Sir Arthur C Clarke

Arthur C Clarke

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Arthur C Clarke's
Non Fiction

This is a list of Arthur C Clarke’s non-fiction works that have appeared in book form. It includes collaborations (with co-author names given). These books cover all his areas of interest and expertise: space travel, telecommunications, undersea exploration, probing the mysterious and paranormal, and extrapolating on humanity’s future.

The list does not include hundreds of essays, book reviews and other stand-alone pieces of writing he has contributed to dozens of publications. A useful, albeit incomplete listing of such work is found in Arthur C. Clarke: A Primary and Secondary Bibliography by David N. Samuelson (G K Hall, 1984).

Many of these titles are still in print, some having run into multiple editions and reprints. Please check online or with book sellers for availability.

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Report on Planet Three

From the author who brought you 2001: A Space Odyssey comes a delightful and fascinating universe of ideas. For those of you who are worried about what the neighbors will think, there is what is purported to be an old Martian document which tells us what our nearest neighbor has to say about life on Earth. Later in the book, Clarke goes on to explain the proper etiquette for contacting and dealing with aliens from outer space, or what to do if they get here first… Ranging from the light fantastic to the extremely possible, this collection is divided into five sections: Talking of Space; Outward from Earth; The Technological Future; Frontiers of science; and Son of Dr. Strangelove, etc. From Martians to Magi here is Arthur C. Clarke’s unforgettable tour of the universe-known, unknown and yet to come.

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The Challenge of the Sea

Our planet is a world of water, not of land, for the sea covers more than two-thirds of its surface. Yet despite the fact that men have sailed it for thousands of years, we are only now beginning to discover the sea, and to realize its possibilities for future exploration and development. This fascinating book, by the world-famous author of “The Exploration of Space”, is about those possibilities. Starting with the background of present knowledge, it discusses the many mysteries which the oceans still hold, and then goes on to consider such matters of vital importance to our future as mining and farming the sea - projects already under way in many parts of the world. Among the subjects touched upon are new methods of deep-sea exploration, the Great Sea Serpent and other unknown marine creatures, the prospects for domesticating whales and porpoises, uncovering  the Earth’s geological history by drilling through the ocean bed, and the value of the sea as a great submarine playground for future generations.

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The Challenge of the Spaceship

In The Challenge of the Spaceship the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey offers a spellbinding glimpse into tomorrow, a startling prophecy of a world in which experience is limitless. In Clarke’s future, man will no longer be bound to earth’s domain, but will be privy to the secrets, joys and dangers of other worlds. His transportation there will be simple and efficient, his knowledge expanded beyond our wildest dreams. Reserve a seat on this mind-expanding voyage. Meet The Challenge of the Spaceship.

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The Coast of Coral

The first-hand Experience of a Journey to the Depths of the Blue Planet by the Author of 2001, 2010 and 3001. World-famous science and science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke and photographer Mike Wilson spent two adventurous years exploring the Great Barrier Reef, the mightiest coral formation in the world. Presented here are “the adventures and mishaps, successes and failures” of that underwater expedition, as recorded by Clarke himself. Illustrated with rare underwater photographs, here is a unique look into a region of mystery, of boundless beauty and danger - one of the most intriguing frontiers on our planet.

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The Exploration of Space

This book has been written to answer all the questions which the intelligent layman asks about the new science of “astronautics”- a subject which is increasingly in the public eye. The treatment, though scientifically accurate, is entirely nontechnical and the many remarkable plates - four in full colour - give a vivid impression of the way in which space-travel may be achieved. Among the subjects illustrated are the refueling of spaceships in free orbit outside the atmosphere, the construction of a “space-station,” an automatic rocket surveying Mars, and the lunar base. All these illustrations are scientifically sound, and every effort has been made to be factually accurate and to avoid mere fantasy. None of the difficulties of interplanetary travel has been shirked, and the many engineering, medical and similar problems which must be overcome before space-travel is possible are fully discussed. The author attempts to answer such questions as “What may we expect to find on the planets?” and “What will we do when we get there?” Besides giving a clear and readable picture of Man’s place in the Universe, he describes the planets that may be explored during the next century and the methods that could be used to colonize them despite alien conditions. To those who admit the possibility of space-flight but see no point in working it out, Mr. Clarke addresses the closing chapter, a discussion of what astronautics may contribute to the progress of civilization and the ultimate happiness of mankind.

