Journeys of exploration have always been risky ventures. When the trip involves several years over millions of kilometres, the odds of unblemished success grow enormous. Engaging in such a venture in the realm of space, almost beyond the reach of human control suggests hazards beyond imagining. This book describes such a venture, perhaps the most ambitious ever undertaken. That the measure of success achieved was so great is a tribute to all those who planned and implemented it. Michael Hanlon gives us a ringside seat in his portrayal of the journey of the Galileo Mission to Jupiter. Although not a participant, he ably captures the dedication and skills of the Mission Team. Further, he's able to place us in the space vehicle as it traversed one of the most bizarre journeys ever undertaken.

The Galileo Mission was spurred by the preceding Pioneer and Voyager missions of the 1970s. These four robots cruised through the outer solar system, returning stunning views of the largest planet and its associates beyond. In doing so, they raised numerous and unanswerable questions about our neighbours in space. Unlike the previous probes, Hanlon takes us through the planning that led Galileo's flight to Venus, back past Earth to its final destination far out in the solar system. The efforts put into the flight brought Galileo to within 5 km of its intended position when it arrived at Venus - a staggering achievement.

All the planning and engineering couldn't prevent problems, however. NASA's attempt to open the main transmitting antenna failed when some minor pins failed to release. When Galileo arrived at its primary destination, the antenna looked like an umbrella wracked by high winds. NASA used other methods to maintain communication, resulting in the stunning images seen here. It was a frustrating experience for the mission team, yet Galileo added a treasure house of new information about our neighbours in space.

We are so accustomed to the notion that we are the sole home of life, that the problems surrounding Galileo's termination render this issue the most bizarre of the trip. Europa, the ice-coated satellite of Jupiter, may contain living organisms in its hidden sea. In order not to contaminate that life, if it exists, Galileo had to be purposely sacrificed. Hanlon describes the options and why each was considered worthwhile. Galileo went to explore the Jovian system and was still transmitting images as he completed this vividly descriptive work. He is to be commended for a gripping account. We may be the only life in this group of planets, but Galileo's records give us a major argument to continue our search for life elsewhere. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

The Worlds of Galileo tells the story of the American space probe that, five years ago, began studying Jupiter and its moons. The history of the NASA probe, Galileo, and its long space odyssey to the most dramatic corner of the Solar System is an account of a unique journey. Packed with first-hand testimonies from the men and women who made it happen, we go behind the scenes to learn just how many times the project was saved from disaster before its ultimate triumph. Illustrated with over one hundred color images straight from the NASA archives, the book reveals the harsh beauty and remarkable landscapes of the Jovian system.

In 'The Worlds of Galileo', Mike Hanlon, one of Britain's leading newspaper science editors, relates how NASA's Galileo spacecraft overcame a series of severe problems and went on to revolutionise our understanding of the Jovian system.

Drawing upon interviews with the key participants, Hanlon explains the project's origin in the cash-strapped 1970s, the political travails of the early 1980s, and the redesign in the aftermath of the Challenger accident. After the spacecraft's epic voyage out to Jupiter, he focuses upon the astonishing 'fire and ice' moons of volcanic Io and Europa, where there appears to be an ocean beneath a thin shell of ice.

Hanlon handles the geological discussion with ease, so this is a highly readable account. Certainly, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, who contributed the foreword, was impressed. Finally, St Martins Press is to be congratulated for having produced a very handsome volume with colour imagery throughout.

This newly released omnibus contains two full-length novels that have become so ubiquitous as to be part of our psyche.

The City and The Stars made such an impression on me that I can remember exactly where I was when I read it for the very first time - seventh grade in Bright, California at one of the meanest junior highs I ever did attend. It was an escape, it was fantastical without being fantasy. It was hard science fiction, set in the future. At that age, I couldn't comprehend how far in the future but I knew it was a place I would have liked to see, doing things that Alvin did. Living that Grand Adventure with him!

I would encourage anyone who hasn't read an early Arthur C. Clarke or knows of any young science fiction fans to buy this omnibus & introduce them to the universe of Arthur C. Clarke. He did write more than 2001: A Space Odyssey - you know!

Two great classics in one book. The City In the Stars is one of the most entertaining sci fi books I have ever read. Clarke challenges your imagination through every step of this one. If there was a movie for every persons vision of this book, not a single one wold be the same. Clarke describes the unimaginable with such simplicity, yet you capture exactly what he is describing. A timeless classic!
Sands of Mars is also very entertaining and is also a must read for any Clarke fan. Although there are many ideas that are false in this book (since we have now seen the surface of Mars) it is interesting to see what Clarke envisioned on this planet. There are great ideas in this novel.

I read The City and the Stars for the first time in High School in probably 1969 or 1970. It was by far the most profound novel I had ever read. All I could remember was being so upset when it was over. I wanted more. It is that kind of story. You step into another world and you are really there. This book is the one that converted me to Science fiction. I bought the book again in the early 1990's. It was a revised edition and somethings were different.But it was still very good. (I liked the original the best). Arthur C. Clarke is much greater than 2001. This book shows it. Thanks Arthur!

The only thing good about this book is the cover.

After 30 years experience in the Space Program, NASA, and deep Space probes, I have to say this is one of the more intellectuall accurate, and stimulating stories I have read. I am an Clarke fan, having read 2001 when it first came out in 1968, but the combination of Clarke's vision and Preuss's writing skills makes this Venus Prime Series a set of books you will not be able to put down!

Sparta is the name of a bio-enahnced young woman. She wakes everyday, knowing nothing of the day last past. Then one day Sparta's keen senses trip a deep mechanistic response to escape where she is. Only minutes later she finds herself in a mega-fast mega-powerful attack helicopter; somehow, she knows exactly how to fly it... From then on she will have to assume a new identity - hiding in the open as an elect officer. She knows only that she's looking for her true self - she will solve many other mysteries along the way. This is a fantastic trip and an excellent read! Also, it is difficult to get all six (6) in the series - if you find them (all) BUY THEM AT ONCE! It has taken me three years to collect them all.

Otra genialidad del Maestro que tantas horas deliciosas nos entregó con 2001, 2010, etc.

Es un libro execelente,no se podía esperar menos de un autor como Arthur C. Clarke.

The late Dr. Asimov's clear wit and wisdom is taken to bear here on fools and the future. He begins by excoriating "Religious Radicals," in harsh liberal prose that seems rather outdated today. (For instance, there is a chapter called "The Reagan Doctrine" that pokes fun at tactics Ronald Reagan used in battling the Soviet empire.) Other chapters are also dated, including several chapters on environmental predictions that are informed by distinctly Malthusian notions of supply shortages. (To wit, "And in the mad scramble for food on your part and on the part of billions of others, the people of eath will further damage the world they live in and will begin to fight each other over scraps.") Still, Asimov writes lucidly on science in a number of historical and opinion pieces, which are carefully reasoned. Five essays at the book's end give perspective to the late thinker's personal life, and a number of inserted memorials (new to this edition) from other prominent scientists and science fiction authors really round out a book that shows Asimov's incomparable breadth of interest. The "Roving Mind" of the title is Asimov's own intellect; any thoughtful reader will find his own mind broadened for having read it.

Isaac Asimov was probably the best person ever to write science fiction. He was also one of the best people to ever write science fact. His death in 1992 was a great loss to the world.

This book provides a good look into how Isaac Asimov thought about various issues. With all the problems in the world, the views of Asimov might help to make the world a bit more logical place if we pay attention to him.

