Beyond

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 104
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 97

110 ) The Shining Ones

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 100
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 97

This final volume in the audio version features, in addition to the 1962 title story, “The Cruel Sky,” “The Steam-powered Word Processor,” the classics “The Hammer of God” and “A Meeting With Medusa,” and Clarke’s latest story, “Improving the Neighborhood,” published in Nature in 1999.

109 ) Sri Lanka

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 103
• Amazon: 84
• LibraryThing: 97

107 ) Mysterious Worlds

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 93
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 97

107 ) Cradle

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 101
• Amazon: 87
• LibraryThing: 93

This far-reaching, spine-tingling adventure stretches from the dawn of time to the distant future, from the edges of the universe to the vast depths of the sea. At the bottom of the ocean, an alien creature is dormant. But the time has come for it to awaken. And as it stirs, its power will be unleashed on the planet–and trigger the dawn of human extinction. Read preview >

106 ) The Last Theorem

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 103
• Amazon: 90
• LibraryThing: 87

Two of science fiction’s most renowned writers join forces for a storytelling sensation. The historic collaboration between Frederik Pohl and his fellow founding father of the genre, Arthur C. Clarke, is both a momentous literary event and a fittingly grand farewell from the late, great visionary author of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Last Theorem is a story of one man’s mathematical obsession, and a celebration of the human spirit and the scientific method. It is also a gripping intellectual thriller in which humanity, facing extermination from all-but-omnipotent aliens, the Grand Galactics, must overcome differences of politics and religion and come together . . . or perish. In 1637, the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat scrawled a note in the margin of a book about an enigmatic theorem: ‘I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain.’ He also neglected to record his proof elsewhere. Thus began a search for the Holy Grail of mathematics-a search that didn’t end until 1994, when Andrew Wiles published a 150-page proof.

105 ) The Best of Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 91
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 97

104 ) Frontline of Discovery

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 88
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 96

This book recounts many of this century’s most phenomenal scientific breakthroughs, told in an accessible format by some of the world’s best scientific minds and authors, including Richard Restak, Stephen S. Hall, Carole Douglas, Dava Sobel, and Arthur C. Clarke. Over 325 color photos, computer images, diagrams & art.

103 ) Richter 10

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 99
• Amazon: 80
• LibraryThing: 92

When he was seven years old, a major earthquake killed Lewis Crane’s parents. As an adult, Crane has dedicated his life to protecting humanity from a similar tragedy. He’s a Nobel-winning earthquake scientist, and the founder of the Foundation-an organization that has perfected equipment sensitive enough to predict an earthquake strike down to the minute. With unrelenting dedication to his cause, Crane’s organization explores the idea of fusing the Earth’s tectonic plates together-stopping all earthquakes forever by halting tectonic activity. But what effect will this have on the earth-and can it stop another major earthquake due in the United States? In this book, Arthur C. Clarke applies an imagination big enough for deep space to the inner workings of our planet. It’s a fascinating exploration of the possible future of earthquake prediction technology-and a compelling read for science fiction fans.

102 ) Arthur C. Clarke’s World of Strange Powers

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 83
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 87

On every page of this book there are stories to challenge credulity and imagination. Tales of ghosts and poltergeists, of dowsers who can find oilwells with a pendulum or a twig, men who can walk on fire, women who bleed with the wounds of Christ, mediums who claim to conjure up the spirits of the dead, visions of the future tragically fulfilled, and children who say they have lived before. The fascination of the supernatural is easy to explain, the truth is more difficult to find. John Fairley and Simon Welfare have pursued the quest in authoritative yet entertaining style, gathering eyewitness accounts throughout the world, and consulting the scientists, doctors and psychiatrists who have investigated some of the strangest stories ever told. Arthur C. Clarke, scientist, best-selling author and connoisseur of the curious, contributes his own analysis of a subject which has fascinated him for half a century. His opinions are thoughtful yet provocative, and his wise and witty reactions to the validity of many of the claims for the paranormal are certain to prove both enlightening and controversial. ‘At a generous assessment,’ he says, ‘approximately half this book is nonsense. Unfortunately, I don’t know which half’.

101 ) The Ghost from the Grand Banks

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 96
• Amazon: 84
• LibraryThing: 80

Ingram A hundred years after the sinking of the Titanic, two of the world’s most powerful corporations race to find a way to raise and preserve the doomed luxury liner. The quest to uncover the secrets of the wreck and reclaim her becomes an obsession . . . and for some, a fatal one.

100 ) 3001

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 97
• Amazon: 70
• LibraryThing: 90

Now approaching the millennium, the light of Lucifer is extinguished and for the second time in four million years, the Monolith awakes. The limitless power of an alien technology has decided what part humanity must play in the evolution of the galaxy.

98 ) Prelude to Space

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 105
• Amazon: 52
• LibraryThing: 97

Here is the compelling story of the launching of Prometheus — Earth’s first true spaceship — and of the men who made it happen. Dirk Alexson: Chronicler of the greatest space adventure of all time, he was chosen to immortalize the incredible story of the men and their heroic mission. Sir Robert Derwent: Direct-General of Interplanetary — London Headquarters for the international space-flight project — he was the man who got the mission off the ground and into the pages of history. Professor Maxton: The world’s leading atomic engineer, he designed the huge ship’s drive units and he waited with the rest of the world to see if the project would be a success.

98 ) The Space Dreamers

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 105
• Amazon: 52
• LibraryThing: 97

Here is the compelling story of the launching of Prometheus — Earth’s first true spaceship — and of the men who made it happen. Dirk Alexson: Chronicler of the greatest space adventure of all time, he was chosen to immortalize the incredible story of the men and their heroic mission. Sir Robert Derwent: Direct-General of Interplanetary — London Headquarters for the international space-flight project — he was the man who got the mission off the ground and into the pages of history. Professor Maxton: The world’s leading atomic engineer, he designed the huge ship’s drive units and he waited with the rest of the world to see if the project would be a success.

