Prelude to Space

London: Sidgwick and Jackson Limited, 1953. Cloth. Very Good Indeed/Very Good. 8" by 5.5". None. The first British edition of the second novel published by brilliant science-fiction mind, Arthur C. Clarke, complete with a smart, unclipped dust wrapper. First written in 1947, this is the first British edition of this work, which narrates the fictional events which led to the launch of Prometheus, the world's first spacecraft capable of reaching the Moon. Predating the Moon landings by a few decades, this work promoted space travel as being within the grasp of scientists.Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008) was one of the most widely-acclaimed and celebrated writers of science-fiction, as well as an inventor, explorer and television host. He collaborated with Stanley Kubrick on '2001: A Space Odyssey', inspired by his short story 'The Sentinel'. He was a proponent of space exploration, and as well as his numerous novels and short story collections, wrote many non-fiction works on exploration, the sea and astronautics.The first U.K. edition.Complete with a smart and unclipped dust wrapper. A brilliant example of the second novel by a widely influential proponent of space travel. In the publisher's original full cloth binding with an unclipped dust wrapper. Externally generally smart, with the cloth a little bumped and faded to the head and tail of the spine and extremities. Dust wrapper has a little loss along the head as well as a little general wear, but is otherwise smart and bright. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are bright and clean. Very Good Indeed