Perhaps not quite that long as we read it. I decided to read it when I looked at the credits page and it said, among many other things: 'All the characters in this story are fictitious except the giant grouper in Chapter Three.' The author's note sets the story 75 years from today (1957 + 75 = 2032) although the cover says 'a thrilling novel of life under the sea one hundred years from now.' So I think we can take this as a 25 year story arc. This oldie of Clarke's dates back to 1957. had suffered additional loss of prestige when the rising Star of David had outshone the pale crescent of the Prophet.') So I guess if you're more of a history buff than a futurist, I'd have to recommend that you check it out. Also amusing are how little a graduate student wrestles whether to continue her research or pursue an MRS, and how all the world's religions except Buddhism have declined in the face of scientific knowledge. Whales are calmly raised and slaughtered, orcas and other predators simply killed when they pose a threat. There's no hint of global warming, pollution, or endangered species. The Deep Range presents a 21st Century where mankind is calmly farming the oceans and peacefully feeding the world.

However, my enjoyment of the book came less from his story and more from his 1950s view of the future. Being slightly more mature, I appreciate his work more than I did in my youth.

Clarke has expanded it beyond the cowboy tale, exploring how the oceans might be converted to agriculture. I bought it, brought it home, and have finally read it. Anyway, at the last library sale, I was perusing the science fiction paperbacks and found this very novel. Clarke had expanded the short story to novel length. Yet, the name stuck in my head after many re-readings of the collection.

It was far from my favorite, being essentially a cowboy story with the cows being replaced by whales. I did, however, get a nifty little book of science fiction tales, one of which was a short story called 'The Deep Range'. It didn't live up to my expectations, mainly because my expectations were to get graded for simply reading stories, not for quizzes, papers, or any of those other requirements that the teacher tacked onto the class. Way back in High School I was able to take a class in Science Fiction.

The Deep Range by Arthur C. Clarke