The definitive work of Arthur C. Clarke's brilliant career -- a pageant of dozens of futuristic pieces that anticipated many of this century's greatest scientific and technological advances. The most visionary and versatile thinker of this century here gathers together in a single volume his most significant and prophetic non-fiction writings to present a personal view of the twentieth century. From predicting the role of geosynchronous satellites decades before they existed to his groundbreaking reporting from Kennedy Space Center in the 60s, to anticipating the internet decades before it happened, Clarke has acted both as technological prophet and cultural conscience, celebrating the great scientific powers of man -- but simultaneously warning of the perils of a world where power and greed reign unchecked. Each with a new introduction, the essays show how science has expanded exponentially on its own inventions. Sir Arthur's bona fide scientific understanding is combined with a generosity of spirit, the interests of a new renaissance man, a sublime lack of false modesty and a great flair for the dramatic. This is inarguably the crowning achievement of an unrivalled personal odyssey.

'He is the prophet of the space age' The Times 'Arthur C. Clarke is blessed with one of the most astounding imaginations ever encountered in print' New York Times 'One of the truly prophetic figures of the space age' New Yorker 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

Born in Somerset in 1917, Arthur C. Clarke has written over fifty books, among which are the science fiction classics 2001, A Space Odyssey, Childhood's End, The City and the Stars and Rendezvous With Rama. He has won all the most prestigious science fiction trophies, and shared an Oscar nomination with Stanley Kubrick for the screenplay of the film of 2001. He was knighted in 1998. He lives in Sri Lanka.