From the savannas of Africa at the dawn of mankind to the rings of Saturn as man ventures to the outer rim of our solar system, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a journey unlike any other.

This allegory about humanity's exploration of the universe--and the universe's reaction to humanity--is a hallmark achievement in storytelling that follows the crew of the spacecraft Discovery as they embark on a mission to Saturn. Their vessel is controlled by HAL 9000, an artificially intelligent supercomputer capable of the highest level of cognitive functioning that rivals--and perhaps threatens--the human mind.

Grappling with space exploration, the perils of technology, and the limits of human power, 2001: A Space Odyssey continues to be an enduring classic of cinematic scope.

Nine years after the disastrous Discovery mission to Jupiter in 2001, a joint U.S.-Soviet expedition sets out to rendezvous with the derelict spacecraft--to search the memory banks of the mutinous computer HAL 9000 for clues to what went wrong...and what became of Commander Dave Bowman.

Without warning, a Chinese expedition targets the same objective, turning the recovery mission into a frenzied race for the precious information Discovery may hold about the enigmatic monolith that orbits Jupiter.

Meanwhile, the being that was once Dave Bowman--the only human to unlock the mystery of the monolith--streaks toward Earth on a vital mission of its own . . .

Clarke deftly blends discovery, philosophy, and a newly acquired sense of play.--Time

2010 is easily Clarke's best book in over a decade.--The San Diego Tribune

From the savannas of Africa at the dawn of mankind to the rings of Saturn as man ventures to the outer rim of our solar system, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a journey unlike any other.

This allegory about humanity's exploration of the universe--and the universe's reaction to humanity--is a hallmark achievement in storytelling that follows the crew of the spacecraft Discovery as they embark on a mission to Saturn. Their vessel is controlled by HAL 9000, an artificially intelligent supercomputer capable of the highest level of cognitive functioning that rivals--and perhaps threatens--the human mind.

Grappling with space exploration, the perils of technology, and the limits of human power, 2001: A Space Odyssey continues to be an enduring classic of cinematic scope.

Part of Penguin Galaxy, a collectible series of six sci-fi/fantasy classics, featuring a series introduction by Neil Gaiman

Winner of the AIGA + Design Observer 50 Books 50 Covers competition

Written when landing on the moon was still a dream, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a science-fiction classic that has changed the way we look at the stars--and ourselves. On the moon, an enigma is uncovered. So great are the implications that, for the first time, men are sent deep into our solar system. But before they can reach their destination, things begin to go very wrong. From the savannas of Africa at the dawn of mankind to the rings of Saturn at the turn of the 21st century, Arthur C. Clarke takes us on a journey unlike any other. Brilliant, compulsive, and prophetic, and the basis for the immensely influential Stanley Kubrick film, 2001: A Space Odyssey tackles the enduring theme of man's--and technology's--place in the universe and lives on as a landmark achievement in storytelling.

Penguin Galaxy

Six of our greatest masterworks of science fiction and fantasy, in dazzling collector-worthy hardcover editions, and featuring a series introduction by #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, Penguin Galaxy represents a constellation of achievement in visionary fiction, lighting the way toward our knowledge of the universe, and of ourselves. From historical legends to mythic futures, monuments of world-building to mind-bending dystopias, these touchstones of human invention and storytelling ingenuity have transported millions of readers to distant realms, and will continue for generations to chart the frontiers of the imagination.

The Once and Future King by T. H. White
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
Dune by Frank Herbert
2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Neuromancer by William Gibson

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

But the great experiment designed by the Ramans has failed, and Rama III has become a battleground. Fleeing a tyrant, a band of humans ventures into the nether regions of the ship, where they encounter an emerald-doomed lair ruled by the fabulously advanced octospiders.

As the octospiders lure the humans deeper into their domain, the humans must decide whether the creatures are their allies of enemies. All the while, Rama III continues its in-explorable journey towards the node, where the climax of their voyage awaits the stunning revelation of the true identity of the beings behind this glittering trek across the cosmos.

Years ago, the enormous, enigmatic alien spacecraft called Rama sailed through our solar system as mind-boggling proof that life existed--or had existed--elsewhere in the universe. Now, at the dawn of the twenty-third century, another ship is discovered hurtling toward us.

A crew of Earth's best and brightest minds is assembled to rendezvous with the massive vessel. They are armed with everything we know about Raman technology and culture. But nothing can prepare them for what they are about to encounter on board Rama II cosmic secrets that are startling, sensational--and perhaps even deadly.

Offers one surprise after another.--The New York Times

A masterpiece . . . one of the year's best hard SF epics.--The Houston Post

Only rarely does a novelist weave a tapestry so compelling that it captures the imagination of the entire world. But that is precisely what Arthur C. Clarke accomplished with 2001: A Space Odyssey.

