The Giant Claw

"Once the world was big, and no man in his lifetime could circle it. But through the centuries, science has made man's lifetime bigger and the world smaller. Now the farthest corner of the Earth is as close as a pushbutton, and time has lost all meaning as manmade devices speed many, many times faster than sound itself. Here, near the top of the world, free men struggle with the elements to create some measure of defense to protect that selfsame freedom."

"Up to now, only one man had seen the bird and lived. Among those who knew of it, its existence was a closely guarded secret. But even as arrangements were made for an emergency meeting of the President, the Cabinet, the National Defense Board and the Joint Chiefs of Staff - even then, the bird revealed itself to the world at large, and complacency quickly turned to panic! Panic, terror and horror! No corner of the earth was spared the terror of looking up into God's blue sky and seeing not peace and security, but the feathered nightmare on wings."

"[to Sally] You keep your shirt on and I'll go get my pants on."

"Now, I don't don't care if that bird came from outer space or Upper Saddle River, New Jersey; it's still made of flesh and blood - of some sort - and vulnerable to bullets and bombs."

"By the time I get through with you, Mr. Electronics Engineer, you'll be lucky if they let you test batteries for flashlights."

"Jeff Morrow - Mitchell 'Mitch' MacAfee"

"Mara Corday - Sally Caldwell"

"Morris Ankrum - Lt. Gen. Edward Considine"

"Louis Merrill - Pierre Broussard"

"Edgar Barrier - Dr. Karol Noymann"

"Robert Shayne - Gen. Van Buskirk"

"Clark Howat - Maj. Bergen"