97 ) Rama II

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 88
• Amazon: 82
• LibraryThing: 82

Years ago, the enormous, enigmatic alien spacecraft called Rama sailed through our solar system as mind-boggling proof that life existed — or had existed — elsewhere in the universe. Now, at the dawn of the twenty-third century, another ship is discovered hurtling toward us. A crew of Earth’s best and brightest minds is assembled to rendezvous with the massive vessel. They are armed with everything we know about Raman technology and culture. But nothing can prepare them for what they are about to encounter on board Rama II: cosmic secrets that are startling, sensational — and perhaps even deadly.

96 ) 2061

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 96
• Amazon: 65
• LibraryThing: 89

Arthur C.Clarke’s space saga contines in 2061, when an Earth vessel landing on Halley’s Comet marks the beginning of another confrontation between Heywood Floyd and David Bowman – or whatever Bowman has become – a newly independent HAL and the unseen alien power that controls the destiny of Earth.

95 ) Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysteries

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 86
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 62

Investigates the phenonema featured in “Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World” and “Arthur C. Clarke’s World of Strange Powers,” including time travel, sea monsters, and accomplishments of ancient peoples.

94 ) The Hammer of God

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 86
• Amazon: 66
• LibraryThing: 81

In the year 2110 technology has cured most of our worries. But even as humankind enters a new golden age, an amateur astronomer points his telescope at just the right corner of the night sky and sees disaster hurtling toward Earth: a chunk of rock that could annihilate civilization. While a few fanatics welcome the apocalyptic destruction as a sign from God, the greatest scientific minds of Earth desperately search for a way to avoid the inevitable. On board the starship Goliath Captain Robert Singh and his crew must race against time to redirect the meteor form its deadly collision course. Suddenly they find themselves on the most important mission in human history–a mission whose success may require the ultimate sacrifice.

93 ) Beyond the Fall of Night

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 73
• Amazon: 87
• LibraryThing: 70

Gregory Benford expands Arthur C. Clarke’s novella, Against the Fall of Night, into a novel-length adventure set billions of years in the future about human destiny among the stars.

92 ) Time’s Eye

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 81
• Amazon: 73
• LibraryThing: 72

1885, the North West Frontier. Rudyard Kipling is witness to a British army action to repress a local uprising. And to a terrifying intervention by a squadron of tanks from 2137. Before the full impact of this extraordinary event has even begun to sink in Kipling, his friends and the tanks are, themselves flung back to the 4th century and the midst of Alexander the Great’s army. Mankind’s time odyssey has begun. It is a journey that will see Alexander avoid his premature death and carve out an Empire that expands from Carthage to China. And it will present mankind with two devastating truths. Aliens are amongst us and have been manipulating our past and our future. And that future extends only as far as 2137 for that is the date Earth will be destroyed. This is SF that spans countless centuries and carries cutting edge ideas on time travel and alien intervention. It shows two of the genre’s masters at their groundbreaking best.

91 ) The Fantastic Muse

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 35
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 97

90 ) The Deep Range

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 90
• Amazon: 52
• LibraryThing: 79

It has taken a long time, but humankind has won its battle against the sea. Now, professionals harvest plankton with which to feed the world, but like space, the sea has not yielded all its secrets, and men such as Franklin, the protagonist of this tale, will never rest until all its fathomless mysteries have been challenged.

88 ) The Treasure of the Great Reef

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 32
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 97

The final volume of the Blue Planet Trilogy, which began with The Reefs of Taprobane and The Coast of Coral, chronicles the author’s experiences on a real-life underwater treasure hunt and the expedition’s recovery of a fortune lost at sea for more than 250 years.

88 ) The Exploration of Space

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 105
• Amazon: 18
• LibraryThing: 97

This book has been written to answer all the questions which the intelligent layman asks about the new science of “astronautics” – a subject which is increasingly in the public eye. The treatment, though scientifically accurate, is entirely non-technical and the many remarkable plates-four in full colour-give a vivid impression of the way in which space-travel may be achieved. Among the subjects illustrated are: the refuelling of spaceships in free orbit outside the atmosphere, the construction of a ” space-station “, an automatic rocket surveying Mars, the lunar base, and dawn on the planet of a multiple sun. All these illustrations are based on a sound scientific foundation and every effort has been made to be factually accurate and to avoid mere fantasy. None of the difficulties of interplanetary travel has been shirked, and the many engineering, medical and similar problems which must be overcome before space-travel is possible are fully discussed The book also gives a clear and very readable picture of Man’s place in the Universe, describing the planets he may explore during the next century, the methods that could be used to colonise them despite their alien conditions, and the ultimate effects which astronautics may have upon humanity. Quite apart from its interplanetary theme, The Exploration Of Space is thus a fascinating introduction to astronomy and combines excitement and instruction in a manner which should appeal to everyone.

86 ) The Odyssey File

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 52
• Amazon: 73
• LibraryThing: 91

Arthur C Clarke sits at his Kapro II computer in far-off Sri Lanka transmitting files to Peter Hyams who responds in kind from his office in Los Angeles. Thus a fascinating computer correspondence develops. Now in The Odyssey File we get a unique opportunity to tap into the creative process as two of today’s gifted writers work on a film of the future using the technology of tomorrow. In the actual electronic correspondence between Clarke and Hymans they chat about such things as details of set design, problems of casting, modifications necessary for the successful translation of a best-selling novel into a stunning screenplay, expensive and time-consuming searches for a house with a built-in dolphin pool and a believable high-tech substitute for the radio telescope at Arecibo. Plus off the cuff chit chat dealing with matters more personal. In the enlightening and entertaining opening section Clarke discusses the love affair with computers and explains in some detail how this unique correspondence originated and the joys and frustrations in communicating to someone half a world away.

86 ) The View from Serendip

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 81
• Amazon: 77
• LibraryThing: 58

Pieces of writing by the master of SF Arthur C Clarke. The pieces themselves consist mostly of space articles (mainly projections of future society), a few articles about Clarke’s home, Sri Lanka (once called Serendip, hence the title,) a handful of speeches, autobiographical fragments, one piece of fiction, and a smattering of various other types of articles. As the lifeblood of the book is a series of essays giving future projections for years that have now passed us by. Interesting to read how close his predictions were.

