Childhoods End

[aiki14]

Arthur C. Clarke died yesterday at 90.
He wrote 2001 A Space Odyssey, but in my opinion his best work, and maybe one of the top two or three sci-fi books ever was Childhoods End.
He was a visionary of the first order, predicting in the 1940's that man would go to the moon by 2000, a statement that was written off as nonsense at the time.
His positive view of the future was inspiring to many, myself included. He will be missed.

[bigzip]

He also first proposed geostationary orbits of satellites. I loved his documentaries we often watched in high school on slow days for the teacher. Definitely one of the guys that got me interested in science.

[Hirsch]

Yet another great author/writer gone from a world that is deprived of creative insight and illustration. The sad thing is that how many people will care? Anna Nicole got news coverage for how many weeks?!?

Now with that vent over, he will certainly be missed. Thanks for highlighting aiki, hearing this earlier today left me in a somber note. =/

[englishman26]

I read every one of his books between the age of 12 and 19 and I can honestly say that he influenced my decision to pursue a career in science and practically defined my teenage years. A truly great great writer and an even greater man! He will be sorely missed! :(

[aiki14]

came across this, from my time in Colombo,
2889

[bigzip]

came across this, from my time in Colombo,
2889

Wow - so you met the man?

[Hirsch]

came across this, from my time in Colombo,
Attachment 2889 (http://www.onlinetradersforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2889)

:eek2:

[aiki14]

Wow - so you met the man?

I should be so lucky. I inquired about meeting him but was told he rarely accepted visitors, my host at the time had a few of these cards, the signature appears to be legit but I can't verify it. There were pictures of my host and Mr. Clarke playing ping pong on his office wall so it is likely real. It may even be of some value.