Arthur C. Clarke

By Logan Wright

Okay, so Arthur C. Clarke was a little off when he wrote his classic science-fiction novel 2001: Space Odyssey. It’s almost 2008 now and we still don’t have any omnipotent computers, extra-terrestrial life, or even crazed hominids throwing bones around (well, maybe a few). If we excuse him of this, though, we can admire what is simultaneously one of the best science fiction novels and films ever created.

Clarke, whose work is typically identified by his general optimism towards science and technology, has been known to include some pretty profound themes in his works. His 1948 novel The Sentinel featured religious themes and suggested that species could evolve to god-like states and that humanity might be born from a superior alien race.

Clarke was not limited to merely science fiction. In a 1945 paper published in Wireless World, he wrote of a plan for using geostationary satellites in telecommunications. Since then, the idea has caught on and there are currently 300 geostationary satellites orbiting the earth in the Clarke Orbit.

A top title from Clarke:
Arthur C. Clarke, (1990), 2001: A Space Odyssey, Orbit,
ISBN: 1857236645

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