How The World Was One is a highly interesting history of communications from the telegraph forward, written by a true expert on the subject. The first 100 or so pages of the book focus on the invention of the telegraph, and the great and largely unknown trials and troubles that went into the laying of the first transatlantic submarine cable. This stranger-than-fiction tale is enchanced by the underlying substory of the life of such people as the "great American" Cyrus W. Field. Further into the book, we are told of the invention of the telephone and the subsequent impact it had on communications, and, indeed, civilization itself. Here we hear about people such as, of course, Alexander Graham Bell, and Oliver Heaviside. After this, we are treated to a true insider's view of comsats, a thing which Clarke, as is well known, played a large part in, and we are given here a reprint of his classic "Short Pre-History of Comsats: Or How I Lost A Billion Dollars In My Spare Time." Due to the author's personal involvement, the subject comes off as fresh and interesting, and does not read like dry technical jargon. The same is true of the book as a whole. There are technical bits involved (indeed, in the book there is a reprint of ACC's original comsat essay "Extra-Terrestrial Relays", published in Wireless World in 1945), but Clarke is a gifted writer, and the book's prose is such that it is interesting to the expert and enlightening and entertaining to the unitiated. This book is fairly hard to find, but I suggest you pick it up if you can find it, if you are looking for some good non-SF ACC, or a get-it-all-in-one-place communications history.

This book is an insightful and interesting look at the Communications Revolution. This is a revolution that has touched and changed every aspect of human life. Clarke divides his book into three parts: the past, the present and the future. The first part of the book is a history of the laying of the first transoceanic cable between Europe and America. At first glance this seems to have little relevance to the "technologies" of the modern age. We all admit that our personal computers, the Internet, cell phones, cyber space, and satellite links are precipitating a revolution. This is a revolution that is often portrayed as very recent in origin. Yet these technologies are in fact only the latest manifestation of a cultural mind shift that began over 150 years ago. The author's entertaining description of the coming together of personalities, science, politics, and economics was fascinating. As I read further it became clear that it was not only an interesting story about the past but also a striking parallel to our present situation and a powerful insight into the challenges of our future.

The second part of the book takes a look at the present (1992) state of communications in the world. This was informative for someone with very little technological knowledge. Clarke explains such things as fiber optics and how satellite communications takes place. He also explains the technological difficulties of various methods of communication. Have you ever wondered why we still have transoceanic cables in this age of instantaneous satellite communication? Clarke makes the answer not only accurate but also interesting. Written like an unfolding mystery novel, the reader is drawn into areas of scientific knowledge that might have seemed too complicated or too boring for the layperson. Those of you who are techies would probably find this book elementary and simple from a scientific perceptive. Those of us with a more rudimentary scientific background will find the descriptions presented in the book easy to understand and enlightening. Both types of readers will find the human stories that are told engaging and revealing.

The third part of Clarke's book is as interesting for what it does not talk about as for what it does. Written in 1992 this part makes some interesting predictions about the future. The author is famous for his very accurate predictions of future events. Right after World War II he predicted the importance of satellite communications and is widely recognized as the godfather of Telestar. His science fiction classic 2001. A Space Odyssey is receiving a great deal of attention this year for very obvious reasons. Yet the creator of Hal, has almost nothing to say about the importance of the personal computer for the future. In a book primarily concerned with communication and with how the world is being made into a global village by various methods of communication, Clarke has very little to say about the Internet. Both omissions are remarkable statements about just how much the world of communications has changed in the last ten years.

I found the book to be an interesting and entertaining history of the communication revolution. For those of us who believe that we can learn from the mistakes as well as the accomplishments of the past this will be a valuable and fun book to read.

Clarke discussing the evolution of communications through history. Very entertaining book that goes into a lot of history that even people who think they know a lot, don't really know. I wish it was still in print.

This is an interesting collection of Clarke's short stories. Being written by one of the best science fiction authors of our age, the least someone can expect is to have great fun reading them.

Some of the stories, though, are really short, therefore they don't have much development, being just interesting concepts and mind teasers.

The longer ones are mostly the struggle of one central character against some hazard or life threat, based on scientifical facts used to develop the whole plot.

Since Clarke wrote those stories between the sixties and early seventies, it's also interesting to see what expections people related to science had thiry or forty years ago, and notice that science developments had taken a totaly different turn, now mostly applied to our day-to-day life.

In all, this book is less complex than other Clarke books, like "Songs from distant Earth", or "Rendezvous with Rama", and easier to read, but not more enjoyable. Read it to complete your Clarke-knowledge.

