Prelude to Space
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Prelude to Space
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Narrated by:
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Derek Perkins
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By:
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Arthur C. Clarke
About this listen
Here is the compelling story of the launching of Prometheus - Earth's first true spaceship - and of the men who made it happen.
Dirk Alexson, chronicler of the greatest space adventure of all time: He was chosen to immortalize the incredible story of the men and their heroic mission.
Sir Robert Derwent, Direct-General of Interplanetary-London Headquarters for the International Space-Flight Project: He was the man who got the mission off the ground and into the pages of history.
Professor Maxton, the world's leading atomic engineer: He designed the huge ship's drive units and he waited with the rest of the world to see if the project would be a success.
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List of stories from
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June 1958 issue of If. It was later expanded into the novel of the same name. Sir Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008) is regarded as one of the most-influential science fiction writers of all time. He was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
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-
Story4 out of 5 stars 23,136
A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Odd narrator choice
- By Josh Mitchell on 05-30-15
By: Neal Stephenson
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The Medusa Chronicles
- By: Stephen Baxter, Alastair Reynolds
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 351
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 320
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 319
Howard Falcon almost lost his life in an accident as the first human astronaut to explore the atmosphere of Jupiter - and a combination of human ingenuity and technical expertise brought him back. But he is no longer himself. Instead he has been changed into an augmented human: part man, part machine, and exceptionally capable.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Almost stopped listening. Glad I didn't.
- By cek on 08-21-16
By: Stephen Baxter, and others
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The Star Diaries
- Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy
- By: Stanislaw Lem
- Narrated by: David Marantz
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 136
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 118
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Story4 out of 5 stars 118
Ijon Tichy, Lem's Candide of the Cosmos, encounters bizarre civilizations and creatures in space that serve to satirize science, the rational mind, theology, and other icons of human pride.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Gulliver in Space
- By Joe Kraus on 12-29-18
By: Stanislaw Lem
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Rocket Men
- The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon
- By: Robert Kurson
- Narrated by: Ray Porter, Robert Kurson
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,580
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,329
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Story5 out of 5 stars 2,324
By August 1968, the American space program was in danger of failing in its two most important objectives: to land a man on the moon by President Kennedy's end-of-decade deadline and to triumph over the Soviets in space. With its back against the wall, NASA made an almost unimaginable leap: It would scrap its usual methodical approach and risk everything on a sudden launch, sending the first men in history to the moon - in just four months.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Men Who Saved 1968
- By Gillian on 04-04-18
By: Robert Kurson
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Neil Armstrong
- A Life of Flight
- By: Jay Barbree
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 185
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 164
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 164
Much has been written about Neil Armstrong, America's modern hero and history's most famous space traveler. Yet, shy of fame and never one to steal the spotlight, Armstrong was always reluctant to discuss his personal side of events. Here for the first time is the definitive story of Neil's life of flight he shared for five decades with a trusted friend - Jay Barbree.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Profound Personal Impact
- By Michael on 08-21-14
By: Jay Barbree
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The Right Stuff
- By: Tom Wolfe
- Narrated by: Dennis Quaid
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,645
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,123
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,098
Millions of words have poured forth about man's trip to the moon, but until now few people have had a sense of the most engrossing side of the adventure: namely, what went on in the minds of the astronauts themselves - in space, on the moon, and even during certain odysseys on earth. It is this, the inner life of the astronauts, that Tom Wolfe describes with his almost uncanny empathetic powers that made The Right Stuff a classic.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Righteous Book, Righteous Narrator, Righteous MEN!
- By Gillian on 02-08-18
By: Tom Wolfe
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Eon
- By: Greg Bear
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 17 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,237
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,092
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,095
Perhaps it wasn't from our time, perhaps it wasn't even from our universe, but the arrival of the 300-kilometer long stone was the answer to humanity's desperate plea to end the threat of nuclear war. Inside the deep recesses of the stone lies Thistledown: the remnants of a human society, versed in English, Russian and Chinese. The artifacts of this familiar people foretell a great Death caused by the ravages of war, but the government and scientists are unable to decide how to use this knowledge.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Am Epic Original SciFi Read Worth Your Time...
- By Michael on 07-01-12
By: Greg Bear
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Beyond the Aquila Rift
- By: Alastair Reynolds
- Narrated by: Tom Dheere
- Length: 1 hr and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 438
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 360
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 362
Beyond the Aquila Rift: It's shorthand for the trip no one ever hopes to make by accident. The one that will screw up the rest of your life, the one that creates the ghosts you see haunting the shadows of company bars across the whole Bubble. Men and women ripped out of time, cut adrift from families and lovers by an accident of an alien technology we use but rarely comprehend.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Great story, mediocre audio book.
- By Amazon Customer on 04-17-12
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Footfall
- By: Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
- Length: 24 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,110
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,584
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,582
They first appear as a series of dots on astronomical plates, heading from Saturn directly toward Earth. Since the ringed planet carries no life, scientists deduce the mysterious ship to be a visitor from another star. The world's frantic efforts to signal the aliens go unanswered. The first contact is hostile: the invaders blast a Soviet space station, seize the survivors, and then destroy every dam and installation on Earth with a hail of asteriods.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle at Their Best
- By Flatlander on 06-24-10
By: Larry Niven, and others
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The Tar-Aiym Krang
- A Pip & Flinx Adventure
- By: Alan Dean Foster
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 844
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 604
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 610
Moth was a beautiful planet, the only one with wings - two great golden clouds suspended in space around it. Here was a wide-open world for any venture a man might scheme. The planet attracted unwary travelers, hardened space-sailors, and merchant buccaneers - a teeming, constantly shifting horde that provided a comfortable income for certain quick-witted fellows like Flinx and his pet flying snake Pip.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The First of the Flinx and Pip Novels AT LAST!
- By Chris on 01-20-09
By: Alan Dean Foster
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The Last Man On the Moon
- By: Eugene Cernan
- Narrated by: Eugene Cernan
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 301
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 264
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 262
This is the story of a unique American hero who came of age as an astronaut during the few dramatic years when man reached the moon. Cernan's career spanned the entire Apollo program, from the tragic fire that killed three of his comrades on Apollo 1, through the moment when he left man's last footprint on the moon as commander of Apollo 17.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Yet Another Perspective
- By Shellbin on 12-28-12
By: Eugene Cernan
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Gateways
- Original New Stories Inspired by Frederik Pohl
- By: Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, Ben Bova, and others
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 96
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 85
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Story4 out of 5 stars 84
It isn’t easy to get a group of bestselling SF authors to write new stories for an anthology, but that’s what Elizabeth Anne Hull has done in this powerhouse book. With original, captivating tales by Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, Ben Bova, David Brin, Cory Doctorow, Neil Gaiman, Joe Haldeman, Harry Harrison, Larry Niven, Vernor Vinge, Gene Wolfe, and others, Gateways is a SF event that will be a must-buy for SF readers of all tastes, from the traditional to the cutting edge; from the darkly serious to the laugh-out-loud funny.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Spectacular.
- By Steve Reid on 08-21-15
By: Greg Bear, and others
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The Enceladus Mission
- Ice Moon 1
- By: Brandon Q. Morris
- Narrated by: Doug Tisdale Jr.
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 216
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 195
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Story4 out of 5 stars 194
In the year 2031, a robot probe detects traces of biological activity on Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons. This sensational discovery shows that there is indeed evidence of extraterrestrial life. Fifteen years later, a hurriedly built spacecraft sets out on the long journey to the ringed planet and its moon. The international crew is not just facing a difficult twenty-seven months: if the spacecraft manages to make it to Enceladus without incident it must use a drillship to penetrate the kilometer-thick sheet of ice that entombs the moon.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Robotic performance, potentially interesting story
- By Opa on 02-21-19
What listeners say about Prelude to Space
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Jim "The Impatient"
- 04-18-14
PRELUDE
Most likely no other novel has been title so accurately. This was written in 1947, published in a magazine in 1951 and hardback in 1953. It is written before the Apollo missions and reads like a How To Manuel. If you are a Clarke fan, you have to read it ,as it his first book to be published. If you are not a fan or you are just getting started this is not the place to start. It is fairly dry science and since it is before actual space travel, it is wrong in a lot of places. It is hard to write Science Fiction of the near future, as you can soon be proved wrong, that is why you find most sci-fi stories take place way in the future,.
The City and The Stars is my favorite. Most people like the Rama books, as I do too. 2001 is what he is most famous for.
The narrator is great and makes the listening better then reading.
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14 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kevin J. Bouffard
- 03-15-16
Old time SF
A good story and well written, as one would expect from Clark, with good narration. The novel is more interesting for its view of the future, already our past. References to mimeographs and electronics with vacuum tubes amusing.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Darryl
- 10-28-12
Another good early Clarke
again a serious novel filled with interesting ideas at the dawn of the "space age". Some ideas are prescient, like the winged vehicle for reentry. Structurally it is similar to Sands of Mars in that there is a writer visiting the site and reporting etc. and getting info explained to him. Early Clarke may be more for his fans, of which I am one, but if you are interested in the early ideas of how all this might be achieved this is good.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- CMT Hogan
- 01-02-23
Interesting view into past thoughts
Besides being a good story as one would expect from Arthur C Clarke, this also provides a fascinating view into what the world was thinking of space exploration a decade and change before it happened. So many false assumptions and expectations. But the assumptions at least were not unreasonable given the science of the 1940s. Highly recommend.
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