First, this (the PS publishing edition) is a beautiful book. The publishers have done a grand job. I first read the stories in this book in pb many more years ago than I care to remember, but coming to them again, when the world, and science, has moved on, I still found them amusing and (just) credible. I remember thinking when I first read them that I wish Clarke had produced more. Well, he has - just one more, up to date and in this volume. The stories are not very typical of his writing, but brilliant nonetheless, and just show what we have lost with Clarke's death. RIP a master storyteller.