The Pocket Book of Science-Fiction

I bought a copy because Gene Wolfe said it was the first science fiction book he read. Also one of the first science fiction anthologies ever published, and the first one that seems to have mattered, in the sense of collecting important authors. A good collection, it is very well curated—each story seems to complement at least one other story in the collection. Some of the stories have not aged well, in various ways, but others have: "By the Waters of Babylon" by Stephen Vincent Benét, "Green Thoughts" by John Collier, "In The Abyss" by H.G. Wells, and a few more.

"The first notable paperback anthology was The Pocket Book of Science Fiction (anth 1943)..., 8 of whose 10 stories are still well remembered, an extraordinarily high batting average considering that half a century has since elapsed." --The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction