Widely considered one of the best. . .

From a beginning 10 million years in the past, to the "creation" of whatever it is that David Bowman becomes, 2001: A Space Odyssey grips the reader and doesn't let go.

Much has been said about this book; and I'm not going to re-hash what other reviewers have written. I just wanted to add a few thoughts:

1) In the third novel in this series "2061: Odyssey 3" Clarke admits what became evident in the second book (and in the original movie). There are significant differences between the book and the movie, most importantly, the replacement of Jupiter for Saturn as the destination of "Discovery". While Saturn's moon Iaptus was a more "believable" destination (and location for the Monolith) the story could not have been sustained over several novels.

2) From a perspective of 35 years later, it is interesting to see Clarke's perspective of the "Cold War" and how it would affect man in space.

3) Clarke's theology is present in this book -- and only becomes more clear throughout the subsequent volumes. It is an utterly humanistic theology centered on the evolution of mind. Nevertheless, there remains still hints of the transcendent (also visible in several of Clarke's other novels) which clearly disturb the otherwise cold rationality of his thought.