85 ) Tales from Planet Earth

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 65
• Amazon: 52
• LibraryThing: 97

The fiction of Arthur C. Clarke has spanned the universe. He has carried us across the unimaginable distances to alien times and places. Yet he has not lost sight of his home. Many of his greatest stories are set or have there roots right here on Planet Earth. In this book, Clarke’s best stories about about our home planet are gathered together. For Arthur C. Clarke, more than any science fiction writer, “home” is the entire Earth, through all soace and tiem. In this book, he shows us around his home to share his wonder. He invites us to share his vision and his dream.

84 ) Rama Revealed

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 75
• Amazon: 66
• LibraryThing: 72

After the appearance of a spaceship, Rama, a second craft arrives, destined to house a group of colonists. But, the colony has become a dictatorship. Nicole Wakefield, condemned to death, escapes to an island called New York, and is forced to flee to the corridors inhabited by octospiders.

83 ) The Garden of Rama

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 68
• Amazon: 70
• LibraryThing: 74

In the spellbinding Arthur C. Clarke tradition, here is an exhilarating adventure into the hearts of both the Universe and mankind… By the twenty-third century Earth has already had two encounters with massive, mysterious robotic spacecraft from beyond our solar system–the incontestable proof of an alien technology that far exceeds our own. Now three human cosmonauts are trapped aboard a labyrinthine Raman vessel, where it will take all of their physical and mental resources to surviv. Only twelve years into their journey do these intrepid travelers learn their destination and face their ultimate challenge: a rendevous with a Raman base–and the unseen architects of their galactic home. The cosmonauts have given up family, friends, and possessions to live a new kind of life. But the answers that await them at the Raman Node will require an even greater sacrifice–if humanity is indeed ready to learn the awe-inspiring truth.

82 ) The Trigger

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 73
• Amazon: 77
• LibraryThing: 57

From the legendary Arthur C. Clarke, in collaboration with Michael Kube-McDowell of Star Wars fame, comes a chilling day-after-tomorrow thriller. Jeffrey Horton of Terabyte Laboratories is the brilliant, driven and idealistic scientist responsible for the discovery of the Trigger. It was an accidental discovery. When Horton fired up his prototype analogue of a laser it triggered all nearby explosive material. In that moment, an end to the power of the gun became feasible. In future, a firearm – or a bomb – could be made powerless to harm the innocent. The Trigger might even mean an end to war. Patriotism dictates that Terabyte hands over the science to the Pentagon. Idealism demands the invention be given to the whole world, regardless of politics. But in a world where violence has reached epidemic proportions, too many people have a stake in the business of violence to give peace a chance. Clarke and McDowell offer a startling vision of the future in which the fate of humankind depends on who controls THE TRIGGER.

81 ) Firstborn

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 78
• Amazon: 70
• LibraryThing: 58

The Firstborn – the mysterious race of aliens who first became known to science fiction fans as the builders of the iconic black monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey – have inhabited legendary master of science fiction Sir Arthur C. Clarke’s writing for decades. With Time’s Eye and Sunstorm, the first two books in their acclaimed Time Odyssey series, Clarke and his brilliant co-author Stephen Baxter imagined a near-future in which the Firstborn seek to stop the advance of human civilization by employing a technology indistinguishable from magic. Their first act was the Discontinuity, in which Earth was carved into sections from different eras of history, restitched into a patchwork world, and renamed Mir. Mir’s inhabitants included such notables as Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and United Nations peacekeeper Bisesa Dutt. For reasons unknown to her, Bisesa entered into communication with an alien artifact of inscrutable purpose and godlike power – a power that eventually returned her to Earth. There, she played an instrumental role in humanity’s race against time to stop a doomsday event: a massive solar storm triggered by the alien Firstborn designed to eradicate all life from the planet. That fate was averted at an inconceivable price. Now, twenty-seven years later, the Firstborn are back. This time, they are pulling no punches: They have sent a “quantum bomb.” Speeding toward Earth, it is a device that human scientists can barely comprehend, that cannot be stopped or destroyed – and one that will obliterate Earth. Bisesa’s desperate quest for answers sends her first to Mars and then to Mir, which is itself threatened with extinction. The end seems inevitable. But as shocking new insights emerge into the nature of the Firstborn and their chilling plans for mankind, an unexpected ally appears from light-years away.

79 ) Best of Arthur C. Clarke: 1956-1972

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 52
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 62

A collection of Clarke’s science fiction stories covering the period 1932-1972, and which are considered to represent his development. Includes an introduction by Arthur C Clarke and a complete bibliography of his science fiction.

79 ) The Worlds of Galileo

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 102
• Amazon: 27
• LibraryThing: 76

Half a billion miles away, a swirling mass of hurricanes and clouds, the king of the planets presides over a little group of worlds that has long dazzled astronomers. This volume tells the story of the American space probe, Galileo, which has been studying Jupiter and its moons. It features first-hand testimonies from the men and women who were involved in making Galileo’s odyssey happen, and it goes behind the scenes to learn how many times the project was saved from disaster before its ultimate triumph. Illustrated with over 100 colour images showing the harsh beauty and remarkable landscapes of the Jovian system, the book reveals the nature of the famous moons – a seething mass of volcanoes and lava lakes – and Europa, its glistening ice crust creaking and flexing over the waters below.

78 ) Towering Yarns

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 105
• Amazon: 1
• LibraryThing: 97

Sci-Fi heavyweights come together to bring the reality of the Space Elevator to life. From the discovery of the tether material, to rescue, revenge, religious rule and a recluse, enter the fascinating possibilities of the worlds around a ladder to the stars. With stories by Hugo, Locus, Campbell, Nebula and Asimov’s Readers Poll award winners, New York Times bestsellers, and a collective works between them of over 250 novels and 500 short stories, and with the introduction of a new kid on the sci-fi block, this anthology strings the reader along at a riveting pace…

77 ) Imperial Earth

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 80
• Amazon: 52
• LibraryThing: 69

The year is 2276. On the world of Titan, an outer planet of Saturn, Duncan Mackenzie and many other colonists are about to leave their homeland for bicentennial celebrations on Earth. But for Duncan, the journey is also a delicate mission for himself, his family and the future of Titan.

76 ) Islands in the Sky

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 71
• Amazon: 61
• LibraryThing: 68

The story of ‘Island in the Sky’ centers around a young man, who, after brilliantly winning a space-related competition, requests a vacation on a space station as his prize. It is written with Arthur C. Clark’s obvious knowledge of science, but moves at a page turning rate througout the entire narrative. The short novel gives a realistic possiblilty of work and play in future space, hightened with constant excitment and action. Charater development is very good, as are the not-overdone (but still awsome) visual descriptions.

74 ) Into Space

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 8
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 97

74 ) Technology and the Frontiers of Knowledge

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 8
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 97

73 ) Macroshift

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 95
• Amazon: 82
• LibraryThing: 18

Arguing that the world is currently moving in the currents of a “macroshift,” the author discusses the profound impact of technological advances, constant change, and the global economy on the human race.

71 ) Earthlight

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 85
• Amazon: 39
• LibraryThing: 70

The time: 200 years after man’s first landing on the Moon. There are permanent populations established on the Moon, Venus and Mars. Outer space inhabitants have formed a new political entity, the Federation, and between the Federation and Earth a growing rivalry has developed. EARTHLIGHT is the story of this emerging conflict.

71 ) Arthur C. Clarke’s July 20, 2019

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 98
• Amazon: 1
• LibraryThing: 95

On 20 July, 1969 hundreds of millions of people watched Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin take man’s first steps on the moon and usher in the age of space exploration. To the people of 2019 – fifty years on – this date has taken on an even broader significance representing a new age full of technological achievements beyond our wildest dreams. Arthur C Clarke’s July 20, 2019 is a spectacular panorama of how life will be in the twenty-first century. This visually magnificent book, filled with stunning photographs and computer-generated graphics, is a synthesis of science fact and science speculation. Based on the cutting edge of 1980s technology, this is a future that is uncannily realistic, yet the social and technological predictions will astound you.

70 ) Tales of Ten Worlds

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 105
• Amazon: 35
• LibraryThing: 53

This classic collection of short stories includes some of Clarke’s finest work: vivid glimpses into the future, a year, a decade, a century, a millennium from now.

69 ) Boy Beneath the Sea

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 4
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 97

68 ) The Snows of Olympus

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 93
• Amazon: 61
• LibraryThing: 37

Clarke portrays a terraformed Mars in images he has generated on the computer. Taking as his starting point the Martian peak of Olympus, the highest mountain in the solar system, Clarke creates detailed “virtual landscapes” of the Martian surface and “preconstructs” the changes that would occur as water begins to flow and vegetation to thrive.

67 ) The Challenge of the Sea

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 105
• Amazon: 84
• LibraryThing: 1

This book is about the future of the sea. Clrke has a rare combination of a scientific mind and an ability to treat complex subject with clarity, warmth and enthusiasm.

65 ) An Arthur C. Clarke second omnibus

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 1
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 97

65 ) Sunstorm

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 61
• Amazon: 77
• LibraryThing: 51

Returned to the Earth of 2037 by the Firstborn, mysterious beings of almost limitless technological prowess, Bisesa Dutt is haunted by the memories of her five years spent on the strange alternate Earth called Mir, a jigsaw-puzzle world made up of lands and people cut out of different eras of Earth’s history. Why did the Firstborn create Mir? Why was Bisesa taken there and then brought back on the day after her original disappearance? Bisesa’s questions receive a chilling answer when scientists discover an anomaly in the sun’s core-an anomaly that has no natural cause is evidence of alien intervention over two thousand years before. Now plans set in motion millennia ago by inscrutable watchers light-years away are coming to fruition in a sunstorm designed to scour the Earth of all life in a bombardment of deadly radiation. Thus commences a furious race against a ticking solar time bomb. But even now, as apocalypse looms, cooperation is not easy for the peoples and nations of the Earth. Religious and political differences threaten to undermine every effort. And all the while, the Firstborn are watching…

64 ) Arthur C. Clarke’s chronicles of the strange and mysterious

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 67
• Amazon: 39
• LibraryThing: 82

63 ) Space Trilogy

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 78
• Amazon: 23
• LibraryThing: 86

“Islands in the Sky”, first published in 1954, sees Roy Malcolm win a trip to the Inner Station, a space station rotating 500 miles from Earth. “The Sands of Mars”, set in the 21st century, has a group of pioneers struggling to change the face of this inhospitable planet. “Earthlight” is set in a human colony on the moon. This omnibus edition of Arthur C. Clarke’s early novels shows the author of “2001: A Space Odyssey” exploring space and time in adventurous and thoughtful ways. Although the course of recent history has been different, these novels offer a glimpse of what-might-have-been, as envisoned nearly 50 years ago by the greatest sci-fi writer of them all.

62 ) Voices from the Sky

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 44
• Amazon: 87
• LibraryThing: 55

Previews the Coming Space Age This brilliant book is divided into three sections. The first is about space travel and other aspects of the new space age, how our concept of time must be modified when we travel long distances, the space seas of tomorrow, uses of the moon, how lower gravity will affect the sports of space colonists , and other fascinating ideas. The second part is about communications satellites, a field in which the author has already played the role of true prophet. The third section ranges widely over the side implications of the space age – scientific meddling, the lunatic fringe and the moral obligations of scientists.

60 ) Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 61
• Amazon: 39
• LibraryThing: 85

Clarke investigates the mysterious, suprascientific world through eyewitness accounts of strange, unexplained events and phenomena in the hopes that understanding their causes may help prevent future catastrophes

60 ) Dolphin Island

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 92
• Amazon: 27
• LibraryThing: 66

Late one night (in the world of the future), a giant cargo hovership makes an emergency landing somewhere in the middle of the United States, and an enterprising citizen named Johnny Clinton stows away on it. In the space of only a few hours the craft crashes into the Pacific Ocean. The sole survivor is Johnny, whose life is saved by the “People of the Sea”–dolphins. A school of these fantastic creatures guides him to an island on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. There Johnny becomes involved with the work of a strange and fascinating research laboratory, learns skindiving and survives a typhoon–only to risk his life again, immediately afterwards, in a cliff-hanger of a climax!