Grade 8.0/10

Although it's not Arthur C. Clarke's best short story collection, there are some good stories here. A lot of them are merely harmless, playful ditties that Clarke probably had some fun coming up with (The Food of The Gods, Love That Universe, Dial F For Frankenstein, The Longest Science-Fiction Story Ever Told, Herbert George Morley Robert Wells, esq., etc.) that don't, perhaps, have that much lasting literary value, but they are still ACC, and good. A lot of these stories are notable and fun to read due to their surprise endings. You will marvel at Clarke's ability to do this. Some of the best cuts from this book include the title story (which has launched quite a scientific following), Reunion, and the multitple award-winning novella A Meeting With Medusa which is an undeniable Clarke classic that almost makes the book worth buying on it's merit alone. A Clarke fan will want to own this book.

I love to read a good short story. My favorite is the type where the end is so surprising that it changes your point of view about the entire story. A second reading shows the story in a totally different light. This book is filled with such stories, and is a rare pleasure to read.

One of the most famous science fiction books to date is H. G. Wells' classic War of the Worlds, which has become national paranoia in the late 30's with Orson Welles over the radio. And later in the 50's become a national hit with the movie goers. Well, neither the radio broadcast or movie rendition really took the book to its letter by letter copy, but rather improvised like most non-literal entertainers. The book begins with suspicion, suspense and wonder as a meteor passes the sky without any real notice to anyone. While the book is told in the perspective of the scientist (whose name I cant seem to recall at the moment), later, somewhere after the mid-point the gears switch and we learn what the scientists brother is doing elsewhere. For the majority of the book, once the aliens have control over the earth, which is within the first 4 chapters, things calm down and become a bit stale. Only after we come back to the scientist from the brothers story, things pick up, but mind you, they pick up slowly. I am happy I got the chance to read this book, but was a little dissapointed in how the story unfolded which is why I gave this book 4 stars. Nonetheless, certainly a required reading for science fiction fans, and even now, amongst those persuing literature.

I finally read this book for the first time at age 27, and was not disapointed!

The imagery is incredible, Wells tells the story of invasion and chaos as if he had been there himself . . .I could certainly imagine myself there.

I do think you have to be a little bit older, more well read to better appreciate this book. I noticed several school kids from VA put reviews on line calling it boring. Of course, these are probably the kids who were expecting the main character to be like Will Smith and the earthlings to travel to the Martians space station (a la Independence Day).

And that was part of the book's charm. No influence from Hollywood. Written in the late 1800's, before movies existed, the book is way ahead of its time. Independce Day obviously got its influence from this book, and is a more updated (and Americanized) version.

Hey, go read it now!

Unknown to the inhabitants of Earth, the planet Mars is aging and nearing its exhaustion. The Martians, not even perceiving humans to be anything other than animals, decide that it is time to seize this lush, young planet. Landing in several locations in southeastern England they begin their conquest of the planet. Can man, with his most advanced technology hope to stop the Martians with their much more advanced technology?

You've seen the 1953 movie, War of the Worlds, and want to read it in book form? Well, then don't look here. Herbert George Wells wrote this book in 1898, a mere one year after The Invisible Man, and two years after The Island of Doctor Moreau. The moviemakers of the 1950s made a wonderful movie, but one that, alas, bears very little resemblance to the original!

This book is one of the crowning examples of nineteenth century fantastic fiction. It is a gripping story that masterfully combines horror and suspense, keeping you at the edge of your seat until the final page.

I am lucky enough to possess the 2001, Books of Wonder edition that contains fourteen wonderful, full-color, full-page illustrations plus the two-page illustrations on the front and back, all done by the masterful Tom Kidd. It is very well made, and would make an excellent addition to any library.

During the first half of the story, when everything is taking place on Mars, "Bright Messengers" is a wonderful tale. As the story reaches its midpoint, however, things begin to rapidly go downhill. . . .

In the second half of the book, the characters become implausible and the situations wholly unrealistic (or, more acurately, how the characters react TO the situations becomes unrealistic). Gentry Lee asks us to believe too much; I just couldn't swallow it.

