The Nine Billion Names of God and Other Stories: The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke, 1951-1956

Over the last thirty years I have written about a hundred short stories, in such varied locales as wartime RAF camps, islands on the Great Barrier Reef, New York hotels, Miami apartments, London suburbs, transatlantic liners, and Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo. They have appeared in magazines ranging from Astounding Stories to Vogue, from Galaxy to Playboy, and since 1953 have been published in the five collections: Expedition to Earth, Reach for Tomorrow, Tales from the "White Hart," The Other Side of the Sky, and Tales of Ten Worlds. In addition, these stories have appeared in various combinations with six novels in the anthologies Across the Sea of Stars, From the Ocean, From the Stars, and Prelude to Mars. This is all very satisfying, but for some time I have felt the need for a single volume containing the stories which I like best. Every author must have his favorite stories, though he would often be hard put to give reasons for his preferences. Sometimes these may be completely illogical - or at least unliterary. A story written at a time and place associated with pleasant memories may be more highly rated, in retrospect, than a much better tale provoked by unhappiness or penury - the to greatest sponsors or art. Whether this selection is free from such bias, I have no idea; whatever the reasons may be, these are my favorites. Arthur C. Clarke, New York, August 1966\*\* This is a collection of 114 stories written by Arthur C. Clarke. The UK version has a front cover with the title as "Arthur C. Clarke: The Collected Stories", and the USA version as "The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke", known by this name by both publishers. Many of the stories have a short introduction, which tells when and where the story was first published and the collection it was first collected in. They are arranged in mostly chronological order. The only missing story from this collection is called "When the Twerms Came" the story was published in book form in 'The View from Serendip' and 'More Than One Universe' collections. The Possessed All The Time In The World Encounter In The Dawn Second Dawn If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth... The Other Tiger Jupiter Five The Parasite The Nine Billion Names Of God Armaments Race No Morning After The Deep Range Patent Pending Refugee The Reluctant Orchid The Pacifists What Goes Up Publicity Campaign Big Game Hunt Venture To The Moon The Star

This volume is of special interest — included are a wide range of classic stories, including the title story, "Jupiter Five," "The Deep Range," "Second Dawn," and the earliest of the splendidly comic narratives told by Harry Purvis for the benefit of the denizens of the White Hart.

This is the third of five audio sets of the unabridged "The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke". A sixth volume 'Best of' has a combination of the previous five volumes. It is an Unabridged audio, read by various readers.