ASIMOV, Isaac

(1920-1992)

   US writer whose second marriage, in 1973, was to fellow writer J.O.Jeppson (who now signs herself Janet ASIMOV). IA, born in Russia, was brought to the USA by his family in 1923, and became a US citizen in 1928. He discovered sf through the magazines sold in his father's candy store; and, although he was not strongly involved in sf FANDOM, he was for a while associated with the FUTURIANS, one of whose members, Frederik POHL, later published several of IA's early stories in his magazines ASTONISHING STORIES and SUPER SCIENCE STORIES. Intellectually precocious, IA obtained his undergraduate degree from Columbia University in 1939, majoring in chemistry, and proceeded to take his MA in 1941 and PhD in 1948, after a wartime hiatus which he mostly spent working in the US Naval Air Experimental Station alongside L.Sprague DE CAMP and Robert A.HEINLEIN. In 1949 he joined the Boston University School of Medicine, where he became associate professor of biochemistry, a position he resigned in 1958 (although he retained the title) in order to write full-time. IA's fame as an sf writer grew steadily from 1940, and next to Heinlein he was the most influential US sf writer of his era. His life story is told in three volumes of memoirs - In Memory Yet Green: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov (1920-1954) (1979), In Joy Still Felt: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov (1954-1978) (1980)and I.Asimov: a Memoir (1994) - plus a volume of anecdotes, Asimov Laughs Again (1992), the four together comprising the most extensive autobiographical record yet supplied by any sf figure. IA began publishing sf with Marooned off Vesta for AMAZING STORIES in 1939, and, although his first stories did not attract the immediate attention accorded to contemporaries like Heinlein and A.E.VAN VOGT, he very soon developed a strong relationship with John W.CAMPBELL Jr, editor of ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION, who encouraged him, advised him, and eventually began to publish him. His tutelage was astonishingly fruitful, as the comments woven into The Early Asimov, or Eleven Years of Trying (coll 1972; vt in 2 vols The Early Asimov, Book One 1974 and Book Two 1974; vt in 3 vols The Early Asimov, or Eleven Years of Trying 1 1973 UK, 2 1974 UK and 3 1974 UK) exhaustively demonstrate. The apprenticeship was, in fact, short. By 1942 the young IA, barely out of his teens, had already written or had clearly embarked upon the three works or sequences with which his name would be most associated for the following half century: first, Strange Playfellow (1940 Super Science Stories; vt Robbie in all later appearances from 1950), the first story in the Robot series, during the course of which he articulated the Three Laws of Robotics; second, Nightfall (1941 ASF), his most famous story and probably the single most famous US sf story of all time; and, third, Foundation (1942), the first instalment of the celebrated Foundation series, during the course of which IA established the GALACTIC EMPIRE as a template for almost every future HISTORY generated in the field from 1940 onwards. As the Robot and Foundation sequences dominated IA's career into the 1990s, it is perhaps best to describe Nightfall first. Its success has been astonishing. Poll after poll, including one conducted by the SCIENCE FICTION WRITERS OF AMERICA, has found it considered the best sf short story of all time. The original idea - as was often the case in the GOLDEN AGE OF SF - was largely Campbell's. Emerson had said that, if the stars were visible only once in a thousand years, how men would believe and adore; but Campbell suggested to IA that something else would happen. Nightfall is set upon a world which complexly orbits six suns, at least one of which is always shining, except for one night of universal eclipse every two millennia. As the night approaches once again, scientists and others begin to sense that the psychological effects (PSYCHOLOGY) of utter darkness may explain the fact that civilization on this world is cyclical, and every 2000 years the race must start again from scratch. Darkness falls. But it is not the darkness that finally deranges everyone. It is the thousands of suddenly and overwhelmingly visible stars. A novel version, Nightfall (1990 UK) with Robert SILVERBERG, opens out the original story but in so doing fatally flattens the poetic intensity and SENSE OF WONDER felt by so many readers at the moment when the stars are seen. It was the third story of the Robot series, Liar! (1941 ASF; rev 1977 chap), that saw the introduction of the Three Laws of Robotics, whose formulation IA credited essentially to