The main characters accept being ripped from their former lives and essentially put in a prison with barely a wimper. It seems as though Lee just wanted the story to end. He rushes the plot and it comes down around his ears.

Agreeing with another reviewer here, "Bright Messengers" is very much like the "Rama" books Lee co-authored with Arthur C. Clarke: they're essentially "people" stories (i.e. not "action" or "suspense" stories). And, like those previous books, at times, it becomes tedious in the extreme ("Rendevous With Rama" was the only true masterpiece).

Overall, this is a decent book, considering how much sci-fi trash really is out there. Still, take a LONG break between the "Rama" books and this one; if you don't, you'll bore yourself to tears. We can only hope that the sequel will be better. . . .

Personaly I don't plan to recomend this book to anyone until the sequel comes out because the book is incomplete, none of the plots get solved, not one of the characters grow, you know... it feels like just a detailed explanation of the situation in wich earth and mars where during some of the RAMA books. I'm just hoping that the sequel does not try to fix everything up by having some variation of the RAMA ship or THE EAGLE show up... or worse yet the species that "almost reached earth" that we heard about at THE NODE in RAMA REVEALED. I don't know about the copies at amazon.com, but the book I have in my hand reads: "And coming in late 1996. Double full moon night. The conclusion to the story". It's late 1997 and no sequel in sight. Mr. Lee: We've read the first 20 chapters... are those your last?

Bright Messengers, while not having quite as believable characters as the Rama sequel trilogy, is a great book, and a must read. However, what most people ask is "Where the hell is 'Double Full Moon Night?'" Well, Gentry Lee got side-tracked with the Rama CD-ROM, and didn't quite finish it. He is once again at work on it, and is 70-90% finished. People have also asked, "What the hell does this have to do with the Rama series?" Okay, for those of you who didn't pay close attention, the baby born at the end is the same baby Nicole found at the end of the 2nd to last section of Rama Revealed. The creatures who constructed the ship, and the "zoo" on mars are the Octospiders, not the Ramans. The sequel will be about how the baby travels 120 years through time to Rama III. Presumably, then a 4th series of Rama books will detail what happens to Maria, Michael, Simone, Max, Eponine, Patrick, Nai, Benjy, Ellie, little Nicole, Marius, Kepler, and the eagle. I'm not sure what happens then, but I think it may have something to do with the "Prime Monitor", the super node at the center of the galaxy. E-mail me if you want to discuss this

Not a bad idea, but poorly executed.

This books is incredibly dry - full of scientific facts and future history that reads exactly like a history text book. We are only introduced to one character, and even then we only get brief vingettes of his life that do little to get us involved. In the end I just couldn't care if he lived or died or if the Earth was destroyed. Who cares?

Don't waste your time.

Just to declare my interest up-front, I'm a professional astronomer who observers comets and asteroids and has observed quite a few asteroids of the type that could impact the Earth. That's why I bought this book!

I've read a number of books that use well-aimed comets and asteroids to bring universal doom - it's a subject which has been well-exploited in the last few years. Some books, like "Lucifer's Hammer" (by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle) are far superior in detail, although set in the present, rather than Clarke's far future. Compared to some of the books that I have read, the Hammer of God was disappointly light-weight.

What I will acknowledge it the future setting which Arthur C. Clarke invents and which is far more interesting and realistic in many senses than the Earth-impact part of the plot.

I'd settle for Rendezvous with Rama over this book any time. I enjoyed the read, but as light entertainment. It isn't one of Arthur C. Clarke's great books, but it's fun if you don't take it too seriously. Frankly though, I don't understand the multiple 5-star reviews that appear above.

Clarke's use of short chapters adds to the breakneck pace of this book. Clarke's use of genuine science has always struck a chord with me. As a result, I read his books not only for recreation, but for the learning experience which usually accompanies them. The subject matter has received recent exposure with a pair of films regarding the approach of an asteroid, so it's interesting to see how Clarke handles it. The only negative? I thought the characters were a bit flat. Otherwise, if you like Clarke, give this one a look.