59 ) The Supernatural A-Z

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 47
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 43

An A-Z reference on various aspects of the supernatural and occult, with details on UFOs, prophets and the accuracy of their predictions, the Abominable Snowman, faith healers and other topics, covering over 650 subjects in total. First published in 1995.

58 ) The Lost Worlds of 2001

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 65
• Amazon: 39
• LibraryThing: 75

The ultimate trip began with a story called THE SENTINAL, by Arthur C. Clarke. It took flight when stanley Kubrick asked Clarke to write a novel of space exploration unpon which the acclaimed director would base a movie. The result was one of the most extraordinary films of all time. Now for the first time the reader is taken on every stage of this great adventure. Here is the original story. Here are the different versions of 2001 as they evolved in the interplay between two brilliantly charged imaginations. And here is Clarke’s own intimate account of the unique chemistry between author and director which created–2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.

57 ) Glide Path

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 83
• Amazon: 35
• LibraryThing: 58

During World War II, as an RAF officer, Arthur C. Clarke was in charge of the first radar ‘talk-down’ equipment, the Ground Controlled Approach, during its experimental trials. His novel GLIDE PATH is based on this work.

56 ) Beyond Jupiter

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 57
• Amazon: 52
• LibraryThing: 62

54 ) Of Time and Stars

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 47
• Amazon: 39
• LibraryThing: 84

A collection of short stories: The Nine Billion Names of God (a classic!), An Ape About the House, Green Fingers, Trouble with Natives, Into the Comet, No Morning After, If I Forget Thee O Earth, Who’s There?, All the Time in the World, Hide and Seek, Robin Hood FRS, The Fires Within, The Forgotten Enemy, The Reluctant Orchid, Encounter at Dawn, Security Check, Feathered Friend, The Sentinel (the original concept for 2001 A Space Odyssey).

54 ) An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 47
• Amazon: 73
• LibraryThing: 50

In this remarkable encyclopedia, complete from A to Z, Randi casts his cynical eye on the dubious genres of the occult and the supernatural. With 666 entries and hundreds of illustrations and photos throughout, the book examines the shady world of manipulators, occultists, and shamanists in microscopic detail.

52 ) Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds!

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 64
• Amazon: 39
• LibraryThing: 66

The most visionary and versatile thinker of this century here gathers together in a single volume his most significant and prophetic non-fiction writings to present a personal view of the twentieth century. From predicting the role of geosynchronous satellites decades before they existed to his groundbreaking reporting from Kennedy Space Center in the 60s, to anticipating the internet decades before it happened, Clarke has acted both as technological prophet and cultural conscience, celebrating the great scientific powers of man – but simultaneously warning of the perils of a world where power and greed reign unchecked. Each with a new introduction, the essays show how science has expanded exponentially on its own inventions. Sir Arthur’s bona fide scientific understanding is combined with a generosity of spirit, the interests of a new renaissance man, a sublime lack of false modesty and a great flair for the dramatic. This is inarguably the crowning achievement of an unrivalled personal odyssey.

52 ) The Sands of Mars

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 75
• Amazon: 39
• LibraryThing: 55

When a celebrated science fiction writer takes to space on his first trip to Mars, he stumbles upon Mars’ most carefully hidden secrets and threatens the future of the entire planet!

51 ) Space Odyssey

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 46
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 28

50 ) The Best of Arthur C Clarke 1932-1955

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 52
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 18

Good condition book with like DJ. Boards are clean with minor wear. Content clean with bright pages and ffep missing. Good DJ with light edge wear namely small closed tears and chipping to spine ends in protective sleeve. Ex-library with all the ususal stamps etc.

49 ) A Meeting with Medusa

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 61
• Amazon: 1
• LibraryThing: 97

After the success of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Clarke became perhaps the best known living Sci-Fi writer in the world. Using his inherent sense of humor and personal flair for adventure, Clarke combines the worlds of science and literature. The three award-winning stories in this volume take the listener into the realms of space adventure, science fantasy, and interstellar irony. Also contains The Star and The 9 Billion Names of God.

47 ) The Lion of Comarre

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 47
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 17

With so little serious sf currently available on unabridged audio, the release of this comprehensive collection of Clarke’s short stories is an occasion for celebration, for he is an undisputed master of hard sfDthat which combines creative storytelling with ideas grounded in plausible science. Clarke is, after all, best known as the writer behind 2001: A Space Odyssey, one of the few films that depicts space travel realistically. It is thus not surprising that his tales are filled with intelligent, fresh, and fascinating ideas, as well as interesting and plausible characters. The stories on these tapes are arranged in chronological order, with titles printed on each side of each cassetteDa nice feature that more audiobook publishers should emulate. Clarke himself reads the foreword to the first set, and each of his stories is preceded by a brief discussion of its themes and publishing history, read by someone else. The readers are a large and diverse assemblage, ranging from actors such as Maxwell Caulfield, Samantha Eggar, and William Windom, to other well-known sf writers, such as Harlan Ellison and Ben Bova.

47 ) The Colours of Infinity

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 75
• Amazon: 18
• LibraryThing: 62

46 ) Report on Planet Three

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 71
• Amazon: 1
• LibraryThing: 78

In addition to being one of Science Fiction’s greatest writers, Sir Arthur C. Clarke was also one of our foremost thinkers and visionaries, producing a number of highly readable and important non-fiction works. Report of Planet Three is a collection of 23 essays on the future of Man and his technology, including essays on space, satellite communications, the internet, alien contact, UFO debunking and relativity.

45 ) 1984 Spring

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 68
• Amazon: 35
• LibraryThing: 46

44 ) Reach for Tomorrow

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 59
• Amazon: 39
• LibraryThing: 49

42 ) The Light of Other Days

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 37
• Amazon: 66
• LibraryThing: 43

Space is what keeps everything from being in the same place. Right?’ With these words Hiram Patterson, head of the giant media corporation OurWorld, launches the greatest communications revolution in history. With OurWorld’s development of wormhole technology, any point in space can be connected to any other, faster than the speed of light. Realtime television coverage is here: earthquakes and wars, murders and disasters can be watched, exactly as they occur, anywhere on the planet. Then WormCams are made to work across time as well as space. Humanity encounters itself in the light of other days. We witness the life of Jesus, go to the premiere of Hamlet, solve the enigmas that have baffled generations. Blood spilled centuries ago flows vividly once more – and no personal treachery or shame can be concealed. But when the world and everything in it becomes as transparent as glass and there are no more secrets, people find new ways to gain vengeance and commit crime, and Hiram Patterson finds new ways to keep his Machiavellian schemes secret.

42 ) Astounding Days

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 68
• Amazon: 39
• LibraryThing: 39

This “science-fictional autobiography” by the author of “Childhood’s End” and “2001: A Space Odyssey” is an account of the circumstances and stories that set Arthur C.Clarke on the path to becoming one of the world’s most successful science fiction writers.

41 ) Earthlight and Other Stories

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 33
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 18

Earthlight and Other Stories is the second chronological volume in the collected stories, to which Fantastic Audio has acquired exclusive audio rights. In addition to the title story, included in this volume are “Nemesis,” “Time’s Arrow,” “The Road to the Sea,” “The Sentinel,” “Holiday On the Moon,” and the first of the White Hart stories “Silence Please.”

40 ) The Sentinel

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 39
• Amazon: 66
• LibraryThing: 34

Few masters of science fiction have brought us glimpses of the near future as vividly as Arthur C. Clarke. It is the startling realism of his vision that has made classics of his Childhood’s End and 2001: A Space Odyssey — and Clarke himself one of the genre’s most successful writers. To commemorate the fast-approaching arrival of one of the most notable dates in science fiction history comes this special anniversary edition of The Sentinel, a brilliant collection of Clarke’s highest caliber short fiction. Among the ten stories included in this volume are: “The Sentinel”: The story that inspired 2001: A Space Odyssey, one of the most famous SF movies of all time “Guardian Angel”: The rarely-glimpsed work that gave birth to Childhood’s End “The Songs of Distant Earth”: A fantastic tale of first contact with an alien world, which became the basis for one of Clarke’s most successful novels “Breaking Strain”: The inspiration for the popular book series Arthur C. Clarke’s Venus Prime With an introduction and notes by the author Illustrations by internationally acclaimed visionary architect Lebbeus Woods

39 ) The Challenge of the Spaceship

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 35
• Amazon: 23
• LibraryThing: 76

38 ) The Songs of Distant Earth

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 52
• Amazon: 39
• LibraryThing: 42

With the imminent death of the Sun, human beings launch embryos into space, hoping to keep the race alive. Years later, another group of human beings set off into space and touch down on the same planet, but they discover a phenomenal clash of cultures.

37 ) A Fall of Moondust

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 52
• Amazon: 39
• LibraryThing: 41

Time is running out for the passengers and crew of the tourist-cruiser “Selene”, incarcerated in a sea of choking lunar dust. On the surface, her rescuers find their resources stretched to the limit by the pitiless and unpredictable conditions of a totally alien environment.

35 ) First on the Moon

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 30
• Amazon: 73
• LibraryThing: 26

35 ) Against the Fall of Night

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 59
• Amazon: 35
• LibraryThing: 35

Alvin, the only child for many centuries born in what is believed to be the only city left on Earth, leads a renaissance. Man is reclaiming the Earth, but evil has also returned.

34 ) 2010

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 47
• Amazon: 27
• LibraryThing: 53

2001: A Space Odyssey shocked, amazed, and delighted millions in the late 1960s. An instant book and movie classic, its fame has grown over the years. Yet along with the almost universal acclaim, a host of questions has grown more insistent through the years, for example: who or what transformed Dave Bowman into the Star-Child? What alien purpose lay behind the monoliths on the Moon and out in space? What could drive HAL to kill the crew? Now all those questions and many more have been answered, in this stunning sequel to the international bestseller. Cosmic in sweep, eloquent in its depiction of Man’s place in the Universe, and filled with the romance of space, this novel is a monumental achievement and a must-read for Arthur C. Clarke fans old and new. “A daring romp through the solar system and a worthy successor to 2001.”

33 ) The Reefs of Taprobane

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 28
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 6

Looking for new underwater worlds to conquer, Arthur Clarke and Mike Wilson followed up their expedition to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (described in The Coast of Coral) by exploring the romantic seas surrounding Ceylon. Meetings with dangerous and beautiful marine creatures were only one side of the expedition’s activities. Their adventures included the discovery of a 3,000-year-old Hindu temple lying on the ocean bed. Clarke and Wilson lived among the Ceylonese natives, their contact with Europeans virtually limited to the dozen members of the Ceylonese Reefcombers Club, who shared many of their underwater adventures. Clarke and Wilson’s experiences provide vivid impressions of old and new Ceylon, one of the key countries of the Far East.

32 ) The Coming of the Space Age

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 12
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 18

Interior in great shape. Binding in solid condition. However, no dust jacket and some white flecks on the front cover. Autographed by author on first blank page.

31 ) The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 5
• Amazon: 18
• LibraryThing: 97

All of Arthur C. Clarke’s short stories collected in one volume, beginning with ‘Rescue Party’, Clarke’s first ever published short story. A volume which showcases his range and variety, each story a classic example of the unique mixture of speculation and fiction which has made Clarke a household name. This edition is being published in 2001, the year that is synonymous with Clarke’s visions of the future.

30 ) Man and Space

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 20
• Amazon: 1
• LibraryThing: 94

29 ) The Fountains of Paradise

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 39
• Amazon: 39
• LibraryThing: 35

In the 22nd century visionary scientist Vannevar Morgan conceives the most grandiose engineering project of all time, and one which will revolutionize the future of humankind of space: a Space Elevator, 36,000 kilometres high, anchored to an equatorial island in the Indian Ocean.

27 ) The City and the Stars / The Sands of Mars

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 20
• Amazon: 61
• LibraryThing: 31

THE CITY AND THE STARS The 10-billion-year-old metropolis of Diaspar is humanity’s last home. Alone among immortals, the only man born in 10 million years desperately wants to find what lies beyond the City. His quest will uncover the destiny of a people…and a galaxy.

