Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World

by Arthur C. Clarke, Arthur C. Clarke, John Fairley

Beyond the world we can quantify, classify and analyse there is another, more mysterious world. In this book Arthur C Clarke investigates this supra-scientific world. Under his direction, Simon Welfare and John Fairley travelled five continents interviewing witnesses of strange and unexplained phenomena. They talked to men and women who had seen monsters from the depths of oceans and lakes, had been showered by frogs and fishes and had watched 'unidentified flying objects' crossing the night sky in brilliant light; they talked to explorers and mountain people who had seen the yeti, the abominable snowman and his cousin 'Bigfoot'. More threatening events are also evaluated in the hope that we can glean evidence which may prevent future catastrophe.

Arthur C Clarke would not wish, even if it were possible, to provide answers to all the questions posed in this book. As he writes: 'The universe is such a strange and wonderful place that reality will always out-reach the wildest imnagination.'

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Paranormal, Mystery, Popular Science, Pseudoscience, History

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Stories, works of noted British writer, scientist, and underwater explorer Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, include 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

This most important and influential figure in 20th century fiction spent the first half of his life in England and served in World War II as a radar operator before migrating to Ceylon in 1956. He co-created his best known novel and movie with the assistance of Stanley Kubrick.

Clarke, a graduate of King's College, London, obtained first class honours in physics and mathematics. He served as past chairman of the interplanetary society and as a member of the academy of astronautics, the royal astronomical society, and many other organizations.

He authored more than fifty books and won his numerous awards: the Kalinga prize of 1961, the American association for the advancement Westinghouse prize, the Bradford Washburn award, and the John W. Campbell award for his novel Rendezvous with Rama. Clarke also won the nebula award of the fiction of America in 1972, 1974 and 1979, the Hugo award of the world fiction convention in 1974 and 1980. In 1986, he stood as grand master of the fiction of America. The queen knighted him as the commander of the British Empire in 1989.

Reviews

[Goran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kao dečak obožavao sam ovu knjigu kao i istoimenu TV seriju...

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

And so as the series continued so did the books that supported it. One of the things about books like this is that the are able to go in to greater depth and detail that any show could do (simply because of the time and material that is available) so reading around a subject becomes almost required if you are to fully appreciate it.

Now this series is really celebrating (if that is the right choice) the work of the mysterious and as such by its very nature facts are limited, sketchy or even down right contradictory So additional information can be a little vague at times but this book tries its best.

The book pretty much to me epitomises a time in my life - i think if I were too seek out the show now I would be disappointed or at the very least a little underwhelmed but here the books are something new even though they were printed back in the 80s (just love that vintage smell of books - okay too much information).

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book, but dated. Several topics are discussed, such as the Ape Man, ancient fires, monsters in the deep seas, circles and standing stones, creatures from the lakes and lochs, figures in landscapes, unlikely creatures, the Tunguska explosion, UFOs, strange skies, giants in the Earth, etc.

Includes several testimonials and lots of images. Every chapter is commented upon by Arthur C. Clarke himself providing his personal views.

I enjoyed reading this, although a few topics had too many testimonials worth just skimming over, due to their repetitive nature. Explanations and speculations are included; however they did not satisfy me much.

[Dark-Draco · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book, based on the TV series of the same name. There are 12 chapters, each dealing with a different phenomenon, from Ape Men to Sea Monsters, UFOS to Carved Hill Figures. There isn't a lot of discussion on the whys and wherefores of things, rather its more like a litany of the evidence that has come to light so far, with some really interesting photos the back things up. This leaves the reader to make up their own mind and forms a good basis to go off and read more. I was slightly disappointed in this respect, but as an avid reader of Fortean Times and other books like this, I already have a good idea of what investigations are out there. This was published in 1980 - the year I was born - so there a few things discussed here that have since been proved a fake. I also can't look at the photo, on page 160, as evidence of the Loch Ness monster, since it was pointed out how much it looks like a dog carrying a stick, so was probably more likely an accidental double exposure.

