These 5 novelettes came from science fiction magazines published between 1952-7 and were all written before Sputnik was launched. That fact alone influences these stories and their speculations. Honestly I was pretty underimpressed with these. All were long enough to give the reader some meat to chew on but they just showed their age in various ways, primarily in speculation. They were by Eric Frank Russell, Walter M. Miller, Jr., Raymond Z. Gallun, Damon Knight and Clifford Simak. Simak is normally an author I have enjoyed in the past but his story may have been the weakest here. The middle story by Gallun, 'Stamped Caution' and 'Dio' by Damon Knight were my favorites. The first concerned the unexpected recovery of an ET from a crash site and even though still as dated as all the rest it was an interesting story and I liked that ET got to go home. 'Dio" addresses immortality. Two good ones, but overall a disappointing batch of stories. ( )

Fawcett Gold Medal; 1965, mass market paperback