Maxim reviewed The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke
Far from the Clarke's best
Pretty weak for the Hugo-Nebula winner combo.
In the 22nd century visionary scientist Vannevar Morgan conceives the most grandiose engineering project of all time, and one which will revolutionize the future of humankind in space: a Space Elevator, 36,000 kilometers high, anchored to an equatorial island in the Indian Ocean.