2001: A Space Odyssey

Everything everyone has ever told you about the movie is WRONG! I read the book, twice, because I got tired of hearing what the monolith means and the meaning of the movie. Now that I have read it, I just love listening to people 'ramble on' about a topic they have no idea of what they are talking about. To be honest, the first time I watched the move, in the mid 80's, I was 14 maybe 15, and agreed with everyone that the move was just 'awesome,' when in reality, I quite honestly thought it sucked. Well, 20 years later curiosity got the better of me when people I worked with started talking about the movie and I finally decided to find out just what it was about, and glad I did. Pick it up and read it, you will be amazed at what is really going on.

The future

I couldn't close this book once I started to read it. a master piece!!!

After his death this year

Arhtur C. Clarke passed away a few weeks ago and I remember seeing the movie version of 2001 while still in college. This was absolutely the best movie and book
I have ever read in the science fiction genre. I still marvel at the monolith as it traveled
through space and time and HAL the computer who went off course. We now have a
space station in orbit and the thrill of the book and movie makes the reality of space
exploration even more exciting. Arthur C. Clarke was also ahead of his time in many
other social issues. It was marvelous to have this man on earth.

An Evolutionary Space Odyssey

Upon release of this book, Clarke stirred up a controversy about man?s evolution into a rational thinking being. There was a misunderstanding in the premise of ?2001 A Space Odyssey?. There has always been the question as to when a rational thinking man evolved. The question was, ?What was the stimulus to cause the ability to think rationally?? This has been debated for many years. Clarke used an extraterrestrial to explain the jump start of man?s ability to rationalize and create. Clark then fast-forward to the future. An unknown communication is traced to the Moon. A relay - transmitter on the Moon had been uncovered. The signal is being transmitted into the unknown of outer space.

In the book Clarke uses the struggle between man and his machines as a theme to emphases man?s finality. Even with all of man?s ingenuity and creative abilities it would be a machine that caused the problems with the mission and its unique conclusion. It is a machine that has artificial intelligence, created by man, which sabotage mission because of the machine acquiring emotions. The laws of robotics are completely violated in this book.

Clarke carefully crafted this tale by leaving information out and allowing the reader to form their own opinions as he slowly revels the plots and subplots. Yet it is this machine that inadvertently helps to complete this mission but not the way the reader might expect.

In the book I see spiritual overtones as well as his distain for the progress of man to the point of how man has used his creations. Clarke divulges to the reader that there is hope for the future. If mankind can turn around and truly become enlighten. Then an only then can he truly achieve the higher level of intelligent. ?2001 A Space Odyssey? is full of symbolism and not to be browsed through. Take time to slowly read the text and digest the symbolism. Clarke?s writings will cause you to think of other possibilities and meanings.

Stanley Kubrick with Arthur Clarke wrote the screenplay for ?2001 A Space Odyssey?. In 1968 Kubrick pushed the graphics beyond the envelope. The moviegoers were mesmerized with the visual portrait of ?2001 A Space Odyssey? and were very puzzled with the first five minutes of the movie. The audience did not understand about the dawning of man achieving rational thoughts. The ending lost the audience because of the symbolism.