This magnificent tome is a previously unseen look behind-the-scenes at the making of this most legendary of science fiction classics. Art director Harry Lange's strikingly realistic designs for Stanley Kubrick s 2001: A Space Odyssey created an extraordinary vision of the future and they remain the epitome of filmmaking. The book is about the process, as well as the finished product. It tells the story of the relationship between the design team and Stanley Kubrick, recognising their input in what is often considered all the director's work. It explores the evolution of the spacecraft, both its looks and function. It shows how the team rejected the "silver pencil with fins" concept of spaceships that had dominated until then. It examines how Harry Lange's experience with NASA fed into the innovations of the film. It describes how Arthur C. Clarke's words turned into images on the screen. It includes rejected designs, concepts and roughs, as well as the finished ones that made it into the finished film. It reveals how the design team was obsessed with things that actually might work. By releasing this unpublished archive and explaining its significance, the book takes the reader/viewer deep into the visual thinking behind 2001, for the first time ever. And 2001 is, above all else, a visual experience.