Tales from the White Hart

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Tales from the White Hart is a collection of short stories by science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke. The stories all originally appeared in a number of different publications.

The White Hart is a pub (modelled on the White Horse, Fetter Lane, just north of Fleet Street, once the weekly rendezvous of science fiction fans in London) where Harry Purvis tells a series of tall tales.

Although Clarke is well known for inventing the concept of geostationary satellites, the story "Silence Please" additionally shows that he also invented the idea of using real-time wave cancellation to quiet noisy environments. Present-day products using this idea include electronic truck mufflers and noise-cancelling headphones.

[edit] Contents

This collection, originally published in 1957, includes:

• Preface
• "Silence Please"
• "Big Game Hunt"
• "Patents 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"