Campbell, but which Campbell credited essentially to IA. (The laws are detailed in the entry on ROBOTS.) That the constraints engendered by these laws were matters of jurisprudence rather than scientific principle could have been no secret to IA, who almost certainly promulgated them for reasons that had nothing to do with science. In the first instance, the Laws helped put paid to the increasingly worn-out PULP-MAGAZINE convention that the robot was an inimical metal monster; they allowed IA to create a plausible alternative for the 1940s in his POSITRONIC ROBOTS; and - in lawyerly fashion - they generated a large number of stories which probed and exploited various loopholes. The early stories in the sequence tend, as a consequence, to treat the history of the robot as a series of conundrums to be solved; these early tales were assembled as I, ROBOT (coll of linked stories 1950; cut 1958 UK), a title which included Liar! and Little Lost Robot (1947 ASF; rev 1977 chap). In his two robot novels of the 1950s - The Caves of Steel (1954) and The Naked Sun (1957) - IA definitively articulated the problem-solving nature of the series, creating in the human detective Lije Baley and his robot colleague R.Daneel Olivaw two characters far more memorable than usually found in his work. The two novels - his best of the 1950s - are set in a future in which the crowded inhabitants of Earth have moved underground (OVERPOPULATION) while their cultural descendants and rivals, the Spacers, glory in naked suns. The conflict between the two contrasting versions of humanity's proper course forward would fuel the Robot novels (see below) of IA's second career as a fiction writer; his first came near to its close with the Baley/Olivaw books, which were assembled in The Rest of the Robots (omni 1964), along with some hitherto uncollected stories, these latter being separately republished as Eight Stories from the Rest of the Robots (coll 1966), while the two novels were also assembled without the stories as The Robot Novels (omni 1971). The Foundation tales were from the first conceived on a different scale, and were set sufficiently far into the future so that IA need experience none of the difficulties of verisimilitude he faced in the Robot sequence, where his plumping for a robot-dominated NEAR FUTURE came to seem dangerously parochial as COMPUTERS increasingly came into actual being. The first Foundation sequence, set thousands of years hence in the closing centuries of a vast Galactic Empire, comprises Foundation (1942-4 ASF; fixup 1951; cut vt The 1,000 Year Plan 1955 dos), Foundation and Empire (1945 ASF; fixup 1952; vt The Man who Upset the Universe 1955) and Second Foundation (1948-50 ASF; fixup 1953; vt 2nd Foundation: Galactic Empire 1958), with all 3 vols being assembled as THE FOUNDATION TRILOGY (1963; vt An Isaac Asimov Omnibus 1966 UK). Deriving background elements from an earlier story, Black Friar of the Flame (1942), the series was originally conceived by IA as a single extended tale, the fall of the Roman Empire rewritten as sf; it evolved into a much larger undertaking through consultation with Campbell, whose refusal to accept in ASF the presence of ALIENS superior to humanity was responsible for IA's decision not to introduce any aliens at all into his future history. Grandiose in conception, although suffering in overall design through having been written piecemeal over a period of years, the first Foundation trilogy was nevertheless a landmark, winning a HUGO for 1965 as Best All-Time Series. Like its model, the Galactic Empire is entering a long senescence; but the hidden protagonist of the series, Hari Seldon, inventor of the IMAGINARY SCIENCE of PSYCHOHISTORY, has established two Foundations to shorten the period of interregnum between the fall and a new galactic order. The first Foundation, which is public, is given the explicit task of responding creatively to the historic impulses predicted by psychohistory; the second Foundation, which is secret, copes with the unknown, as in later tales represented by the Mule, a MUTANT, the effect of whose paranormal powers on history Seldon could not have anticipated. The first trilogy closes open to the future. IA's first three published novels - Pebble in the Sky (1950), The Stars, Like Dust (1951; cut vt The Rebellious Stars 1954 dos) and The Currents of Space (1952), all three assembled as Triangle (omni 1961; vt A Second Isaac Asimov Omnibus 1969 UK) - are set earlier in the galactic empire of the Foundation stories, but have no direct connection with them; they are relatively minor. Before 1958, when he closed off his first career as a fiction writer, IA wrote only one completely separate