I recently bought a vintage paperback copy of this book and decided to give it a read as I don't think that I managed to read it in my youth. In spite of its age (it was published in 1954) and obvious changes in scientific knowledge and culture, I think that the book is still a good read.

Science note: I was surprised that Clarke mentioned gravity assists, specifically using Jupiter's gravity to help propel a spacecraft on to Saturn, as there's a controversy about the discovery of this idea, but I think Clarke beat them all.