The Coast of Coral 0743435079

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Arthur C. Clarke is the world-renowned author of such science fiction classics as 2001: A Space Odyssey, for which he shared an Oscar nomination with director Stanley Kubrick,

and its popular sequels, 2010: Odyssey Two, 2061: Odyssey Three, and 3001: Final Odyssey; the highly acclaimed The Songs of Distant Earth; the bestselling collection of original short stories, The Sentinel; and over two dozen other

books of fiction and non-fiction. He received the Marconi

International Fellowship in 1982. He resides in Sri Lanka, where he continues to write and consult on issues of science, technology, and the future.

ibooks titles by Arthur C. Clarke The Sentinel Tales from Planet Earth

ALSO

AVAILABLE

Eclipse: Voyage to Darkness and Light by David H. Levy Horizon’s Ancient Rome

by Robert Payne Horizon’s Ancient Greece

by William Harlan Hale

Scientific American Guide to Science on the Internet by Edward Renahan Scientific American's The Big Idea David H. Levy, Editor Space: The Next Business Frontier by Lou Dobbs with HP Newquist

Starry Night: How to Skywatch in the 21° Century by John Mosley The Ultimate Dinosaur Robert Silverberg, Editor

THE COAST OF CORAL eee Reel SeeVeO eel Ae eT Ce Be Ue AN Nec clelk

ARTHUR

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Ge CLARKE

WITH PHOTOGRAPHS BY MIKE WILSON AND ARTHUR C. CLARKE

ibooks new

york

www.ibooksinc.com

To our new friends in the oldest continent

ALS M.W.

An Original Publication of ibooks, inc. Copyright © 1955, 2002 by Arthur C. Clarke Introduction copyright © 2001 Arthur C. Clarke An ibooks, inc. Book

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. Distributed by Simon & Schuster, Inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020 ibooks, inc.

24 West 25" Street New York, NY 10010 The ibooks World Wide Web Site Address is:

bites

ibooksi

ISBN 0-7434-3507-9

First ibooks, inc. printing February 2002 100987654321

Cover photograph copyright © 2001 by Australian Picture Library/CORBIS

Cover design by carrie monaco Printed in the U.S.A.

Contents Introduction

. The Road to the Reef . Fair Dinkum, Etc.

. White Water . Death of a Spearman . Enter the Cops . How to Call on an Octopus . In the Wet . Out to the Reef Oo WN FP NH WAND . Heron Island

. The Stone Jungle . Rendezvous with Sharks . Devil on the Reef . The Wolf Pack

7 aopikes . North to the Sun . Through the Torres Straits . Drifting for Shell . Pearls and Politics . Of Perilous Seas

. A Chapter of Accidents welhe lurtle Hunt . Aladdin’s Cave . The Last Dive . A Walk in the Dark MNO ND NY pe eS Se Be NN BB SB (=). The Reef is Waiting ES CS PS Cal fen, SS) fecy le} (ee) t= SS) Sy iss ay

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ALSO BY ARTHUR C. CLARKE THE SENTINEL ISBN: 0-7434-0721-0

Few masters of science fiction have brought us glimpses of the near future as vividly as Arthur C. Clarke. It is the startling realism of his vision that has made classics of his Childhood’s End and 2001: A Space Odyssey—and Clarke himself one of the genre’s most successful writers. To commemorate one of the most notable dates in science fiction history comes this special anniversary edition of The Sentinel, a brilliant collection of Clarke’s highest caliber short fiction. Among the ten stories included in this volume are:

“The Sentinel”: The story that inspired 2001: A Space Odyssey, one of the most famous SF movies of all time “Guardian Angel”: The rarely-glimpsed work that gave birth to Childhood’s End “The Songs of Distant Earth”: A fantastic tale of first

contact with an alien world, which became the basis for one of Clarke’s most successful novels “Breaking Strain”: The inspiration for the popular book series Arthur C. Clarke’s Venus Prime with an introduction and notes by the author

TALES FROM PLANET EARTH ISBN: 0-7434-2379-8

The fiction of Arthur C. Clarke has spanned the universe. He has carried us across unimaginable distances to alien times and places. Yet he has not lost sight of his home. Many of

his greatest stories are set—or have their roots—right here

on Planet Earth. For Arthur C. Clarke, more than any other science fiction writer, “home” is the entire Earth, through all of space and time. In this book, he shows us around his home to share his wonder. He invites us to share his vision and his dream.

Includes

“On Golden

Seas”—never

before collected in

any Clarke book! With a Preface by science fiction Grand Master Isaac Asimov, and notes by the author

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THE FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE OF A JOURNEY TO THE DEPTHS OF THE BLUE PLANET BY THE AUTHOR OF 2001, 2010, and 3001! ~ World-famous science and science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke and photographer Mike Wilson spent two adventurous years exploring the Great Barrier Reef, the mightiest coral formation in the world. Presented here are “the adventures and mishaps, successes and failures” of that underwater expedition, as recorded by Clarke himself. illustrated with rare underwater photographs, here is a unique look into a region of mystery, of boundless beauty and danger—one of the most > intriguing frontiers on our planet. "A thoroughly absorbing true adventure that carries the wallop of science fiction.”

—San Francisco Chronicle

You can visit the ibooks website at www.ibooksinc.com

Cover art © 2001 by Australian Picture Library/Corbis Cover design by carrie monaco

$14.00 U.S. 21.50 CAN. £ 9.99 U.K.

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