27 ) The Wind from the Sun

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 38
• Amazon: 16
• LibraryThing: 58

A volume containing all of the 18 short stories written by Arthur C. Clarke in the 1960s. They depict a future in which technology is beginning to dictate man’s life style – even to demand life for themselves.

26 ) Tales from the White Hart

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 44
• Amazon: 27
• LibraryThing: 40

25 ) Indian Ocean Treasure

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 105
• Amazon: 1
• LibraryThing: 1

22 ) The Best Short Stories of Arthur C. Clarke

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 2
• Amazon: 91
• LibraryThing: 13

From early stories like “Rescue Party” and “The Lion of Comarre,” to classics like “The Star,” “Earthlight,” “The Nine Billion Names of God,” and “The Sentinel” (kernel of the later novel, and movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey), all the way to later works like “A Meeting With Medusa” and “The Hammer of God,” this volume encapsulates one of the great SF careers of all time.

22 ) Profiles of the Future

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 41
• Amazon: 18
• LibraryThing: 47

This book originally appeared in 1962, and was based on essays written during the period 1959 – 1961. Since it was concerned with ultimate possibilities, and not with achievements to be expected in the near future, even the remarkable events of the last decade have dated it very little. But Arthur Clarke has gone over the book making corrections and comments where necessary in order to bring it right up-to-date. The author, amongst many fascinating excursions into what the future may hold, discusses the fourth dimension and the obsolescence of the law of gravity, the exploration of the entire solar system and the colonisation of some of it; seas will mined for energy and minerals, and asteroids will be pulled to Earth to supply needed materials; men, already bigger than they need be, may be bred smaller to be more efficient on less food.

22 ) Expedition to Earth

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 41
• Amazon: 27
• LibraryThing: 38

A collection of Arthur C. Clarke’s short stories with a new preface by the author.

21 ) By Space Possessed

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 14
• Amazon: 84
• LibraryThing: 6

Few writers of science fiction have made a contribution to the world of science fact comparable to that of Arthur C. Clarke. His essay on extra-terrestrial relays, published in “Wireless World” in 1945, foreshadowed the development of communications satellites, and his writings on all aspects of space exploration and life in space have strongly influenced the way in which we view what lies beyond Earth’s atmosphere, while his fiction has sought to bring the future vividly to life. This collection of essays brings together some of Clarke’s best factual writing.

20 ) Across the Sea of Stars

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 28
• Amazon: 61
• LibraryThing: 13

ACROSS THE SEA OF STARS is a treasury of science fiction containing 18 of Clarke’s finest short stories. In three groupings, “Expedition to the Earth,” “Tales from the White Hart,” and “Reach for Tomorrow,” the selections include such memorable tales as “Encounter at Dawn,” “The Sentinel,” “Armaments Race,” “Jupiter Five” and “Time’s Arrow.”

18 ) Clarke’s Universe

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 20
• Amazon: 80
• LibraryThing: 1

In “A Fall of Moondust”, time is running out for the passengers and crew of the tourist-cruiser “Selene,” incarcerated in a sea of choking lunar dust. On the surface, her rescuers find their resources stretched to the limit by the pitiless and unpredictable conditions of a totally alien environment. In “The Lion of Comarre”, in the far-flung future, one city of extraordinary means was built on Earth, Comarre, and it is rumored to still exist. None but a few know of its location and they hold it a secret afraid the knowledge would subvert society. A young man with great prospects and no worries in the world gives them all up to hunt for the fabled city, and what he finds is something mankind has only dreamed of.

18 ) The Nine Billion Names of God

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 25
• Amazon: 52
• LibraryThing: 24

This volume is of special interest — included are a wide range of classic stories, including the title story, “Jupiter Five,” “The Deep Range,” “Second Dawn,” and the earliest of the splendidly comic narratives told by Harry Purvis for the benefit of the denizens of the White Hart.

16 ) Prelude to Mars

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 31
• Amazon: 52
• LibraryThing: 16

16 ) How the World Was One

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 41
• Amazon: 15
• LibraryThing: 43

Arthur C. Clarke, visionary author of both science fact and science fiction, first conceived of satellite communications in 1945–and twenty-five years later his dream became reality. Now, in this new personal and colorful nonfiction work, Clarke examines the rapid transformation of our society by technology and communication. As the infant field of communications began growing in the early part of this century, so did the boy named Arthur C. Clarke–who watched, wide-eyed, as his small English village was transformed overnight. In his job as the village switchboard operator he once overloaded the circuits, excitedly eavesdropping on his first transatlantic call. From there his involvement grew more and more technical, culminating in his now-famous paper “Extra-Terrestrial Relays,” which anticipated many of the developments of the next fifty years. For five thousand years communication never advanced beyond the speed of horse and wind-driven ship–but in the explosive span of thirty years, it changed forever. Newer, faster communication toppled tyranny, won wars, and changed history all the way from the second Russian Revolution to the Gulf war. Here is the story of the stranger-than-fiction mishaps, oversights, capricious acts of fate, and incredible human energy that eventually transformed the earth into our modern global village. Clarke brings unique expertise and a lifetime of experience to How the World Was One. Beginning with submarine cables, through the development of fiber optics and communications satellites, and then projecting far into a future of neutrino, gravitational, and tachyon (faster than light) communications, Arthur C. Clarke shows how these remarkable innovations shaped and changed the earth–and made the world one.

15 ) The Other Side of the Sky

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 33
• Amazon: 16
• LibraryThing: 47

The Other Side of the Sky presents a glimpse of our future: a future where reality is no longer contained in earthly dimensions, where man has learned to exist with the knowledge that he is not alone in the universe. These stories of other planets and galactic adventures show Arthur C. Clarke at the peak of his powers: sometimes disturbing, always intriguing.

14 ) The Arthur C. Clarke Collection

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 20
• Amazon: 52
• LibraryThing: 18

Selections from the author’s science fiction works include excerpts from “2001: a Space Odyssey,” “Transit of Earth and Other Stories,” “The Fountains of Paradise,” and “Childhood’s End.”.