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The Exploration of the Moon

There have been many books about space flight, but this is the first illustrated, step-by-step presentation of the subject. In a manner that combines scientific accuracy with artistic skill, it depicts the various stages in the progress of “astronautics” from the launching of the first un-manned rockets to the final establishment of a lunar colony. The forty five illustrations (eight in full colour) provide a dramatic survey of the problems and possibilities of space flight, and are the work of R. A. Smith, who has studied the subject intensively for more than twenty years and has considerable practical experience in modern rocket design. He shows how, by the correct use of science and engineering skill, the Moon may become a valuable permanent community in its own right, marking the beginning of an entirely new relation between Man and his Universe. The descriptive text is by Arthur C. Clarke, B.Sc., F.R.A.S., well-known for his books and television programmes on space-travel. Mr. Clarke has twice been Chairman of the British Interplanetary Society and, like Mr. Smith, has served on the society’s Council since 1937.

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The First Five Fathoms

In splendid pictures and text Mike Wilson and Arthur C. Clarke show young skin divers how they may become masters of the first five fathoms (thirty feet), the most fascinating and beautiful part of the sea. They direct the reader’s first steps to the sea, and explain the use of snorkel, mask and fins. There is an excellent and informative section on water pressure and how it affects mans ability to breathe under water. They describe the operation of the Aqua–Lung which enables men to swim beneath the sea with the freedom of fish. Camera fans will be delighted to learn how they can take beautiful underwater photographs similar to those of Mr. Wilson. Young explorers can find no better guides to underwater adventure than the co-authors of the successful Boy Beneath the Sea.

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The Making of a Moon

The launching of earth satellites in connexion with the International Geophysical Year is Man’s first major step into space. This book describes how the idea of artificial satellites first arose, and the problems which had to be overcome before it was possible to establish them. Without assuming any prior technical knowledge on the part of the reader, Mr. Clarke explains the basic principles upon which these man-made moons depend, and the many types of new knowledge which they will make available as they circle the Earth. He also discusses the possible military and scientific uses of the larger, man-carrying “space stations” which will follow the present automatic satellites - in particular their immense commercial value as TV and radio relay stations which could provide interference-free service over the entire world. The author is particularly well qualified to write on this subject, not merely because of his earlier works on astronautics (such as The Exploration of Space) but also because of his close connexion with the subject of satellites. As Chairman of the British Interplanetary Society, he organized the first international congress devoted to artificial satellites (London 1951).Two years later he was Chairman of the Hayden Planetarium’s Third Symposium on Space Travel in New York, where satellite vehicles were again the main theme. In preparing this book he has received the full co-operation of the many agencies working on the official U.S satellite project.

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The Odyssey File (with Peter Hyams)

Arthur C. Clarke sits at his Kaypro-II computer in far off Sri Lanka transmitting files to Peter Hyams, who responds in kind from his office in Los Angeles. Thus a fascinating computer correspondence develops.   Now, in The Odyssey File, we get a unique opportunity to tap into the creative process as two of today’s gifted writers work on a film of the future using the technology of tomorrow. In the actual electronic correspondence between Clarke and Hyams, they “chat” about such things as:

  • Details of set design
  • Problems of casting
  • Modifications necessary for the successful translation of a bestselling novel into a stunning screenplay
  • Expensive and time-consuming searches for a house with a built-in dolphin pool and a believable high-tech substitute for the radiotelescope at Arecibo

Plus off-the-cuff chitchat dealing with matters more personal.

In the enlightening and entertaining opening section, Clarke discusses his love affair with computers and explains in some detail how this unique correspondence originated and the joys and frustrations in communicating to someone half a world away.

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The Promise of Space

Since Arthur Clarke’s The Exploration of Space introduced millions of readers to the why and how of astronautics almost twenty years ago, the exploration of space has moved from prediction to accomplished fact. In this entirely new work, he relates man’s solid achievements of the last two decades to the enormous promise of the1970’s and beyond. Mr. Clarke sees scientists and engineers shaping strange environments with techniques yet unborn, including the building of cities beneath the blistering sun of Mercury or on cold Plutonian wastes. Space technology is erasing obstacles so effectively that what seemed impossible to one generation becomes elementary to the next. If man’s driving curiosity continues, Mr. Clarke believes, we will eventually move beyond the planets and through ages still ahead of us in time, to the stellar universe. Theoretically, the rocket can approach the speed of light, 670 million miles per hour; a voyage to Proxima Centauri, for example, via Jupiter, is scientifically feasible, though with our present equipment it would take almost a million years. This book contains many new ideas from the author’s inventive mind - the same mind that devised the concept behind the communications satellite. The author envisions a huge, thin plastic sail fueled only by sun-beams, capable of travelling around the sun at speeds exceeding 5,000 miles per hour. As always his projections are based on wholly feasible advances in space technology.

