Book Review: Reach for Tomorrow by Arthur C. Clarke

Reach for Tomorrow is a collection of Arthur C. Clarke short stories culled from various sources.  Overall, most stories are enjoyable but forgettable.  There are some gems, however. 

A Walk in the Dark: On a planet with no indigenous life, a man makes his way alone along a trail in the middle of the night to reach a spaceport.  His head is filled with stories of nocturnal monsters that roam the barren lands.  During his walk, fear and logic battle it out in his mind.  Clarke maintains tension well with absolutely no dialogue.

Technical Error: A technician at a power plant is accidentally exposed to several gigawatts of power.  When he awakens, his entire physiology and certain mental abilities are found to be the exact reverse of normal!  As his body begins to shut down, the scientists theorize a course of action to save not only the man's life, but also avoid trouble for the corporation...

Trouble with the Natives: Two well-intentioned, but slightly misinformed aliens with no fashion sense are sent to Earth to meet with our leaders. They encounter several different people who test their understanding of the human race--until they land in jail...

Time's Arrow: While on a dig, a group of archaeologists become curious about a research facility just over the hill.  After their professor meets with one of the physicists there, he learns of a startling new experiment but is sworn to secrecy.  His two assistants begin speculating and end up figuring out the nature of the experiment, a little too late for the professor and the physicist.

Jupiter 5:  A team of scientists venture to the moons of Jupiter to explore the smallest of them, which turns out not to be a moon at all but the key to understanding a mysterious civilization that perished on Mars eons ago.