ACROSS THE SEA OF STARS: An Omnibus. Comprising Childhood's End, Earthlight and 18 Short Stories.

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original dark blue cloth with white titles to the spine, with lighter blue stars illustration to the upper board and spine, in the Arthur Hawkins illustrated dustwrapper. Top edge green. Deckled fore-edge. A better than very good copy, the binding square and firm, a little faded to the spine and joints, lightly rubbed to the spine tips and extremities. The text block is a little toned and mildly spotted to the fore-edge, the contents are clean throughout, and without inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the lightly rubbed, nicked and creased dustwrapper which has a touch of fading to the spine, some toning to the flap edges, a small, internally repaired closed tear to the front panel, and another short closed tear to the bottom edge of the rear panel. Not price-clipped ($3.95 to the upper front flap).

This collection is divided into five sections: Expedition to Earth (eight stories); Tales from the White Hart (five stories); Reach for Tomorrow (five stories); followed by the novels 'Childhood's End'; and 'Earthlight'. The first short story featured in this compilation, 'The Sentinel' (1951), is popularly known for being the inspiration for the 1968 space opera '2001: A Space Odyssey' directed by Stanley Kubrick.