TALES FROM THE WHITE HART.

UK,slim 12mo p/back reprint.[First UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn was by Sidgwick and Jackson,(London),1972 and that was preceded by the US,p/b 1st edn,from Ballantine Books, New York (1957).First UK,p/b 1st edn,also by Sidgwick & Jackson(London),1973.No prior publication's history indication within this issue of 1980,of that 1st p/b edn nor of any subsequent reprints.] Near MINT.Wrapped+ protected from day of issue/purchase.No owner inscrptn, no price removal from cover.Bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,glossy,colour pictorial artwork by David Conner, with white lettering,black spine with white letters and pale blue ISBN,rear cover with full-length colour photograph of author and blue lettered preamble blurb.Only noticeable fault: a couple (2) minor abrasion rubs with miniscule colour loss to front-facing edge of spine.Minimal ageing/ toning to edges; contents pristine,internally,firmly bound - unread,apart from my collation.UK,slim 12mo p/b reprint, 6- 156pp [paginated] includes author preface,15 short stories; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,contents list/table,and to the rear a note about author by author and blank rear free endpaper.
'Tales from the White Hart' is a collection of 15 short stories by science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke,in the "club tales" style.Thirteen of the fifteen stories originally appeared within a number of different publications.
'Moving Spirit' and 'The Defenestration of Ermintrude Inch' were first published in this book and hence presumably were written specifically for it. 'Defenestration' rounds off the cycle of stories and explicitly mentions their book publication.
Contents: Silence Please; Big Game Hunt; Patent Pending; Armaments Race; Critical Mass; The Ultimate Melody; The Pacifist; The Next Tenants; Moving Spirit; The Man Who Ploughed the Sea; The Reluctant Orchid; Cold War; What Goes Up; Sleeping Beauty; The Defenestration of Ermintrude Inch.
WELCOME TO THE WHITE HART. You come upon the White Hart quite unexpectedly in one of these anonymous little lanes leading down from Fleet Street to the Embankment.It's no use telling you where it is,for the first dozen visits a guide is essential.From the outside it looks like any other pub.And so the reader embarks on 15 hilarious and wholly delightful adventures in 'Tales from the White Hart' - and such ingenious,hilarious,and wholly delightful stories as these,could come only from a man who has mastered both science and fiction - in short, from Arthur C. Clarke himself.
In the smoky and comfortable gloom of the White Hart pub - the fraternity of British scientists,SF writers and fans,gather nightly to listen to the magnificent stories of raconteur Harry Purvis.Whether you believe all that Harry Purvis says or not (Mr. Clarke doesn't commit himself),you will be astonished,amused and amazed by his hilarious tales of a home-brew whisky of explosive power,a meat-eating orchid with a vicious disposition,and the curious fate of Ermintrude Inch.
For Mr. Clarke,who has established a reputation for impeccable science - both in his non-fiction and his novels - he appears here in a new role: the Baron Munchausen of science fiction.
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