Prelude to Space by Arthur C. Clarke

Heres some of the old school!
This work is amongst Clarkes' earliest work published in the form of a novel, and being written before the first man was in space, it carries a beautiful mixture of prophecy and hopeful manifest, the way forward as Clarke saw it then.
This story proceeds around the experiences of an American Historian hired to document all the events leading up to the launch of mans first space flight. As other reviews note, the science is dated. But if you enjoy seeing, as I do, how learned bodies envisioned early space flight, the hopeful machinations of earlier minds, this book is sincerely for you.
Established Clarke fans will see early signs of his later form in this book. Here as usual is his deft blending of topic, philosophy and science, with little preamble. Clarkes' introduction in this later edition is very absorbing itself, carrying the thoughtful weighing of what he envisioned against what later came to be.
I have found that a perfect description of this light and easy read is "quaint". I don't mean this as a slight, it is a beautiful little book. Reading this book often put a gentle smile on my face, for example the price-tag of the mission, as Clarke himself notes in his preamble, is almost comically out of proportion to the eventual cost of a manned mission by orders of magnitude.
Before I was fifteen pages into this book, the pictures it was painting in my minds' eye were, in keeping with the overall tone, portrayed in black and white! The book has the tone of early fifties science fiction movies, and if that genre touches you for its nostalgic feel and innocent treatment, you'll enjoy Prelude to Space as I did.
The pace is slow, the treatment thoughtful, and the hope is high. Enjoy!

Some of my other science fiction book reviews:

Rama Revealed
Prelude to Space
Stand on Zanzibar
The Demolished Man
The Stars my Destination
Cat's Cradle
The Gods Themselves
Watchmen
A Canticle for Leibowitz
The Hammer of God
The Left Hand of Darkness
Flowers for Algernon
Lord of Light
Rendevous with Rama
The Tombs of Atuan
The Dispossessed
I am Legend
The Einstein Intersection
Earth Abides
Peace on Earth
The Farthest Shore
Methuselah's Children
A Call to Arms
To your Scattered Bodies Go
The Lion of Comarre / Against the Fall of Night
To Say Nothing of the Dog
The Doomsday Book
Frankenstein Unbound
Batman - The Dark Knight Returns
Imperial Earth
A Case of Conscience
Solaris
The Sands of Mars
The Land of Laughs
Eden
His Masters Voice
Citizen of the Galaxy
King David's Spaceship
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
Double Star
The Fabulous Riverboat
Songs of Distant Earth
Way Station
The Fountains of Paradise
The Long Tomorrow
Lincolns Dreams
Alas Babylon
More Than Human
1984
The Forever War
All the Myriad Ways
I Sing the Body Electric
Gateway
Flow my Tears, the Policeman Said
This Immortal
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

Recommended: