Clarke, Arthur C. (Arthur Charles) 1917-2008

2001; a space odyssey by Arthur C Clarke ( Book )
163 editions published between 1960 and 2009 in 19 languages and held by 3,888 libraries worldwide
When an enigmatic monolith is found buried on the moon, scientists are amazed to discover that it's at least 3 million years old. Even more amazing, after it's unearthed the artifact releases a powerful signal aimed at Saturn. What sort of alarm has been triggered? To find out, a manned spacecraft, the Discovery, is sent to investigate. Its crew is highly trained--the best--and they are assisted by a self-aware computer, the ultra-capable HAL 9000. But HAL's programming has been patterned after the human mind a little too well. He is capable of guilt, neurosis, even murder, and he controls every single one of Discovery's components. The crew must overthrow this digital psychotic if they hope to make their rendezvous with the entities that are responsible not just for the monolith, but maybe even for human civilization.

2061 : odyssey three by Arthur C Clarke ( Book )
53 editions published between 1987 and 2009 in 10 languages and held by 3,447 libraries worldwide
While on expedition to Halley's Comet, a spaceship crew is called to carry out a dangerous rescue mission.

2010 : odyssey two by Arthur C Clarke ( Book )
60 editions published between 1982 and 2009 in 15 languages and held by 3,404 libraries worldwide
Haywood Floyd, director of the original Discovery mission, sets out to discover what happened to HAL 9000 and comes face to face with something claiming to be Dave Bowman.

Childhood's end by Arthur C Clarke ( Book )
162 editions published between 1953 and 2010 in 16 languages and held by 3,224 libraries worldwide
The Overlords appeared suddenly over every city - intellectually, technologically, and militarily superior to humankind. Benevolent, they made few demands: unify earth, eliminate poverty, and end war. With little rebellion, humankind agreed, and a golden age began." "But at what cost? With the advent of peace, man ceases to strive for creative greatness, and a malaise settles over the human race. To those who resist, it becomes evident that the Overlords have an agenda of their own. As civilization approaches the crossroads, will the Overlords spell the end for humankind...or the beginning?

3001 : the final odyssey by Arthur C Clarke ( Book )
55 editions published between 1976 and 2009 in 10 languages and held by 3,077 libraries worldwide
The world in the year 3001 seen through the eyes of an astronaut, revived after a thousand-year sleep. The earth is encircled by space cities, accessed by elevators and education is a breeze, computers enabling the brain to absorb complicated information in milliseconds. By the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clarke ( Book )
83 editions published between 1973 and 2009 in 14 languages and held by 3,037 libraries worldwide
During the twenty-second century, a space probe's investigation of a mysterious, cylindrical asteroid brings man into contact with an extra-galactic civilization.

The songs of distant earth by Arthur C Clarke ( Book )
46 editions published between 1986 and 2001 in 8 languages and held by 2,469 libraries worldwide
The paradise of Thalassa is threatened by an evolutionary event brewing beneath the calm seas and by a spacecraft of refugees hovering in orbit above the planet. The arrival of a spaceship from Earth--destroyed when its sun went nova--carrying five million Earthlings in suspended animation, as well as an uncensored cultural record of Earth, threatens to destroy the paradisiacal plkanet of Thalassa.

Rama II by Arthur C Clarke ( Book )
49 editions published between 1989 and 2008 in 12 languages and held by 2,271 libraries worldwide
In 1973, Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama won the Hugo, Nebula and Campbell awards. This new novel is the second in a trilogy about the mystifying world-ships and their flybys of our solar system. The 12 specialists chosen to explore a second Raman craft passing through human space 70 years after the first are more involved with adultery, religion and media contracts than they are with scientific advancement.

The garden of Rama by Arthur C Clarke ( Book )
39 editions published between 1991 and 2007 in 7 languages and held by 2,112 libraries worldwide
Sequel to: Rama II. During the 23rd century, three human cosmonauts learn of their destination and their challenge in a rendezvous with a Raman base.

The fountains of Paradise by Arthur C Clarke ( Book )
65 editions published between 1978 and 2007 in 12 languages and held by 2,107 libraries worldwide
In this, which many consider this to be Clarke's best novel, Vannevar Morgan is the greatest civil engineer of the mid-22nd century. Having built a bridge across the Straits of Gibraltar, he dreams of an even greater accomplishment, a bridge to space: a "skyhook," or "space elevator." This will be a cable stretching from the Earth's equator to an anchoring satellite in geosynchronous orbit. First Morgan must deal with the monks who own the ideal real estate, a mountaintop on the fictional island of Taprobane (a version of Clarke's adopted home of Sri Lanka, moved south so that it lies on the equator). He also has to work on the financing, solve various political problems, deal with skeptics, and finally solve some critical engineering issues and deal with the inevitable crises accompanying the actual building of the elevator.