[Mike Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great, informative read, from the 80's by celebrated author and inventor of the communications satellite Arthur C. Clarke. I also have the dvd's of this series and watched them as I read each chapter of the book, great entertainment. Since science and technology has moved on from the 80's there are a few things in this book that have been proven to be faked, like the 1967 Bigfoot video by Roger Patterson. A few other small things are faked, but the biggest fake is on the cover of the book, the crystal skulls have been proven to be faked, but still look quite good. All in all, this is a great look into the mysterious world, faked or not. A classic book, if you can find it, not in shops any more, I had to use eBay. I've knocked one star off for the fakes, but still a great book and series.....

[Paulina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the first books I read in mysteries ... Still one of my favorites yet it looks very outdated now.
A good read though.

[Steven "Steve" · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had this as a kid and decided I wanted to re-read it and then look at the updated answers online to questions that have plagued me all these years. It has been very interesting to be able to view all of the old Bigfoot, Nessie, and UFO evidence after all these years, and I was able to find all sorts of films and photos online that are mentioned in the book. I want to believe, but unfortunately except for ball lightning, basic archaeology, and the Tunguska event the mysteries are mostly the limitations of human senses and memory with a fair amount of hoaxes thrown in. Still, a fun and interesting return to things that I thought would be much more important in my life than they turned out to be (not once have I been approached by a sasquatch, alien, or ghost and I am really peeved about it all, to be honest).

[Doodles McC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting annual I received at Christmas when I was a teen. Full of interesting facts, conspiracies and outright fiction. Before there was Mulder & Scully there was Clarke's Mysterious World.

[Vikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but out of date as some of these 'mysteries' have now been solved.

[Malte Johnsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it when I was 12. Probably a bit dated by now.

[A. B. J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ako volite misterije, pogotovo one klasične, ovo je knjiga za vas! Potpuni užitak, toliko detalja, pustolovina... Poželite biti jedna od ovih osoba, koja doživi nešto nevjerojatno.

[David Leach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life without mystery would be so ordinary - first read this in my early teens - fascinating and exciting, adds a bit of unexplained spice to life

[jojo charlotte]

interesting book but could not be bothered reading in its entirety

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was OBSESSED with this book growing up. I read and re-read it over and over...

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing new here

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good retro read and it's time to solve the third kind of Mysteries.

[The Bauchler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it back then.

Unlike Erich von Däniken I felt ACC brought credibility to these 'mysteries'

[Matthew Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still fun to read, but somewhat outdated. A classic.

[Pawaris Wongprayoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

หนังสือเก่ามาก มีแปลไทยชื่อ โลกลี้ลับ เกี่ยวกับปริศนาต่างๆในโลกแบ่งเป็นบทๆเช่น สัตว์ประหลาด (เยติ เนสซี ปลาหมึกยักษ์) UFO เหตุการณ์พิศวง (ฝนตกเป็นกบ ลูกบอลสายฟ้า) เป็นหนังสือแนวลึกลับเชิงวิชาการเล่มเดียวที่เคยเห็นแปลเป็นไทย (เล่มอื่นๆเน้นเหนือธรรมชาติหมด) ตีพิมพ์ในยุคที่ปริศนาเหล่านี้อยู่ในความสนใจของผู้คน แต่ถึงตอนนี้คงเป็นหนังสือล้าสมัยไปแล้ว

[Voodoo Shampoo · Rating 3 out of 5]

decent book

i like how it points out things that were proven along with things that are still unproven, gives quite clear the image of how much research is left undone while people tend to hold sides, mostly holding the wrong side

[Bangkokian · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my fav books when I was under 15th years old!!

[Zenobia]

do there really exists some myterious living and incidents in this world,such as raining of frogs?

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

only seen a couple of episodes of the documentary series but found the book very interesting and informative.

[Jovana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting... But I read better books on this subject...

[Graham Bear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome book from my youth. Very strange stuff.

[Colin Hopson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had it years and just read all of it!