The Tales are the first science fiction I ever read, mainly because the day after seeing my first Star Trek episode I ransacked my parents home for any science fiction they had and a battered copy of The Tales was it. I devoured it. Most of the stories I barely understood, but some of the themes and questions they brought up have haunted me to this day. Highly recommended. - Billie ( )

Entertaining easy read as is typical from his short stories. To be dipped into rather than read at a sitting as otherwise the similarities begin to annoy.
But each of them is a charming gem, lightweight though they may be. If you are looking for a gentle introduction to science fiction and enjoy the short story form, this would be a good start. ( )

This is probably my favorite Clarke book. ( )

Essentially, this is a collection of sf "tall tales". Clarke, in his introduction, says it was his intention to prove "that science fiction and humor are [not] incompatible" (viii). Well, a good start would have been finding someone who was actually funny to write the book. Oh, snap! Seriously, though there are not many in the way of belly laughs in this book, it is generally amusing, with a number of scientific ideas taken to their absurd extreme. "The Ultimate Melody" (about an attempt to scientifically isolate the quality of songs that gets them stuck in your head) was probably my favorite, but "The Defenestration of Erminitrude Inch", "The Reluctant Orchid", and "Patent Pending" were also good. It's somewhat interesting to note the number of stories that hinged on electrical manipulation of the brain of some sort.

In a similar setup to the Gavagan's Bar stories, but, as Clarke says, set in the UK, not the USA.

His bar actually features John Christopher, John Wyndham and 'George Whitley' in small cameos in the tall tales recounted by Harry Purvis. So a haunt of the literary types someone under a newspaper building or thereabouts, is what he says, so maybe pointing out a real pub somewhere he liked?

Anyway, all from around the 1950 mark, these. All they are intended to be is fun stories, and the author pretty much succeeds at that, in general.

Tales from the White Hart : Silence Please! - Arthur C. Clarke
Tales from the White Hart : Big Game Hunt - Arthur C. Clarke
Tales from the White Hart : Patent Pending - Arthur C. Clarke
Tales from the White Hart : Armaments Race - Arthur C. Clarke
Tales from the White Hart : Critical Mass - Arthur C. Clarke
Tales from the White Hart : The Ultimate Melody - Arthur C. Clarke
Tales from the White Hart : The Pacifist - Arthur C. Clarke
Tales from the White Hart : The Next Tenants - Arthur C. Clarke
Tales from the White Hart : Moving Spirit - Arthur C. Clarke
Tales from the White Hart : The Man Who Ploughed the Sea - Arthur C. Clarke
Tales from the White Hart : The Reluctant Orchid - Arthur C. Clarke
Tales from the White Hart : Cold War - Arthur C. Clarke
Tales from the White Hart : What Goes Up - Arthur C. Clarke
Tales from the White Hart : Sleeping Beauty - Arthur C. Clarke
Tales from the White Hart : The Defenestration of Ermintrude Inch - Arthur C. Clarke

Negative feedback showstopping blowup.

3.5 out of 5

Giant Squid control lacking.

3 out of 5

Sensation register commerce.

2.5 out of 5

Captain Zoom gun prop death ray.

3.5 out of 5

Bee ooze.

3.5 out of 5

Stuck in a hit pattern.

3 out of 5

War program insults.

3.5 out of 5

“The number of mad scientists who wish to conquer the world,” said Harry Purvis, looking thoughtfully at his beer, “has been grossly exaggerated”.

3 out of 5

Whiskey making case a bomb.

3 out of 5

Submarine getaway extraction.

3.5 out of 5

Wellsian hothouse epic coward.

4 out of 5

Iceberg towing bet interruption.

3 out of 5

Antigravity flameout.

3 out of 5

Snoring cure insomnia reversal.

3.5 out of 5

Word count loop cheat pushover.

3.5 out of 5

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2008/02... ( )