Diver down :(

[turbanator]

Not a diving accident, but a great shame nevertheless.

Arthur C. Clarke

BBC NEWS | UK | Writer Arthur C Clarke dies at 90

[Jay Tee]

A real shame


And a real clever guy.

[Adrian Kelland]

Making his Rendevous with Rama.

[Steven]

I've read his books for years

I must admit I did not realise he dove!

his going is sad for us left here

[Paul Evans]

Originally Posted by Adrian Kelland

Rendevous with Rama.

Now that was a classic..............

Sad news.

[StuartC]

Originally Posted by Steven

I've read his books for years

I must admit I did not realise he dove!

his going is sad for us left here

his first book I read was Dolphin Island,
Amazon.com: Dolphin Island: Arthur C. Clarke: Books

clearly aimed at kids, but at the time I was, so that's OK then.

here's one of the customer reviews from Amazon...

Dolphin Island is one of those solid, worthy Arthur C. Clarke books that has been out of print for many years and is now quite hard to find. This is a novel that Clarke wrote in the early 60's after spending a substantial amount of time around Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Clarke, as many are not aware, was, at least at one time, just as interested in diving and the sea as he was in space. Clearly fascinated by what he saw in his time around the reef, it inspired Clarke to write this novel, one of his very few targeted at young adults. As such, it lacks the poetic prose and philosophical and theological aspects that permeate Clarke's best novels. However, it is a very tight, well-written, and highly-enjoyable adventure romp. It is a very fast read, and you will be interested all the way through. Although it was intended as a book for young adults, Clarke being Clarke, this book is nevertheless packed full of interesting ideas and concepts. Clarke's speculations on dolphin intelligence and the many applications he dreams up for them are vivid and very believable. The descriptions of the Reef are also very poetic and sometimes beautifully rendered; however, as another reviewer pointed out, these sections tend to go on for too long and sometimes slow down the pace of the novel. Don't worry, though: it's nothing close to what he made it out to be. This is a very short novel to begin with, and these sections comprise the majority of only 3 or 4 chapters. Those more interested in the Reef and underwater exploration in general may find these sections more satisfying than I did. At any rate, this is a solid, action-packed adventure story that is a worthy read for any Clarke fan and recommended reading for younger science fiction lovers

Recommended for kids old and young alike!

If I recall it whetted my appetite for SCUBA and also for sci-fi, and I then went on to appreciate some of his classics, which I think I'll now return to with the news of his passing.

The City and the Stars
Rendezvous with Rama (love the ending)

I also particularly like this quote of his...

Originally Posted by Arthur C Clarke

"How inappropriate to call this planet Earth, when clearly it is Ocean."

[MarkP]

I like the way all the tributes merely say that he "predicted communication satellites".

He actually worked out that if you place satellites in orbit a percise distance* above the equator they will be geostationary and useable for communications. This was such a brilliant (and with hindsight obvious) concept that this bit of space is now known as the Clarke belt.

Bl*&dy clever people making me feel really thick...

*about 35786 km. Ish.

[turbanator]

Originally Posted by MarkP

I like the way all the tributes merely say that he "predicted communication satellites".

He actually worked out that if you place satellites in orbit a percise distance* above the equator they will be geostationary and useable for communications. This was such a brilliant (and with hindsight obvious) concept that this bit of space is now known as the Clarke belt.

Bl*&dy clever people making me feel really thick...

*about 35786 km. Ish.

He should/could have pateneted the idea and been even richer