Prelude to Space
New York: Ballantine Books, 1954. Presumed first Ballantine Books Paperback edition/first printing. Mass market paperback. [4], 166, [2] pages. Illustrated front cover. Cover has some wear and soiling. Minor page discoloration noted. Title page had been separated but present, and has been glued back to the spine. Index. Sir Arthur Charles Clarke CBE FRAS (16 December 1917 – 19 March 2008) was an English science fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. Clarke co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, widely regarded as one of the most influential films of all time. He was a science fiction writer, an avid popularizer of space travel, and a futurist of distinguished ability. He wrote many books and many essays. In 1961, he received the Kalinga Prize, a UNESCO award for popularizing science. Clarke's science and science fiction writings earned him the moniker "Prophet of the Space Age". His science fiction writings in particular earned him a number of Hugo and Nebula awards, which along with a large readership, made him one of the towering figures of the genre. For many years Clarke, Robert Heinlein, and Isaac Asimov were known as the "Big Three" of science fiction. Clarke was a lifelong proponent of space travel. In 1934, he joined the British Interplanetary Society (BIS). In 1945, he proposed a satellite communication system using geostationary orbits. He was the chairman of the BIS from 1946 to 1947 and again in 1951–1953. Clarke augmented his popularity in the 1980s, as the host of television shows such as Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World. The cover describes this as a novel of tomorrow's greatest adventure. Derived from a Kirkus review: An astronautical documentary of the first rocket to the moon as it is recorded by Dirk Alexson, an historian assigned to the project. Alexson's briefing takes him from London to the base in the desert of Australia where the Prometheus is to be launched; the extensive preparations, the screening of the crew, the ultimate objectives of the mission-all this forms a precise prospectus which is more science than fiction. Prelude to Space is a science fiction novel written by British author Arthur C. Clarke in 1947. It appeared for the first time in 1951 as a paperback from World Editions Inc., as number three in its series of Galaxy novels. Sidgwick & Jackson published it in the UK in 1953, followed the next year by a United States hardcover edition from Gnome Press and a paperback from Ballantine Books. Prelude to Space recounts the fictional events leading up the launch of Prometheus, the world's first spacecraft capable of reaching the Moon. Prometheus consists of two components, named Alpha and Beta. Alpha is designed for travel from Earth orbit to the Moon and back. It is not capable of independent atmospheric flight. Beta is a nuclear-powered flying wing which carries Alpha into orbit. Beta uses a nuclear reactor to superheat either air (when flying in the lower, denser, part of the atmosphere) or its own internal supply of methane (in the higher reaches of the atmosphere and in space) to achieve thrust. Beta functions as a ramjet in the lower atmosphere and must be launched using an electric launch track. The return journey to the Moon proceeds as follows: Beta carries Alpha into orbit; Alpha separates from Beta and refuels from tanks previously carried into orbit by Beta; Alpha flies to and lands on the Moon while Beta remains in Earth orbit; Alpha returns to Earth orbit and the crew returns to Earth aboard Beta; Alpha remains in orbit to await the next flight. Prelude was written before the Apollo program landed men on the Moon and follows the ideal that space travel is realistic and within the grasp of the population. Clarke wrote a new preface in 1976 in which he admits that he had some advocacy goals in writing Prelude to Space — he was an influential member of the astronautics community when the idea of rockets leaving Earth's atmosphere was scoffed at by many scientists. The novel ends with the launching of Prometheus; the entire plot consists of scientists, engineers and administrators showing Dr. Dirk Alexson how the mission was planned and how the technology will work. Dr. Alexson is the historian assigned to prepare the official history of the Moon mission. Prelude to Space has also been published under the titles Master of Space and The Space Dreamers. Groff Conklin characterized Prelude as a "genuinely effective 'documentary of tomorrow'". Boucher and McComas praised the novel, saying that Clarke handled scientific detail "with so sensitive a poetic understanding that this simple factual narrative is more absorbing than the most elaborately plotted galactic epic." P. Schuyler Miller reviewed it favorably, citing its "documentary quality" and "many of the poetic bits" that mark Clarke's work. Condition: Fair.
Keywords: Space, Exploration, Rocket, Spaceship, Navigation, Communication, Moon, Dirk Alexson, Prometheus, Lunar Mission, Orbit, Nuclear-Power, Flying Wing, Electric Launch Track, Refueling
[Book #90026]
Price: $27.50