New York, Ballantine Books, 1953. First Edition. First Impression. Hardback. A near fine copy. Clarke's masterpiece, a highlight of science fiction collecting. Somewhat different to Clarke's later style, relying less on science and more on fiction. Nominated for a retro Hugo but ultimately losing out to Fahrenheit 451. The book also lost out in 1975, coming second place in Locus's 'All-Time Best Novel'. The winner was Dune, though the book did beat Left Hand of Darkness, Stranger in a Strange Land, Leibowitz and the Foundation Trilogy. The book's near fine with a little light offsetting to the endpapers and some bumping and rubbing to the spine tips. The jacket is similar with light wear to the corners, one chip to the lower spine tip and a bit of nibbling to the top. The spine's also a little faded to the lettering. A decent copy overall. Occassional soiling to the foreedge. Cover art by Richard Powers [7034, Hyraxia Books].