Amazon.com: Glide Path: 9780743475310: Clarke, Arthur C: Books

Available instantly

Hardcover
$27.95

Paperback
from $2.51

Mass Market Paperback
$14.05

Deliver to Canada

See All Buying Options

Added to

Unable to add item to List. Please try again.

Follow the author

Arthur C. Clarke

Glide Path Paperback – May 6, 2011

by Arthur C Clarke (Author)

213

See all formats and editions

During World War II, as an RAF officer, Arthur C. Clarke was in charge of the first radar 'talk-down' equipment, the Ground Controlled Approach, during its experimental trials. His novel GLIDE PATH is based on this work

Report an issue with this product or seller

Print length

279 pages
Language

English
Publisher

iBooks
Publication date

May 6, 2011
Dimensions

5.9 x 0.6 x 8.9 inches
ISBN-10

0743475313
ISBN-13

978-0743475310
See all details

Arthur C. Clarke Arthur C. Clarke,Arthur C Clarke
4,709
Paperback
$13.94
Get it as soon as Wednesday, Apr 17
$8.43 shipping
Only 6 left in stock - order soon.
A. Clarke
1,437
Paperback
$15.22
$8.40 shipping
Only 5 left in stock (more on the way).
Arthur C. Clarke
1,486
Paperback
$16.19
$8.46 shipping
Arthur C. Clarke
2,964
Paperback
$7.99
$8.48 shipping
Arthur C. Clarke
2,561
Paperback
$8.99
$8.54 shipping

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ iBooks (May 6, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 279 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0743475313
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0743475310
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.9 x 0.6 x 8.9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,517,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #6,412 in Military Historical Fiction
- #10,250 in War & Military Action Fiction (Books)
- #18,301 in War Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
213

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Arthur C. Clarke

Arthur C. Clarke

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

SIR ARTHUR C. CLARKE (1917-2008) wrote the novel and co-authored the screenplay for 2001: A Space Odyssey. He has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, and he is the only science-fiction writer to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. His fiction and nonfiction have sold more than one hundred million copies in print worldwide.

Photo by en:User:Mamyjomarash (Amy Marash) (en:Image:Clarke sm.jpg) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

213 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Amazon Customer

Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2023

Verified Purchase

Well written story of the early development of GCA radar. As a former air traffic controller, avionics tech and electrical engineer, I found it very engaging.

One person found this helpful

Insightful historical fiction

Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2014

Verified Purchase

Glide Path (Arthur C. Clarke Collection) is a story of the maturation of two "characters" during WWII in England. The human story is that of Flying Officer Alan Bishop, a talented Royal Air Force radar technician who's main assignment is to nurse the Mark I GCA (Ground Controlled Approach, or GCD in UK parlance) through its infancy to its first-generation demise and its rebirth as a mass-produced, key operational system, the Mark II. The man and the machine mature together through a series of events that make an interesting and sometimes harrowing tale. Both play expected and unexpected roles in support of the war.

This is a very early Clarke novel, based on his own experiences in the Royal Air Force. Character development is very well done. The nuances of a technical endeavor under wartime conditions are likewise portrayed effectively. The reader gets a glimpse of the varied personalities and capabilities that make a scientific/technical innovation work. Personal interactions, frictions, and morale of the team are seen in realistic detail. Clarke conveys an exquisite sense of the "gremlins" at work in complicated electromechanical systems. Institutional successes and failures of any military structure are woven smoothly into the fabric of the story.

There are roughly a score of OCR errors. I found them easy to detect and not too distracting, but I'd like to see a revision to spiff up the text, especially at the current price ($9).

If you are interested in the people and technology that helped the Allies to win WWII and/or enjoy a good yarn, I think you would like this book.

5 people found this helpful

Christopher Hattoon

I found storytelling excellence!

Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2022

Verified Purchase

If you are like me and are already an A. C. Clarke fan then you will really enjoy this tale of historical events told as only Clarke can do. It is riveting and told as a kind of love letter about real events, real people and the struggle to make new technology work it's wonders.

Interesting read, negligent editing

Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2011

While it is certainly not the novel of the century, Arthur C. Clarke's autobiographically founded story of a young radar engineer in WWII's England is quite an interesting read. In a down-to-earth yet strangely charming way, Clarke conveys insights into a time that seems so very remote and strange to younger generations. Although it is a completely different kind of book, there are some parallels to Andrew Hodges' biography of Alan Turing - both revolve around the lives and efforts of the scientific minds and the engineers who contributed to the allied victory.

On this particular reprint, I have to agree with my fellow reviewers that the lack of proofreading is simply appalling. I caught about two dozens of typical OCR errors, like replacing "flight" with "right", "really" with "redly", "off" with "oil" and so on. I wonder what kind of miserly publisher cares so little about his authors and their works that he would not pay someone to read a book at least once before it goes into print. Five stars for Clarke, a minimal one for I Books.

8 people found this helpful

One he'll of a good story!

Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2022

Verified Purchase

A WELL TOLD STORY of WW11 and what it took to make an idea into a working aircraft landing system.

A good Clarke Novel

Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2019

Verified Purchase

As along time reader of Arthur Clarke, I would rate this novel as one of his poorer works, That said, his poorer works are better than most writers best works today. As the description tells, it is the story of the early days of RADAR and World War II.

The main character is well developed, but the secondary characters lack Clarke's later ability to develop them to the level a reader would like. I would recommend it to anyone interested in historical fiction of that type and.or Clarke's early works,

Good book by someone who knows what he is writing about.

Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2021

Verified Purchase

Good book by someone who knows what he is writing about. I worked on navigational aids on aircraft, similar to those in the book. So did Clarke.

It was a great tale about the evolution of radar for landing planes ...

Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2015

Verified Purchase

It was a great tale about the evolution of radar for landing planes in very poor weather and doing it safely. To now realize the effort it took to make this possible, when today we just assume and take for granted this ability to land planes in all sorts of weather, gives the reader a better appreciation of the genius and effort it took for us to get there! A nice story about commitment to a plan and the camaraderie that evolved from the development of this new radar system really humanizes this unique tale!

One person found this helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

Mario Mora Lara

ciencia, historia y novela mezclados

Reviewed in Mexico on May 5, 2020

Verified Purchase

Arthur C. Clarke nos cuenta las vivencias de un joven en la 2da Guerra, trabajando para la implelemtación del Radar de apoyo la aterrizaje, hoy base de los aterrizajes ILS
muy recomendable

Translate review to English

Kenneth Roth

When everything you rely on seems to think otherwise

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 26, 2020

Verified Purchase

Allowed me to appreciate much more what my father-in-law endured as a radar expert before and during the Second World War.

Keith Phillips

Good read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 3, 2019

Verified Purchase

A good read but not as good as some of his books.

Mr. E. Bray

Early radar experiments

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 23, 2016

Verified Purchase

A nearly true tale of the early days of radar. Easy to read, and a page-turner, as are all of Arthur's books.

See more reviews

Get to Know Us

Make Money with Us

Amazon Payment Products

Let Us Help You

English $USD - U.S. Dollar United States

© 1996-2024, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates