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.
He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, one of the most influential films of all time. Clarke was a science fiction writer, an avid populariser of space travel, and a futurist of a distinguished ability. He wrote many books and many essays for popular magazines. In 1961, he received the Kalinga Prize, a UNESCO award for popularising 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.
Arthur C. Clarke began carving out his reputation as a “scientific” science-fiction writer with his first science-fiction novel, Against the Fall of Night, published as a novella in 1948. It was very popular and considered ground-breaking work for some of the concepts it contained. Clarke revised and expanded the novella into a full novel, which was published in 1953. Clarke later rewrote and expanded this work a third time to become The City and the Stars in 1956, which rapidly became a definitive must-read in the field. His third science-fiction novel, Childhood’s End, was also published in 1953, cementing his popularity. Clarke capped the first phase of his writing career with his sixth novel, A Fall of Moondust, in 1961, which is also an acknowledged classic of the period.
During this time, Clarke corresponded with C. S. Lewis in the 1940s and 1950s and they once met in an Oxford pub, the Eastgate, to discuss science fiction and space travel. Clarke voiced great praise for Lewis upon his death, saying the Ransom trilogy was one of the few works of science fiction that should be considered literature.
2001: A Space Odyssey, Clarke’s most famous work, was extended well beyond the 1968 movie as the Space Odyssey series. In 1982, Clarke wrote a sequel to 2001 titled 2010: Odyssey Two, which was made into a film in 1984. Clarke wrote two further sequels which have not been adapted into motion pictures: 2061: Odyssey Three (published in 1987) and 3001: The Final Odyssey (published in 1997).
Arthur C. Clarke Books – First Edition identification points and criteria
Note: This list only includes works published prior to 1977.
| Year | Title | Publisher | First edition/printing identification points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | ACROSS THE SEA OF STARS | New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, [1959] | First edition so stated on © page. Reprint. Collects CHILDHOOD'S END, EARTH-LIGHT, and eighteen stories selected from EXPEDITION TO EARTH, TALES FROM THE WHITE HART, and REACH FOR TOMORROW. |
| 1953 | AGAINST THE FALL OF NIGHT | [New York]: Gnome Press, Inc., [1953] | Boards. First edition so stated on © page. Later revised and expanded as THE CITY AND THE STARS. |
| 1968 | AN ARTHUR C. CLARKE SECOND OMNIBUS | London: Sidgwick & Jackson, [1968] | Boards. No statement of printing on © page. Reprint. Collects A FALL OF MOON DUST, EARTHLIGHT, and SANDS OF MARS. |
| 1965 | AN ARTHUR CLARKE OMNIBUS | London: Sidgwick & Jackson, [1965] | Boards. No statement of printing on © page. Reprint. Collects CHILDHOOD'S END, PRELUDE TO SPACE, and EXPEDITION TO EARTH. |
| 1973 | THE BEST OF ARTHUR C. CLARKE | London: Sidgwick & Jackson, [1973] | Boards. First published in Great Britain in 1973 on © page. |
| 1953 | CHILDHOOD'S END | New York: Ballantine Books, [1953] | Two issues, no priority: (A) Cloth; (B) Wrappers. Ballantine Books 33 (35c). No statement of printing on © page. |
| 1956 | THE CITY AND THE STARS | New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, [1956] | Boards, First edition so stated on © page. Revised and expanded version of AGAINST THE FALL OF NIGHT. |
| 1957 | THE DEEP RANGE | New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, [1957] | Boards. First edition so stated on © page. |
| 1963 | DOLPHIN ISLAND | New York/Chicago/San Francisco: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, [1963] | Two bindings, no priority: (A) Boards. Trade binding. (B) Pictorial cloth reproducing the dust jacket design. Library binding (not seen). First edition so stated on © page. |
| 1955 | EARTHLIGHT | New York: Ballantine Books, [1955] | Two issues, no priority:
ALSO: New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1972 . First printing has HBJ monogram and code BCDE on © page. New preface by the author. |
| 1953 | EXPEDITION TO EARTH | New York: Ballantine Books, [1953] | Two issues, no priority:
ALSO: London: Sidgwick and Jackson, [1954]. Boards. First published 1954 on © page. Same contents as U.S. edition but three story title changes, "Exile of the Eons" retitled "Nemesis," "Expedition to Earth," retitled "Encounter in the Dawn," and "History Lesson," retitled "Expedition to Earth." ALSO:New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., [1970]:. Cloth-backed boards. No statement of printing on © page. New preface by the author. |
| 1961 | A FALL OF MOONDUST | New York: Harcourt, Brace A World. Inc., [1961] | First edition so stated on © page. |
| 1962 | FROM THE OCEAN, FROM THE STARS | New York: Harcourt. Brace A World, Inc., [1962] | First edition so stated on © page. Reprint. Collects THE CITY AND THE STARS, THE DEEP RANGE, and THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SKY. |
| 1963 | GLIDE PATH | New York: Harcourt. Brace & World, Inc., [1963] | First edition so stated on © page. |
| 1975 | IMPERIAL EARTH | London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1975 | Boards. No statement of printing on © page. ALSO: New York and London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, [1976.]. Boards with cloth shelf back. First edition BCDE on © page. Adds five chapters (approximately 10,000 words). |
| 1952 | ISLANDS IN THE SKY | Philadelphia Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1952] | First edition so stated on © page. ALSO: London: Sidgwick and Jackson Limited, [1952]. No statement of printing on © page. Drops preface "Cities in Space." |
| 1965 | THE LION OF COMARRE & AGAINST THE FALL OF NIGHT | New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., [1965] | First edition so stated on © page. First book publication for "The Lion of Comarre." |
| 1972 | THE LOST WORLDS OF 2001 | [New York]: New American Library, [1972] | Wrappers. First printing, January, 1972 on © page. Signet Y4949 ($1.25). Notes: (1) Later printings retain the first printing slug but add a row of numbers below. (2) In addition to the narrative concerning creation of the film2001; A Space Odyssey, this work includes the original fictional treatment, including alternate endings, preceding the final draft of the novel. ALSO: London: Sidgwick & Jackson, [1972]. Boards. First published in Great Britain in 1972 on © page. First hardcover edition. |
| 1961 | MASTER OF SPACE | New York: Lancer Books, [1961] | Wrappers. Lancer Books edition published in 1961 on © page. Lancer Books 72-610 (50c). Reissue of PRELUDE TO SPACE. New foreword by the author. |
| 1967 | THE NINE BILLION NAMES OF GOD | New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., [1967] | First edition so stated on © page. |
| 1972 | OF TIME AND STARS | London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1972 | Boards. No statement of printing on © page. All stories reprinted from earlier collections. New preface by the author. |
| 1955 | THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SKY | New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, [1955] | Boards with cloth shelf back. First edition so stated on © page. |
| 1965 | PRELUDE TO MARS | New York: Harcourt, Brace A World, Inc., [1965] | First edition so stated on © page. Reprint. Collects PRELUDE TO SPACE, THE SANDS OF MARS, and sixteen stories selected from TALES FROM THE WHITE HART, EXPEDITION TO EARTH, and REACH FOR TOMORROW. |
| 1951 | PRELUDE TO SPACE | New York: World Editions, Inc., [1951] | Wrappers. No statement of printing on © page. Galaxy Science Fiction Novel No. 3 (25c). ALSO: London: Sidgwick and Jackson Limited, [1953]. First published in 1953 on © page. Textual revisions. ALSO: [New York}: Gnome Press, [19541. Three bindings, priority not established for first two. last is a later state:
ALSO: New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., [1970]. No statement of printing on © page. Adds "Post-Apollo Preface" by the author. Reissued as MASTER OF SPACE and later as THE SPACE DREAMERS. |
| 1956 | REACH FOR TOMORROW | New York: Ballantine Books, [1956] | Two issues, no priority: (A) Cloth; (B) Wrappers. Ballantine Books 135 (35c). No state-ment of printing on © page. ALSO: New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, line, [1970]. New introduction by the author. |
| 1973 | RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA | London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1973 | Boards. No statement of printing oh © page. |
| 1951 | THE SANDS OF MARS | London.- Sidgwick and Jackson Limited, [1951] | Boards. First published in 1951 on © page. ALSO: New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., [1967]. No statement of printing on © page. New foreword by Clarke. |
| 1969 | THE SPACE DREAMERS | New York: Lancer Books, [1969] | Wrappers. Second edition May 1969 on © page. Lancer Books 74-524 (75c). Reissue of PRELUDE TO SPACE. Note: First printing under this title. |
| 1957 | TALES FROM THE WHITE HART | New York: Ballantine Books, [1957] | Wrappers. No statement of printing on © page. Ballantine Books 186 (35c). ALSO: New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., [1970]. No statement of printing on © page. New preface by the author. First hardcover edition. |
| 1962 | TALES OFTEN WORLDS | New York: Harcourt, Birace & World, Inc., [1962] | First edition so stated on © page. |
| 1965 | 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY | [New York]: The New American Library, [1965] | Boards. First printing so stated on © page. |
| 1972 | THE WIND FROM THE SUN | New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., [1972] | First edition so stated on © page. Also code letters BCDEF on © page. |
Arthur C. Clarke – First Printing Dust Jacket identification points
Gallery of First state Dust Jackets of Arthur C. Clarke works. Only includes the first appearance in book form. Either the UK or US edition and does not include later printings.
Reference:
- Wikipedia
- L. W. Currey, Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors: A Bibliography of First Printings of Their Fiction and Selected Nonfiction.