It is even more unusual that an author is able to complement so well-received an invention with an equally successful sequel. But Arthur C. Clarke's 2010: Odyssey Two enthralled a huge audience worldwide.

Now, in 2061: Odyssey Three, Arthur C. Clarke revisits the most famous future ever imagined, as two expeditions into space are inextricably tangled by human necessity and the immutable laws of physics. And Heywood Floyd, survivor of two previous encounters with the mysterious monoliths, must once again confront Dave Bowman--or whatever Bowman has become--a newly independent HAL, and the power of an alien race that has decided Mankind is to play a part in the evolution of the galaxy whether it wishes to or not.

Childhood's End is one of the defining legacies of Arthur C. Clarke, the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey and many other groundbreaking works. Since its publication in 1953, this prescient novel about first contact gone wrong has come to be regarded not only as a science fiction classic but as a literary thriller of the highest order.

Spaceships have suddenly appeared in the skies above every city on the planet. Inside is an intellectually, technologically, and militarily superior alien race known as the Overlords. At first, their demands seem benevolent: unify Earth, eliminate poverty, end war. But at what cost? To those who resist, it's clear that the Overlords have an agenda of their own. Has their arrival marked the end of humankind . . . or the beginning?

Praise for Childhood's End

A first-rate tour de force.--The New York Times

Frighteningly logical, believable, and grimly prophetic . . . Clarke is a master.--Los Angeles Times

There has been nothing like it for years; partly for the actual invention, but partly because here we meet a modern author who understands that there may be things that have a higher claim on humanity than its own 'survival.' --C. S. Lewis

As a science fiction writer, Clarke has all the essentials.--Jeremy Bernstein, The New Yorker

By the twenty-third century Earth has already had two encounters with massive, mysterious robotic spacecraft from beyond our solar system--the incontestable proof of an alien technology that far exceeds our own. Now three human cosmonauts are trapped aboard a labyrinthine Raman vessel, where it will take all of their physical and mental resources to survive.

Only twelve years into their journey do these intrepid travelers learn their destination and face their ultimate challenge: a rendezvous with a Raman base--and the unseen architects of their galactic home. The cosmonauts have given up family, friends, and possessions to live a new kind of life. But the answers that await them at the Raman Node will require an even greater sacrifice--if humanity is indeed ready to learn the awe-inspiring truth.

3001 is not just a page-turner, plugged in to the great icons of HAL and the monoliths, but a book of wisdom too, pithy and provocative.--New Scientist

The body of Frank Poole, lost for a thousand years since the computer HAL caused his death en route to Jupiter, is retrieved, revived--and enhanced. In the most eagerly awaited sequel of all time, the terrifying truth of the Monoliths' mission is a mystery only Poole can resolve.

Praise for 3001 The Final Odyssey

A one man literary Big Bang, Clarke has originated his own vast and teeming futuristic universe.--Sunday Times

Well-paced and absorbing . . . It is as a flight of fancy by the master of science fiction that 3001 makes its mark.--The Times

In his exciting new novel, Clarke reveals the ominous answer about the ultimate purpose of the monoliths.--Daily Telegraph

Serene, uplifting, and icy clear.--Mail on Sunday

From the moment I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. 3001 The Final Odyssey is a tour de force that finally answers the questions that sparked the imaginations of an entire generation.--Buzz Aldrin

In a single volume, the complete short fiction of one of the greatest SF writers of the century

Author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Childhood's End, The City and the Stars, and the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke is the most celebrated science fiction author alive. He is--with H. G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, and Robert A. Heinlein--one of the writers who define science fiction in our time.

Now Clarke has cooperated in the preparation of a massive, definitive edition of his collected shorter works. From early work like Rescue Party and The Lion of Comarre, through classics like The Star, Earthlight, The Nine Billion Names of God, and The Sentinel (kernel of the later novel, and movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey), all the way to later work like A Meeting with Medusa and The Hammer of God, this immense volume encapsulates one of the great SF careers of all time.

Nine years after the disastrous Discovery mission to Jupiter in 2001, a joint U.S.-Soviet expedition sets out to rendezvous with the derelict spacecraft--to search the memory banks of the mutinous computer HAL 9000 for clues to what went wrong...and what became of Commander Dave Bowman.

Without warning, a Chinese expedition targets the same objective, turning the recovery mission into a frenzied race for the precious information Discovery may hold about the enigmatic monolith that orbits Jupiter.

Meanwhile, the being that was once Dave Bowman--the only human to unlock the mystery of the monolith--streaks toward Earth on a vital mission of its own . . .

