I've only read some of Clarke's highlights, of which people don't consider this. I very much had a young Heinlein feel about this, with the possible concern that the phrase "of course" appears far too often. But I can really see how this captured kids in the 1950's and beyond. If I didn't have access to live feeds of NASA launches and all the novels in the Trekverse, I would have gulped this down and wanted more.