Excerpts: McAleer on Clarke

Excerpts from
Arthur C. Clarke: The Authorized Biography
By Neil McAleer

THIS PAGE: Preface

Permission to reprint these excerpts was granted to MysteryVisits in 2004 by Neil McAleer. MysteryVisits is proud to be able to make this material available online. For the full account about Sir Arthur, however, please obtain the complete book, published by Contemporary Books (Chicago USA) and Victor Gollancz Ltd. (London UK).

At right: Neil McAleer at lunch with Sir Arthur C. Clarke in May 2004 at the Colombo Swim Club in Colombo, Sri Lanka. This photo – taken by Karl Anders, MD – was provided by Neil McAleer for use only on this page. It is not featured in Arthur C. Clarke: The Authorized Biography, which includes photos available up until 1992.

Foreword by Ray Bradbury
Foreword by Sir Patrick Moore
Preface by McAleer – This page
Chapter 1: New Moon over Somerset
Chapter 28: 1984 [Part One]
[Part Two]
Photos of Sir Arthur: May 2004
Editorial reviews

Return to introductory page

Preface by Neil McAleer

This is the first-ever biography of Arthur C. Clarke – one of the great visionaries of the twentieth century and a man who has every expectation of celebrating the arrival of the new millennium and the twenty-first century on January 1, 2001.

After seventy-five orbits around the sun,Clarke continues to be active and productive, always involved in a dozen or more projects and championing worthwhile causes for the good of our global family. The benefit of Clarke’s cooperation with this life story, and the access to interviews, letters, and other documents it afforded, far outweighs any influence his cooperation might imply or exert.

So what does “authorized” mean with respect to this biography? The truth is that nothing was ever said definitely to be off-limits by anyone who contributed information and memories to this work. It is also true that this writer never probed too deeply into Clarke’s private affairs. I no more wanted to describe intimate details of a living man’s private life (assuming the information was available) than he or his contemporaries wanted to read about them. If this is the compromise of an “authorized” life, so be it. All of us alive know about life’s compromises. A written life is no exception.

Certainly this is a better book because of the cooperation of many people, including Clarke. I can’t therefore uphold the humorously cynical view of one British biographer, Humphrey Carpenter, who has written: “While the authorized biographer generally Knows Everything, the authorized biography usually reads like a report in Pravda.” Well, not this one.

After several requests for some stories and memories for this work, Stanley Kubrick told me that “Arthur is not an anecdotable character.” This, as far as it goes, may be true, but people’s different perspectives on the same person often are enlightening and help to create a more objective view. If readers also sometimes hear the unique voices of the people interviewed as they read their spoken words, then this will be the ultimate compliment to all of us.

© 1992 by Neil McAleer

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