Clarke deftly blends discovery, philosophy, and a newly acquired sense of play.--Time

2010 is easily Clarke's best book in over a decade.--The San Diego Tribune

Childhood's End is one of the defining legacies of Arthur C. Clarke, the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey and many other groundbreaking works. Since its publication in 1953, this prescient novel about first contact gone wrong has come to be regarded not only as a science fiction classic but as a literary thriller of the highest order.

Spaceships have suddenly appeared in the skies above every city on the planet. Inside is an intellectually, technologically, and militarily superior alien race known as the Overlords. At first, their demands seem benevolent: unify Earth, eliminate poverty, end war. But at what cost? To those who resist, it's clear that the Overlords have an agenda of their own. Has their arrival marked the end of humankind . . . or the beginning?

Praise for Childhood's End

A first-rate tour de force.--The New York Times

Frighteningly logical, believable, and grimly prophetic . . . Clarke is a master.--Los Angeles Times

There has been nothing like it for years; partly for the actual invention, but partly because here we meet a modern author who understands that there may be things that have a higher claim on humanity than its own 'survival.' --C. S. Lewis

As a science fiction writer, Clarke has all the essentials.--Jeremy Bernstein, The New Yorker

Far in the future, Earth's oceans have evaporated and humanity has all but vanished. The inhabitants of Diaspar believe their domed city is all that remains of an empire that had once conquered the stars. Inside the dome, the citizens live in technological splendor, free from the distractions of aging and disease. Everything is controlled precisely, just as the city's designers had intended.

But a boy named Alvin, unlike his fellow humans, shows an insatiable--and dangerous--curiosity about the world outside the dome. His questions will send him on a quest to discover the truth about the city and humanity's history--as well as its future.

A masterful and awe-inspiring work of imagination, The City and the Stars is considered one of Arthur C. Clarke's finest novels.

Only rarely does a novelist weave a tapestry so compelling that it captures the imagination of the entire world. But that is precisely what Arthur C. Clarke accomplished with 2001: A Space Odyssey.

It is even more unusual that an author is able to complement so well-received an invention with an equally successful sequel. But Arthur C. Clarke's 2010: Odyssey Two enthralled a huge audience worldwide.

Now, in 2061: Odyssey Three, Arthur C. Clarke revisits the most famous future ever imagined, as two expeditions into space are inextricably tangled by human necessity and the immutable laws of physics. And Heywood Floyd, survivor of two previous encounters with the mysterious monoliths, must once again confront Dave Bowman--or whatever Bowman has become--a newly independent HAL, and the power of an alien race that has decided Mankind is to play a part in the evolution of the galaxy whether it wishes to or not.

Mesmerized by the beauty of Thalassa and overwhelmed by its vast resources, the colonists lived an idyllic existence, unaware of the monumental evolutionary event slowly taking place between their seas. . . .

Then the Magellan arrived in orbit carrying one million refugees from the last, mad days on Earth. And suddenly uncertainty and change had come to the placid paradise that was Thalassa.

Renowned structural engineer Dr. Vannevar Morgan seeks to link Earth to the stars by constructing a space elevator that will connect to an orbiting satellite 22,300 miles from the planet's surface. The elevator would lift interstellar spaceships into orbit without the need of rockets to blast through the Earth's atmosphere--making space travel easier and more cost-effective.

Unfortunately, the only appropriate surface base for the elevator is located at the top of a mountain already occupied by an ancient order of Buddhist monks who strongly oppose the project. Morgan must face down their opposition--as well as enormous technical, political, and economic challenges--if he is to create his beanstalk to the heavens.

An epic novel of daring dreams spanning twenty decades, this award-winning drama combines believable science with heart-stopping suspense.

A beautifully mounted story about the human need to reach--literally--for the stars, and the fine line between genius and megalomania. --SFReviews.net

SAILING THE SEA OF OUTER SPACE!

Arthur C. Clarke's Sunjammer updated an ancient dream, taking millions of readers on a sailing regatta in space. His stirring tale sparked a tech revolution that's coming true today-interplanetary vehicles, navigating across the Solar System on inexhaustible torrents of sunlight!

Many others have since explored the coming, renewed age of sail. This intriguing anthology-updated for a new century-features both up-to-the-minute facts and future visions of solar sailing in a fascinating mix of stories, essays, and illustrations. Contributors range from JPL scientists to Isaac Asimov, Poul Anderson, Kevin Anderson, and Ray Bradbury. From classics by Arthur C. Clarke, David Brin, Joe Clifford Faust, and Larry Niven, to the latest missions by NASA and the Planetary Society. Even interstellar possibilities-explored by Robert L. Forward & Joel Davis-are now carried even farther in reports by space pioneers like Les Johnson, Robert Staehle & Louis Friedman. This 21st Century Edition, specially crafted by David Brin and Stephen W. Potts, also includes a lost gem by Jack Vance.