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The Reefs of Taprobane

Looking for new underwater worlds to conquer, Arthur Clarke and Mike Wilson followed up their expedition to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (described in The Coast of Coral) by exploring the romantic seas surrounding Ceylon. Meetings with dangerous and beautiful marine creatures were only one side of the expedition’s activities. Their adventures included the discovery of many wrecks and the investigation of a 3,000-year-old Hindu temple lying on the ocean bed. Clarke and Wilson lived among the Ceylonese natives, their contact with Europeans virtually limited to the dozen members of the Ceylonese Reefcombers Club, who shared many of their underwater adventures. When weather conditions ruled out skin diving, they explored the awe-inspiring ruins of ancient Sinhalese cities, made trips into the jungles in search of wild life, and visited Buddhist monasteries. Clarke and Wilson’s experiences provide vivid impressions of old and new Ceylon, one of the key countries of the Far East, and give vivid impressions of the fantastic life of the tropical reefs and the strange transformations which lost ships undergo when the sea works its will on them.

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The Snows of Olympus

This is the story of how a world could be resurrected... Mars is a barren planet, almost without atmosphere and with a temperature ranging from near zero to 120 degrees below. No water flows and there is no evidence that life has ever existed there. Yet Mars is Earth’s near neighbor and has always exerted a powerful hold on our imagination. The astronomer Lowell thought he’d discovered canals on the planet’s surface; H.G. Wells (and his namesake Orson) speculated on the red planet’s inhabitants invading Earth; sf writers have always used Mars as a setting and continue to do so. In The Snows of Olympus Arthur C. Clarke uses a revolutionary computer program to show, in words and pictures, how the surface of the planet would change as, gradually, scientists created an atmosphere and raised the temperature. Taking as his starting point Olympus Mons, the highest mountain in the Solar System, a 27 km extinct volcano, Clarke creates detailed ‘photographs’ of the Martian surface and then shows how the landscape would change as vegetation began to thrive and water to flow. He speculates about how this might happen, about the journey to Mars and about what living on the planet might be like. The result is one of the most fascinating, challenging and imaginatively stimulating books of the year. Arthur C. Clarke has long been hailed as the most visionary and accurate of science fiction and non-fiction writers, having predicted communications satellites years before their development. In this extraordinary book he charts the next chapter of humanity’s future in space.

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The Treasure of the Great Reef

The Guns were the clue… brought up by skin divers from the lonely reef off Ceylon, they told of an ancient shipwreck. And then a lump of coral split open to reveal coins: the ship had carried treasure. Arthur Clarke, award-winning science-fact and-fiction writer, and a skilled diver, helped mount an expedition to explore the wreck and recover the treasure. Battling time and weather, piratical snoopers and government suspicion, they dove and dove again for riches and equally precious knowledge of the past. Arthur Clarke spiritedly reports this unique adventure - including the strange accident that nearly took his life.

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The View from Serendip

‘Serendip’ is one of the ancient names for Sri Lanka, Arthur Clarke’s home for many years. In this latest collection of essays - which he calls ‘a first approximation to an autobiography’ - Clarke gives a delightful account of his continuing love affair with the island, discussing its history and society, and describing his exploits diving for treasure in the wrecks which dot the island’s reefs. But his main theme is, as one would expect, the future, and the implications for mankind of scientific and technological developments. He discusses optimistically the future of space travel and argues for the practical value of space research; he forecasts a coming breakthrough in biological engineering and the creation of a large robotic population to attend to humanity’s menial needs; he estimates the possibility of life - in various forms - in space. On a more immediate level he deals with the potential uses of communication satellites, instancing India’s experiment with village education via satellite. Other miscellaneous articles include light-hearted discussions of subjects as diverse as flying saucers and Isaac Asimov, and an account of the filming of 2001 and all the subsequent projects in which it has involved him. As readers of earlier collections will know, Arthur Clarke is a most entertaining and stimulating guide to the future. In The View From Serendip his forecasts of changes in morals and mores and technology at times attain a positively Wellsian quality.

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The Young Traveller in Space

Man’s curiosity about worlds beyond his own is unlimited. Arthur Clarke tells us of the history of this curiosity from the visions of de Bergerac in 1656, through the prophecies of Verne and Wells, to recent experiments of sending animals into space by rocket, and mans deepening knowledge of life on other planets. We hear of the strange reversals of physical laws arising from the fight to conquer space; of T.V. and radio transmissions from space stations when the problem of wavelengths will disappear; of space ports where interplanetary rockets meet to exchange passengers and cargo. There is an account of the solar system; of what life would mean on a space station; of the solutions which must be found before space travel becomes a practical reality; and of the engineering problems connected with rocket construction. Thirty two plates and six diagrams prepared especially for the book combine to make a volume to be recommended as an authoritative, reliable and exciting account of the problems of man’s greatest adventure, the conquest of space.

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