Basil Wells wrote a lot of science fiction short stories in the 40s for the pulps and digests and they were collected in two books back in 1949 and 1951: Planets of Adventure and Doorways to Space. Now, introduced by Richard A. Lupoff, both collections are published in one huge tome. The 30 stories represent some of the best SF of its time, with ideas about aliens and human beings that are both charming and prescient.