Contents9 • Introduction (The Great SF Stories 18 (1956)) • essay by Martin H. Greenberg13 • Brightside Crossing • (1956) • novelette by Alan E. Nourse35 • Clerical Error • (1956) • novelette by Mark Clifton75 • Silent Brother • (1956) • short story by Algis Budrys96 • The Country of the Kind • (1956) • short story by Damon Knight111 • Exploration Team • [Colonial Survey] • (1956) • novelette by Murray Leinster161 • Rite of Passage • (1956) • novelette by Henry KuttnerandC. L. Moore203 • The Man Who Came Early • (1956) • novelette by Poul Anderson230 • A Work of Art • (1956) • short story by James Blish248 • Horrer Howce • (1956) • short story by Margaret St. Clair261 • Compounded Interest • (1956) • short story by Mack Reynolds276 • The Doorstop • (1956) • short story by Reginald Bretnor286 • The Last Question • [Multivac] • (1956) • short story by Isaac Asimov300 • Stranger Station • (1956) • novelette by Damon Knight