singleton, The End of Eternity (1955), a complex story of TIME TRAVEL and TIME PARADOXES considered by some critics to be his best work. As Paul French, he produced the Lucky Starr CHILDREN'S SF sequence: David Starr, Space Ranger (1952; vt Space Ranger 1973 UK), Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids (1953; vt Pirates of the Asteroids 1973 UK), Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus (1954; vt The Oceans of Venus 1974 UK), Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of Mercury (1956; vt The Big Sun of Mercury 1974 UK), Lucky Starr and the Moons of Jupiter (1957; vt The Moons of Jupiter 1974 UK), Lucky Starr and the Rings of Saturn (1958; vt The Rings of Saturn 1974 UK). The sequence was assembled in the UK as An Isaac Asimov Double (omni 1972 UK),; vt Lucky Starr Book 1 1993 US), A Second Isaac Asimov Double (omni 1973 UK); vt Lucky Starr Book 2 1993 US) and A Third Isaac Asimov Double (omni 1973 UK); and in the USA the first three titles were assembled as The Adventures of Lucky Starr (omni 1985). Most of the best of his short stories - like The Martian Way (1952), Dreaming is a Private Thing (1955), The Dead Past (1956) and The Ugly Little Boy (1958 Gal; 1989 chap dos) - also came from the 1950s; his short work, very frequently reprinted in the 1980s, was initially assembled in a series of impressive volumes, including The Martian Way, and Other Stories (coll 1955), Earth is Room Enough (coll 1957) and Nine Tomorrows: Tales of the Near Future (coll 1959). But then he stopped. In 1958, there was every sense that the Robot and Foundation sequences were complete, and no sense that they could in any plausible sense be related to one another. IA himself, having abandoned fiction, plunged first into the writing of a popular-science column in The MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, which began in November 1958 and appeared continuously, for 399 unbroken issues, until mounting illness prevented his completing the 400th essay late in 1991; it won IA a special Hugo in 1963 for adding science to science fiction. More significantly, he also began to produce an extraordinary stream of nonfiction titles, many of them very substantial, on all aspects of science and literature and - more or less - anything else. The triumphant Opus 100 (coll 1969) was followed by Opus 200 (coll 1979), both being assembled as Opus (omni 1980 UK); and these two were followed in turn by Opus 300 (coll 1984). By the time of his death in 1992, IA's total of published works had long passed the 400 mark. During the years from 1958 to about 1980, however, little sf appeared, and what did varied widely in quality. A film tie, Fantastic Voyage (1966) - which much later was not so much sequelled as recast in Fantastic Voyage II: Destination Brain (1987) - did his name no good; but THE GODS THEMSELVES (1972), which was only the second genuine singleton of his career and which won both Hugo and NEBULA awards, proved to be his finest single creation, a complex tale involving catastrophic energy transfers between alternate universes (ALTERNATE WORLDS) and - rarely for him - intriguing alien beings. Two collections, Buy Jupiter, and Other Stories (coll 1975; vt Buy Jupiter!) - which incorporated Have You Seen These (coll 1974 chap) - and The Bicentennial Man (coll 1976), contained both desultory fillers and, in the title story of the second volume, his finest single Robot tale. His presence in the sf world may have been intermittent, but his reputation continued to grow, and in Spring 1977 IA was involved in founding the first successful new US sf magazine since 1950, ISAAC ASIMOV'S SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINE, which soon became - and remains - one of the two or three dominant journals in the field. In the 1980s, to the relief of his very numerous readers and to the trepidation of critics, he returned to the sf field as a fully active writer. Never in fact prolific as an author of fiction, IA began at this time to produce large novels at intervals of a year or less, most of them comprising an ambitious attempt to amalgamate the Robot and Foundation sequences into one overarching series, a task not made easier by the total absence of robots from the Galactic Empire. The bridging premise is simple: the Galactic Empire (and Hari Seldon's own career) are the consequences of a robot plot - based on their by-now enormously sophisticated reading of the Three Laws, by which they argue that the First Law requires robots to protect the human race as a whole - to ensure the survival of humanity among the stars. In terms of internal chronology, the new series comprises THE ROBOTS OF DAWN (1983), Robots and