Every once in a while, a book or a movie comes along that defines an era, and makes a mark on our collective psyche. 2001: A Space Odyssey was one such. It began in 1964, when Stanley Kubrick, fresh off the success of Dr Strangelove , decided that he wanted to make "the proverbial good science fiction movie", and approached Arthur C Clarke. They collaborated on the story, and then they got to work on both the book and the script. The core idea came from a short story that C

A roundup of some of the classic travel narratives that are staples on our travel writing shelf