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Visionary: The Odyssey of Sir Arthur C. Clarke
The only full-life biography of Sir Arthur C. Clarke, world renown author of more than 100 books, one of the great science and science fiction writers of the 20th Century, who also had the famous collaboration with Stanley Kubrick on the classic film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
414 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 30, 2012
Quite good, especially on the young Clark who was a very odd and interesting young man, almost otherworldly, who was nonetheless focused like a laser on his favorite topic: planetary astronomy and rockets. This is the Clark who came up with the idea of geosynchronous communications satellites (which he lived to see, of course). Much of interest. Clark spent a great deal of his life living in Sri Lanka. Clark was practically a professional scuba diver, and was coowner, and very active partner, of an underwater recovery business for quite a while. Final couple of chapters are deadly dull. They consist of literally one description after another of trips to give speeches and receive awards. Clark's naive, unexamined, ultimately insipid one worldism, which was usually the subject of his speeches and non science fiction appearances, is presented at length and as writ from on high by McAleer, who otherwise show excellent taste in quote selection. His disagreement with Heinlein over the Strategic Defense Initiative (Heinlein was correct) is presented as something completely out of the blue, but actually becomes an illustration of Clark's disengagement from reality and his surrender of what had been his stubbornly independent mind to the reigning internationalist zeitgeist of those days. But these are distractions from an otherwise good job by McAleer. I very much recommend the book for those interested in Clark and science fiction.
August 23, 2017
The Vision of an Odyssey
A great update to the earlier biography of one of the great science fiction authors of our time. Now updated since Clarke's death. I have only a couple complaints. One, the last few chapters were rushed and not as detailed as the rest of the book. And secondly, I am disappointed that there was no mention of two of Clarke's other novel collaborations Richter 10 with Mike McQuay and Trigger with Michael Kube-McDowell (one of my favorite authors). I am also wondering about the truth of the accusations that Clarke was a pedophile. The book covers this some and categorically refutes this but since reading the experience of Pete Troyer at this site (https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/bj...) I have to wonder if Clarke was a pedophile. He would have had a lot to lose if that had gotten public and proven true without a doubt. I know from hearing about the experiences of those sexually abused by powerful people that their stories have the tendency not to be believed. And powerful people have the means to protect their reputations from being tarnished.
A great update to the earlier biography of one of the great science fiction authors of our time. Now updated since Clarke's death. I have only a couple complaints. One, the last few chapters were rushed and not as detailed as the rest of the book. And secondly, I am disappointed that there was no mention of two of Clarke's other novel collaborations Richter 10 with Mike McQuay and Trigger with Michael Kube-McDowell (one of my favorite authors). I am also wondering about the truth of the accusations that Clarke was a pedophile. The book covers this some and categorically refutes this but since reading the experience of Pete Troyer at this site (https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/bj...) I have to wonder if Clarke was a pedophile. He would have had a lot to lose if that had gotten public and proven true without a doubt. I know from hearing about the experiences of those sexually abused by powerful people that their stories have the tendency not to be believed. And powerful people have the means to protect their reputations from being tarnished.
June 9, 2015
If I had to say anything bad about this book is that it is detailed to a fault. It´s extremely well researched and written in a way that puts you next to Clarke´s life every step of the way. It was really interesting to know about his infancy and young life, as well as his military career as a RADAR officer in World War II. His prolific years in the 1950´s were very interesting to read about too. Of course his association with Stanley Kubrick and the creation of "2001" is the best part of the book.
I must admit that I grew a little tired of the descriptions of all the major events, seminars, meetings, etc that Clarke took part after he became an internationally renowed author and public figure. The book gets really repetitive after the 1980´s. Clarke had a very long life, and this is a really long book, perhaps too long. But it´s a great biography of this science-fiction master.
I must admit that I grew a little tired of the descriptions of all the major events, seminars, meetings, etc that Clarke took part after he became an internationally renowed author and public figure. The book gets really repetitive after the 1980´s. Clarke had a very long life, and this is a really long book, perhaps too long. But it´s a great biography of this science-fiction master.
November 24, 2018
Interesting and detailed biography covering most of Clarke's life and the impact he had on science, telecommunications, and science fiction. Anyone interested in "Golden Age" science fiction authors will find it insightful. I enjoyed reading about Clarke's work with Stanley Kubrick on the 2001 movie, life in Sri Lanka (Ceylon), the Clarke/Asimov treaty, his television work (including moon landings with Walter Cronkite), and numerous world travels. This book only briefly touches on Clarke's sexuality and does not have mention of the accusations of pedophilia.
March 11, 2019
The book could have been at least 60 pages shorter and 10 times more readable for all the boring mentions of publishing dates, publishing houses, papers published, meetings with people that could have been footnote's, for those who want to know.
May 16, 2011
Interesting biography. Titan of sci fi and science writing. Fascinating individual. Enjoyed immensely.
March 16, 2014
Good summary of the lifetime achievements of science fiction's greatest optimist.
August 6, 2016
3 1/2 stars
March 24, 2017
Very comprehensive but sometimes hard to follow
Terrific book that details this great mans life thoroughly. My only gripe is the authors habit of bouncing back and forth in the timeline for no apparent reason.
Terrific book that details this great mans life thoroughly. My only gripe is the authors habit of bouncing back and forth in the timeline for no apparent reason.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews