"A Way Home" by Theodore Sturgeon (1955)

"And behind it - far, far behind it, his articulate mind said dazedly, Great day in the morning, he's right!  What'll they make of me - a saint, or a blood-red Satan?"

"A Way Home" is a collection of Theodore Sturgeon's short stories.  As with almost every short story collection, the stories found here range from bad, to good, to almost readable.  But then again, any Sturgeon collection is bound to have at least one gem in it, and that gem makes the other stories worth reading.

In "Unite and Conquer" the author turns H.G. Wells on his head, and offers a tale of mankind banding together in the face of an extraterrestrial menace.  I saw the ending coming from a mile away, but it's not a bad story.

In "Special Aptitude" we see how contact with an alien race is established through a shipboard misfit.  I liked the turnabout at the end, the story is concisely written, and the characters are very engaging.

In "Mewhu's Jet" a family on vacation takes care of an alien stranded on Earth.  This story tries very hard to be funny, but doesn't succeed.

In "Hurricane Trio" a married man lusts after another woman.  This could have been a great story if it weren't for the extraneous science fiction elements.  The ending also falls flat.

In "The Hurkle is a Happy Beast" an animal from another world stumbles onto Terran soil.  It's another story that tries a bit too hard to be funny.

"Thunder and Roses" is a surprisingly good story, dealing with the survivors of a national catastrophe.  It's well written, and the part where the protagonist meets his idol is heartbreaking.

"Bulkhead" details a psychological experiment, a space journey, or both.  If you want to know which, you'll have to read the story!  It's probably my favorite story here.

"Tiny and the Monster" is hands-down the most retarded story in this collection.  Hard to tell if it was an attempt at humor, or just a short story gone wrong.  A dog helps an E.T. return home.  It's pretty bad.

"A Way Home" is about a boy running away.  Not really a science fiction story, but it works well and I liked it.