Tales Frm the Whte Har

The "Tales From The White Hart" is a collection of, usually, funny sci-fi stories. The book was written half a century ago, so the technology is not up to date. However, the humor is as fresh as it can be. The "Armaments Race" is one of the funniest stories I have ever read. I have purchased (over the last forty, or more, years) at least four copies of this book. They have been loaned to friends and not returned. This is a must read for Sci-fi readers.

If you can think of one set of SF short stories involving tall tales told in bars, it's probably Spider Robinson's "Callahan's' series. But if you can think of two, this is probably the second.Although never as big a Clarke fan as I've been of Asimov and Heinlein, I still have fond memories of several of Clarke's books. _Rendezvous with Rama_ is probably his best novel and it's been one of my favorites of his since it was first published. His short stories, too, are generally of high quality (remember e.g. 'The Nine Billion Names of God'?).The series of tales collected herein is a bit different (for Clarke). For one thing, they're _funny_ -- Arthur C. Clarke funny, that is, not Douglas Adams funny, but funny all the same.They're on the light side and they're deftly executed. But don't expect guffaws; in order to appreciate Harry Purvis and his stories, you pretty much have to be the sort of person who thinks 'The Defenestration of Ermintrude Inch' is a funny title.If you've read Clarke but you haven't read this book, grab a copy and see what you think. The 'White Hart' isn't Callahan's, but it's a pleasant place to hang out and listen to some tall tales.

A series of short stories, tales told in a bar (the White Hart) among a group of scientists, writers, and laymen. The central story-teller is one Henry Purvis, an obnoxious fellow with a trick of pausing at the climax for a new draught beer, whom no one has yet managed to prove a liar. He tells almost believable tales of science and wouldn't-it-be-nice science. One learns of a silencer that silences more than guns, a carnivorous orchid with a secret, a ballistic computer with a sense of humour. Much of the delight in the tales arises from the fact that they were written in the 1950's, and it is amazing how much Clarke could see of the future. I suspect Clarke may have felt he'd written himself into a corner, because the series of tales and the book end rather suddenly, with a hint for the future but no real hope that Purvis will be back. A delghtful find, to be read by all who enjoy Clarke, bar stories, science fiction, and humour.

Written in the in the era when Brits talked about the "White Hot Fire" of Technology, when Nuclear Power was cool ("Enough plutonium in Sellafield to boil the Irish sea, heh!") and tweed jackets and pipes were the last word in attire. Don't snub it thought - Lotus Cars now own the patent on one of the inventions in this classic; my old boss from Caltech confirms another. I can cionfirm first hand that 'Tales' reflect the atmosphere and sociology of science in some parts of Cambridge University or at the British National Physical Laboratory even today . . .

"Tales From the White Heart" brings some true fun into science fiction reading; a break from the deadly serious which is so often the hallmark of sci-fi. Like tall tales of the old west, the stories here are almost believeable, which makes them perfect for the English Pub background. Presented in short-story form, the book makes easy evening reading. I highly recommend "Tales From the White Heart" for both serious and casual sci-fi readers, from adolescent up.