It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value.
~ Arthur C. Clarke

Clarke died yesterday: NYT obit.

Book notes
My favorite work by Clarke is Childhood's End. If you haven't read it, set aside everything on your nightstand and make time for this novel.

Speaking of dead authors, as regular M-mv readers know, Kurt Vonnegut is dear to this reader's heart. Yesterday I was offered a review copy of Armageddon in Retrospect, a collection of new and unpublished writings by Vonnegut. Introduced by his son, Mark Vonnegut, the collection takes as its themes war and peace, offering, according to the publisher, "a much needed (and much missed) voice for the troublesome times we live in today." As you can imagine, I am certainly looking forward to reading this one.