About the book: 1998 / Clarke's first great essay, "The End of Childhood," was published in 1953. It attracted the attention of literary critics around the world. The author of the drama describes the last generation of people on earth - a generation before whose eyes their descendants turn into something completely inhuman, but in many ways superior to humans. Clark's book became a storehouse of “wisdom”, a source of ideas and themes that shaped modern ideas about extraterrestrial beings, flying objects, etc. It became the cornerstone of the developing worldview of an entire generation. Particularly interesting is A. Clark’s confession: “The views reflected in the book do not coincide with the views of the author».