h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

You ought to mention the fact that Clarke was one of the first (if not the first) science fiction author to describe a spaceship design that wasn't aerodynamic. In his first novel, the Sands Of Mars, he thouroughly describes a dumbell shaped ship that is designed based on space eficience and keeping the crew away from the nuclear generator. He uses this design at least once in a later book (I con't remember which one) and its one of the first examples of a reallistic spaceship being described in SF.

Yup, he used it in 2001 too...

he also predicted a lot of current space techniques in "prelude to space".

Thanks. I haven't read that, but I'll try to find it.

it's worth a read. when he published it, he was pounced upon by the critics for being wildly optimistic for some of the dates used for the moon program and sub-orbital flight.

in the end, it turned out he had been highly conservative.

by the way, this is not a spoiler about the book, it gives away more on the back cover.

Thanks.

Is prelude to space Futurology instead of Fiction?

That should read as opposed to...

hard to say. it is told from the viewpoint of the historian appointed to make sure that the stuff that gets left out of histories gets recorded.

his job is to write the official history of the first moon shot.

as it takes place well before the actual moon shots, and is set well after them (in time anyway), then you would have to make up your own mind.

still a good book though.

Hmmmm, will have to search that one out...