Arthur C. Clarke /

237 Pages·0.969 MB·English

by  Gary Westfahl.

MODERN MASTERS
OF SCIENCE FICTION
ARTHUR C. CLARKE
Gary Westfahl
Arthur C. Clarke

Modern Masters of Science Fiction
Edited by Gary K. Wolfe
Science fiction often anticipates the consequences of scientific discoveries.
The immense strides made by science since World War II have been matched
step by step by writers who gave equal attention to scientific principles, hu-
man imagination, and the craft of fiction. The respect for science fiction won
by Jules Verne and H. G. Wells was further increased by Isaac Asimov, Arthur
C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Ursula K. Le Guin, Joanna Russ, and Ray Bradbury.
Modern Masters of Science Fiction is devoted to books that survey the work
of individual authors who continue to inspire and advance science fiction.
A list of books in the series appears at the end of this book.

Arthur C. Clarke
Gary Westfahl
© 2018 by the Board of Trustees
of the University of Illinois
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Westfahl, Gary, author.
Title: Arthur C. Clarke / Gary Westfahl.
Description: Urbana : University of Illinois Press, [2018] | Series: Modern masters
of science fiction | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017049899 | ISBN 9780252041938 (hardcover : acid-free paper)
| ISBN 9780252083594 (pbk. : acid-free paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Clarke, Arthur C. (Arthur Charles), 1917–2008.
Classification: LCC PR6005.L36 Z95 2018 | DDC 823/.914—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017049899
Cover image: Inspection by Julian Faylona
To Gregory Benford,
Arthur C. Clarke’s longtime friend
and my longtime friend as well

Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
CHAPTER 1 Biographical Sketch 9
CHAPTER 2 Jocular Juvenilia 17
CHAPTER 3 Marvelous Machines 30
CHAPTER 4 The Conquest of Space 43
CHAPTER 5 Human Destinies 73
CHAPTER 6 Alien Encounters 93
CHAPTER 7 Under the Sea 117
CHAPTER 8 Future Faiths 134
CHAPTER 9 The Solitary Observer 149
Conclusion 177
Appendix: Clarke’s “Collaborations”
with Other Authors 181
An Arthur C. Clarke Bibliography 189
Bibliography of Secondary Sources 207
Index 209