Well... though it's fairly early Clarke, I'd still recommend reading an omnibus volume titled
Prelude to Mars, which includes the novels
Prelude to Space and
The Sands of Mars, as well as a selection of 16 of his short stories; as well as some of his story collections, perhaps
The Sentinel or
Expedition to Earth, or perhaps
The Wind from the Sun....
WorldCat: Prelude to Mars; an omnibus containing the complete novels Prelude to space and The sands of Mars and sixteen short stories Expedition to Earth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Amazon.com: The Sentinel: Books: Arthur C. Clarke The Wind from the Sun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia