Ascent to Orbit: A Scientific Autobiography; The Technical Writings of Arthur C. Clarke

New York: John Wiley & Sons [a Wiley-Interscience Publication], 1984. Special Limited Edition, Volume No. 81 signed by Clarke. Hardcover. Very good/Fair. viii, [2], 226, [4] p. Illustrations. DJ has some wear and soiling, with small tears and chips. Price clipped. .. . Signed by author. . Limited numbered edition signed bookplate on fep. Some page and edge soiling and foxing. Sri Lankabhimanya Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS (16 December 1917 19 March 2008) was a British science fiction writer, science writer and futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He is perhaps most famous for being co-writer of the screenplay for the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, widely considered to be one of the most influential films of all time. His other science fiction writings earned him a number of Hugo and Nebula awards. For many years Clarke, Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov were known as the "Big Three" of science fiction. Clarke was a lifelong proponent of space travel. In 1934, while still a teenager, he joined the British Interplanetary Society. In 1945, he proposed a satellite communication system, an idea which won him the Franklin Institute's Stuart Ballantine Medal in 1963, and other honors. Later he was the chairman of the British Interplanetary Society from 194--47 and again in 1951--53 Clarke has been recognized as one of the three deans of twentieth-century science fiction, along with his fellow masters Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein, and his writing has attracted favorable comparisons to such nineteenth-century science fiction legends as H. G. Wells. Though critics have been generally less enthusiastic about the work Clarke has published since the 1970s, he is still widely regarded as among the most influential science fiction writers of all time—one who helped set the parameters of the science fiction genre and who consistently introduced new concepts and ideas in his work. Reviewers have noted his strong interest in technological advancements and his accurate depictions of new developments in space exploration. In addition, many have argued that Clarke depicts an unusually varied and complex portrayal of alien life throughout his fiction. Such supporters have been quick to applaud Clarke for rejecting the science fiction stereotype of threatening alien life forms that are vastly different from humans and bent on destruction and, instead, choosing to illuminate the nature of humanity through a juxtaposition of benevolent human and alien life. Speaking of Clarke's unique ability to present ambitious philosophical and technological speculation throughout his reader-friendly texts, Donald L. Lawler has stated that, "no reader of Clarke will want to ignore the outstanding success with which the author manages his special effects and the skill with which he again brings together scientific symbols and mythic patterns to give expression to his vision of both a possible and hopeful future."