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 in space: a Space Elevator, 36,000 kilometers high, anchored to an equatorial island in the Indian Ocean. "An amazing list – genuinely the best novels from sixty years of SF." - Iain M. Banks "Delightfully written and at times almost unbearably exciting." - Kingsley Amis "His enthusiasm is combined with his considerable literary and myth-making skills ... the result is something special." - Sunday Telegraph "A superbly crafted novel that may be his best." - Tribune
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From Library Journal
Published in 1953, 1952, and 1979, respectively, this trio of novels follow Clarke's recurring theme of humans thrusting themselves into space and then not necessarily liking what they find. The religious images that run throughout Clarke's work also are present here.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Review
"Clarke once again sounds his grand theme...man is most himself when he...challenges the very laws of the universe." -- -The New York Times Book Review
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By BearMaster
Format:Paperback
Hugo & Nebula Awards for Best Novel.
Nikola Tesla has been called the man who invented the 20th century. I'm hoping that Clarke will be remembered as the man who invented the 21st. As I type this there is a TV in the room, connected to a box, in turn connected to a dish on the roof, that is pointed to a satellite over 42,000 km away in what is called a Clarke Orbit, after the astronomer who realized it would be a useful place for a communications satellite to be, Sir Arthur C. Clarke.
So what does that have to do with this novel? In this book Clarke talks about a bridge, a tether that connects the ground to Clarke orbit. A vertical railroad, allowing for a more economical method for reaching Earth-orbit than riding on a Space Shuttle with the power of sixty-five locomotives.
As in real life, the political problems far outweigh the technical ones, and those who say that Clarke is weak in characterization have not read the same book I did.
Do the math, we can build a tether, we should build it. The only thing wrong with this book is that it hasn't happened, yet.
By Bart Leahy
Format:Paperback
You can almost see Patrick Stewart playing Vannevar Morgan, the driven engineer who pushes to construct the world's first "space elevator." For any reader unfamiliar with the concept, what Clarke talks about in this book is a train track that stretches from the equator to geostationary orbit, where our weather satellites generally reside. This immense tower, elevator, or "skyhook" could humanity tremendous amounts of money and energy, as we would no longer have to launch rockets into space, but could simply send payloads up this extended elevator. From there, we could use the spin of the earth at the elevator's uppermost point to launch payloads throughout the solar system without using as much fuel.
It's heady stuff, and I thoroughly enjoyed Clarke's play with this concept. And along the way, he manages to describe the "office of the future" (much of which has already occurred in the 22 years since the book was released), the flooding of the Sahara, the damming of the Bering Sea, the bridging of the Straits of Gibraltar, and other massive engineering projects. Oh yes, and Clarke also throws in a lesson or two about Buddhism, contact with an alien space probe, weather satellites, the aurora borealis, the history of a monument in his native Sri Lanka, and half a dozen other historical engineering developments. Clarke's work here is about PROGRESS, writ large. This is still one of my favorite books. Perhaps that is because of Morgan, the only well-developed character in the whole story. He is one of those characters whom the real world does not have enough of: the truly visionary engineer. At any rate, Clarke manages to show a future in which man-made machines are awe-inspiring but not detrimental or overpowering to mankind.
I'd like to live in this world.
By Fernando
Format:Paperback
When I knew that the book was all about the construction of a 36000km high tower, I look scornfully at it. But when I started to read the strong and plausible scientific background the story has, I started to consider Clarke not only the greatest science fiction writer ever, but also one of the greatest visionaries of our time.
I only took one star out of my rate because the story developed around it is not as good as in Rendezvous with Rama and Space Odyssey, but this Clarke's vision of future compensates it by far and makes the book worthwile anyway.
I only took one star out of my rate because the story developed around it is not as good as in Rendezvous with Rama and Space Odyssey, but this Clarke's vision of future compensates it by far and makes the book worthwile anyway.
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4.2 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of Arthur Clarke's finest novels.
In the two decades since THE FOUNTAINS OF PARADISE was written, the idea of an 'elevator' into space has permeated the science fiction world completely, seen as merely a fact of... Read more
Published on Sep 2 2001 by Edward Alexander Gerster
5.0 out of 5 stars
To the moon!
Or not. But close enough. The sad thing about reading this book and reading the later Clarke books is the contrasting quality, this appears to be the last time he had his act... Read more
Published on July 11 2000 by Michael Battaglia
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful and poetic book about what we might acomplish
This book is one of my favorites for two reasons. First it has that thought provoking idea that all great science fiction books nead. Read more
Published on Oct 15 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
The ONLY WAY mankind will ever get off this planet!!!!!!!!!
An exciting story of future technology that describes construction of a "space elevator." The best science fiction story ever.
Published on Jan 24 1998
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