13 ) The Coast of Coral

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 57
• Amazon: 18
• LibraryThing: 6

The world-famous science and science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke spent two adventurous years exploring the Great Barrier Reef, the mightiest coral formation in the world. Illustrated with rare underwater photographs by Mike Wilson, here is a unique look into a region of mystery, of boundless beauty and danger-one of the most intriguing frontiers on our planet.

12 ) The City and the Stars

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 24
• Amazon: 27
• LibraryThing: 29

Men had built cities before, but never such a city as Diaspar; for millennia its protective dome shutout the creeping decay and danger of the world outside. Once, it held powers that rules the stars. But then, as legend had it, The invaders came, driving humanity into this last refuge. It takes one man. A Unique to break through Diaspar’s stifling inertia, to smash the legend and discover the true nature of the Invaders.

11 ) Childhood Ends

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 20
• Amazon: 27
• LibraryThing: 32

Without warning, giant silver ships from deep space appear in the skies above every major city on Earth. Manned by the Overlords, in fifty years, they eliminate ignorance, disease, and poverty. Then this golden age ends–and then the age of Mankind begins….

10 ) Rendezvous with Rama

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 25
• Amazon: 27
• LibraryThing: 26

In 2130, a new celestial body is discovered heading toward the Sun. Earthlings name this object “Rama” — a vast cylinder, about 31 miles long and 12 miles across, with a mass of at least ten trillion tons. The spaceship Endeavor, directed by Commander Bill Norton, lands on Rama and has three weeks to explore its hollow interior. Inside the vessel they discover a completely self-contained world — a world that has been cruising through space for perhaps more than a million years.

9 ) The Promise of Space

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 25
• Amazon: 23
• LibraryThing: 29

When Clarke wrote this volume in 1968, humanity stood on the brink of bursting forth from this ball of dirt into the universe. It is full of hope for the Space Age to come, and a rather sad thing to read today. Still, it’s a great book, crammed with technical diagrams, astronomical photographs, and good solid science.

8 ) 2001

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 16
• Amazon: 23
• LibraryThing: 24

On the moon an enigma is uncovered. So great are the implications of the discovery that, for the first time, men are sent out deep into the solar system. But before they can reach their destination, things begin to go wrong. Horribly wrong.

7 ) Voice Across the Sea

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 6
• Amazon: 1
• LibraryThing: 52

6 ) More Than One Universe

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 16
• Amazon: 1
• LibraryThing: 33

ARTHUR C. CLARKE is one of the most celebrated science fiction writers of our time, winner of Hugo and Nebula awards, bestseller, and favorite of the genre. Clarke is also a Grand Master of Science Fiction, and in this exciting omnibus collection he takes you to worlds where: The approach of dawn means instant death for a man trapped on an airless asteroid- The creativity of a culture is challenged as its planet is covered by a wall of darkness- A brilliant scientist helps a television executive plot the decline of civilization- Solar winds power majestic yachts through space to a finish line at the moon- The members of an ancient sect count the nine billion names of God with a computer- Journey to these and fifty other worlds of wonder with a master visionary as your tour guide.

5 ) Arthur C. Clarke and Lord Dunsany

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 16
• Amazon: 1
• LibraryThing: 10

This book collects the hitherto unpublished correspondence between science fiction legend Sir Arthur C. Clarke and fantasy master Lord Dunsany. Their correspondence, which lasted 12 years (1944-1956), reveals much about the world views of both authors. Genre: Urban Fantasy

4 ) Ascent to Orbit

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 19
• Amazon: 1
• LibraryThing: 4

This collection of twenty-five articles chronologically traces Clarke’s thinking on the beginnings of satellite communication, rockets, space flight, and strategies for interstellar robot probes.

2 ) 2001: Filming the Future

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 7
• Amazon: 1
• LibraryThing: 12

Filled with material that came to light after the publication of the first edition in 1994, this updated edition includes interviews, new material from effects supervisor Doug Turnbull and additional illustrations.

2 ) Interplanetary Flight

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 14
• Amazon: 1
• LibraryThing: 5

The celebrated science writer recounts the exciting history of space exploration and flight, from Sputnik I to the present, reviews present missions and plans, and speculates on future journeys and accomplishments

1 ) Moonwatcher’s Memoir

Review Website Ranks:

• Goodreads: 3
• Amazon: 1
• LibraryThing: 15

Dan Richter was a struggling mime artist in 1966 when he received a call summoning him to discuss the incomplete opening sequence of 2001: A Space Odyssey, then being shot by Stanley Kubrick in London. Deeply impressed by the young mime, Kubrick promptly hired Richter to choreograph and star in “The Dawn of Man” sequence as Moonwatcher, the man-ape who opens the epic film about the origin and future of humankind. Moonwatcher’s Memoir is Richter’s day-by-day account of his year-long education in filmmaking under the command of one of cinema’s most innovative captains. Filled with illustrations and memorabilia from the making of 2001, this book will fascinate film aficionados, Kubrick devotees, and science fiction fans alike. Set three million years ago, “The Dawn of Man” tells the story of a tribe of our man-ape ancestors, who take the first step on the long road to modern humanity. Determined to make an anthropologically accurate film, Kubrick insisted on much more than the worn convention of men jumping around in “monkey suits.” Here are the stories behind 2001’s landmark achievements in make-up, costume, choreography, and cutting-edge cinematography that have made this film an enduring achievement. At once the story of Kubrick and his probing vision, the 2001 team and their interactions, and Dan Richter’s personal triumph under intense pressure, Moonwatcher’s Memoir is an inside look at eighteen unique minutes of film, climaxing in the longest flash forward in cinema’s history-three million years, from bone to space station, in a twenty-fourth of a second-as Moonwatcher hurls man’s first weapon into the sky and launches the episode into the stratosphere of film’s greatest moments. 24 pages of black-and-white photographs complete this rare behind-the-scenes narrative chronicling the filming of Stanley Kubrick’s ultimate vision.

Arthur C. Clarke’s Best Books

Arthur C. Clarke Review Website Bibliography Rankings