Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #568437 in Books
• Published on: 2000-07-17
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 600 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The wonderfully titled "Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds!" is a collection taken from Sir Arthur C Clarke's non-fiction writing from over half a century's prolific output. It might seem a rather daunting book at first sight: 110 separate pieces of writing, well over 500 pages, but in fact it's an excellent read, either from beginning to end or simply dipping in at whim.

There are, as might be expected, popular science articles, pieces about space exploration and, of course, science fiction; there are also numerous sideswipes at uninformed UFO believers, spoonbenders, assorted New Agers and Creationists; and there are several fascinating and informative articles on Clarke's great loves, underwater exploration and Ceylon/Sri Lanka.

Clarke completists may already have a few of the pieces in earlier volumes such as Profiles of the Future, but most of them are available in an accessible form for the first time, taken from The Journal of the British Astronomical Society, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Times Higher Education Supplement and other similarly disparate sources. A number of Clarke's speeches are also included.

There are numerous references to the film and book 2001: A Space Odyssey. Speaking of the late Stanley Kubrick, Clarke writes, "One of my deepest regrets now is that we will not be able to share the year 2001 together". It's good to see that Clarke, in poor health for some years, is still hard at work. --David V. Barrett, This text refers to the hardcover edition

Synopsis
The definitive work of Arthur C. Clarke's brilliant career -- a pageant of dozens of futuristic pieces that anticipated many of this century's greatest scientific and technological advances. The most visionary and versatile thinker of this century here gathers together in a single volume his most significant and prophetic non-fiction writings to present a personal view of the twentieth century. From predicting the role of geosynchronous satellites decades before they existed to his groundbreaking reporting from Kennedy Space Center in the 60s, to anticipating the internet decades before it happened, Clarke has acted both as technological prophet and cultural conscience, celebrating the great scientific powers of man -- but simultaneously warning of the perils of a world where power and greed reign unchecked. Each with a new introduction, the essays show how science has expanded exponentially on its own inventions. Sir Arthur's bona fide scientific understanding is combined with a generosity of spirit, the interests of a new renaissance man, a sublime lack of false modesty and a great flair for the dramatic.

This is inarguably the crowning achievement of an unrivalled personal odyssey.

Customer Reviews

A visionary - excellent as always
Arthur C Clarke is one of the best science populisers ever. In this book we have a (small) sample of his varied non-fiction writings.

We see how Arthur's views have developed from the early days (when he was one of the 'nuts' who actually believe man would land a rocket on the moon) up to his most recent writing (including a brief history of the 21st century).

Along the way Arthur predicts/discovers communications satellites, MAD and joins with Stanley Kubrik to produce 'a little home movie'.

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Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds!
It's not for nothing that Arthur C. Clarke is "the Prophet of the Space Age" (although he dislikes being called a prophet). Indeed, there's only one prophet, and it sure ain't Mohammed. No single person in modern times have had such an enormous effect on his contemporary world as Arthur C. Clarke. He invented the concept of the geosynchronous communications satellite, he co-wrote the script for the single most influential science-fiction movie ever (that's 2001: A Space Odyssey, in case you didn't know), and he has written several of the classics of modern science-fiction (Rendezvous with Rama, to name but one). And at the venerable age of 85, he's still showing little sign of slowing down, although he is mostly confined to a wheel-chair these days.
Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds! is the title of this collection, edited by Ian T. Macauley, of articles, essays, and other short pieces of writing, spanning Clarke's entire career from the 1930s until the end of the 1990s. The material is divided into seven parts according to which decade it was originally written in, and each part begins with an introduction. Several of the individual articles and essays are also prefaced with new introductions by Clarke. Part I, entitled "Rockets and Radar," spans the 1930s and -40s, and contains 13 of Clarke's short pieces. Among them are such gems as "Extraterrestrial Relays," which is the famous essay in which Clarke first described his ideas about geosynchronous satellites; and "The Challenge of the Spaceship," an essay, originally delivered as a lecture, which, among other things, caused George Bernard Shaw to apply for membership in the British Interplanetary Society at the age of 91.
Part II, "Beneath the Seas of Ceylon," spans the 1950s and contains 23 short pieces, among them the concluding paragraphs from the book Interplanetary Flight: An Introduction to Astronautics (1950). Of this book, the late Carl Sagan, the world's most famous astronomer, later said that it had been "a turning point in my scientific development." Sagan was just one among the many great men and women to have been inspired by Clarke's writings. To me, Part II was the least interesting section of Greetings, however, since the last 9 essays describe that other great passion of Clarke's, diving. It was during the 1950s that Clarke moved to Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), which would remain his home for the rest of his life, and he spent a lot of time there diving and running an "underwater safari" enterprise. Not being a diver myself, I didn't find these stories quite as interesting as Clarke's other writings.
Part III, "Kubrick and Cape Kennedy," spans the 1960s. Like Part I, it contains 13 short writings. Especially worth mentioning is "Space and the Spirit of Man," and the very short "God and Einstein," which is an absolute must-read. Here can also be found the speech that Clarke gave when he received the Kalinga Prize in 1962. Part IV, "Tomorrow's World," spanning the 1970s, is very short, containing as it does only six short pieces. Noteworthy is the speech Clarke gave at the ceremony when the final agreements setting up the world satellite communications system (Intelsat) were signed at the State Department in Washington, on August 20, 1971.
Part V, "Stay of Execution," brings us to the 1980s, with 15 short writings by Clarke. The outstanding piece here is "Credo," containing some of Clarke's views on religion and the great questions. Clarke doesn't pull his punches, which makes this essay a very enjoyable read indeed. Part VI, "Countdown to 2000," contains no less than 37 different short writings by Clarke, written during the 1990s. Several pieces here are previously unpublished. A lot of the material is very brief, and a bit repetitive in places. The last part, "2000 and Beyond," is the postscript, containing two articles and also the speech Clarke delivered at the 1997 Emmy Awards (although this speech consists mostly of stuff that already appeared in stories from Part VI).
All in all, this is a great collection from the master, and it is well worth delving into. It is perhaps not a book you read from cover to cover, but a book you can return to regularly over a long period of time. You will always find something new to enjoy beyond the next page. Highly recommended.