2001

Two days ago, having re-read Arthur C.Clarke's Childhood's End and Rendezvous With Rama, I was thinking of which direction my reading would take - either continue on with Clarke, or return to Anthony Burgess with The Malayan Trilogy . I decided to stay with Clarke and read 2001: A Space Odyssey .

I was 16 when the film came out in 1968. I went to see it at the Wink theater in Dalton GA. I must say that at that first viewing, a good deal of the movie went over my head. Although, over the years I have watched the movie again, this is the first time I've read the novel. Having finally read the book, I have to say I prefer it to the film.

That being said, there are areas where Clarke "goofed" in his portrayal of 2001.

1) The novel was written between the years 1964 and 1968. It was obvious to any thinking person that mankind would land on the Moon before too many more years. It was understandable that Clarke would imagine Lunar colonies by 2001. We all know that didn't happen.
2) As an aside, Clarke mentions that by that time all the world's major religions would accept birth control. We're well past 2001 and the Catholic Church still hasn't given birth control the OK.
3) When traveling from the space station to the Moon, Dr. Heywood Floyd goes by shuttle, but there was no shuttle available to take him from Earth to the space station.
4) In Clarke's 2001, the Soviet Union was still around. In the real world, the U.S.S.R. never made it that long.
5) In Clarke's 2001, extraterrestrial vehicle activities (EVA) were carried out with vehicles named after females, because they were unpredictable.
6) There are "office girls" in Clarke's future world.

Even with those "goofs", I still enjoyed the novel. I've gone on to Clarke's 2010: Odyssey Two . Frankly, I'm not enjoying it quite as much. I will probably exit Clarke for awhile when I've finished with this one.