Arthur C. Clarke has been the presiding genius of science fiction for almost fifty years. His novels include the groundbreaking and profound Childhood's End and Rendezvous with Rama, and his collaboration with Stanley Kubrick produced one of the most enduring and important of all science fiction films, 2001: A Space Odyssey. It was the last story in this collection, 'The Sentinel', that provided the starting point for that film.His first ever collection of short stories, Expedition to Earth displays all the versatility and range of imagination which has made Arthur C. Clarke one of the world's most popular and acclaimed science fiction authors. Thought-provoking and memorable, this volume, with a new preface by the author, shows Clarke writing at his extraordinary best.