Empire (1985), Prelude to Foundation (1988), FOUNDATION'S EDGE (1982), which won a Hugo, Foundation and Earth (1986) and Forward the Foundation (coll of linked stories 1993), IA's last completed fiction, which advances the sequence into the lifetime of Hari Seldon. Each tale was longer than anything IA had ever written before and sold enormously well, but disappointed some readers because of the undue relaxedness of the new style, the ponderousness of the action, and the memorial sense that was given off by the entire enterprise. Meanwhile, earlier material was assiduously intermixed with the new. The Robot Collection (omni 1983) assembled The Robot Novels and The Complete Robot (coll 1982), the latter title containing all the robot stories barring the novels; and The Robot Novels, in its original 1971 form an omnibus containing the Bayley/Olivaw tales, now reappeared as The Robot Novels (omni 1988) incorporating THE ROBOTS OF DAWN as well. Robot Dreams (coll 1986) and Robot Visions (coll 1990), both ed anon by Martin H.GREENBERG, while re-sorting much old material, also contained new short stories; and The Positronic Man (1976 Stellar Science Fiction Stories, anth ed Judith DEL REY asThe Bicentennial Man; exp 1992 UK) with Robert Silverberg reworked a relatively late robot story. With Janet ASIMOV (whom see for titles) IA began a new robot series, the Norby books for children. Further singletons arrived, including Azazel (coll of linked stories 1988), Nemesis (1989) and Child of Time (1958 Gal as The Ugly Little Boy by IA alone; exp 1991; vt The Ugly Little Boy 1992 US) with Robert Silverberg. New stories were assembled in The Winds of Change (coll 1986), and the entire career was memorialized in The Asimov Chronicles: Fifty Years of Isaac Asimov (coll 1989; vt in 6 vols as The Asimov Chronicles 1 1990, 2 1990, 3 1990, 4 1991, 5 1991 and 6 1991) ed Martin H.Greenberg; while at the same time there appeared The Complete Stories, Volume One (omni 1990), comprising the contents of Earth is Room Enough, Nine Tomorrows and Nightfall, and The Complete Stories, Volume Two (coll 1992), assembling work from 1941 through 1976. A cascade of anthologies (see listing below) appeared during this decade; the Isaac Asimov's Robot City series of TIES by various writers were issued regularly. During the last two decades of his life, IA's name seemed ubiquitous; he was given a Nebula Grand Master Award for 1986. It remained the case, however, that for younger generations it had become hard to see the forest for the trees. Their best course might well be to stick to the Robots and the Foundation, to THE GODS THEMSELVES, and to The Asimov Chronicles. There they would hear the clear unerring voice of the rational man, and the tales he told about solving the true world. For 50 years it was IA's tone of address that all the other voices of sf obeyed, or shifted from - sometimes with an eloquence he could not himself have achieved. It may indeed be said that he lacked poetry; but for five decades his was the voice to which sf came down in the end. His was the default voice of sf. Other works: The Death Dealers (1958; vt A Whiff of Death 1968), associational; Through A Glass, Clearly (coll 1967 UK); Asimov's Mysteries (coll 1968), associational; Nightfall and Other Stories (coll 1969; vt in 2 vols Nightfall One 1971 UK and Nightfall Two 1971 UK); The Best New Thing (1971), a juvenile; The Best of Isaac Asimov (coll 1973 UK) ed anon Martin H.Greenberg; the Black Widowers sequence of associational detective tales comprising Tales of the Black Widowers (coll 1974), More Tales of the Black Widowers (coll 1976), Casebook of the Black Widowers (coll 1980), Banquets of the Black Widowers (coll 1984) and Puzzles of the Black Widowers (coll 1990); The Heavenly Host (1975), a juvenile; The Dream, Benjamin's Dream and Benjamin's Bicentennial Blast: Three Short Stories (coll 1976 chap); Good Taste (1976 chap); Murder at the ABA (1976; vt Authorized Murder 1976 UK), a detection with RECURSIVE elements; The Key Word and Other Mysteries (coll 1977), associational; The Far Ends of Time and Earth (omni 1979) assembling Pebble in the Sky, Earth is Room Enough and The End of Eternity; Prisoners of the Stars (omni 1979), assembling The Stars Like Dust and The Martian Way; 3 by Asimov (coll 1981 chap); The Union Club Mysteries (coll 1983), associational; The Alternate Asimovs (coll 1985), ed anon Greenberg, containing early versions of Pebble in the Sky, The End of Eternity and Belief (1953); The Edge of Tomorrow (coll 1985), part nonfiction; The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov (coll 1986); The Best Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov (coll 1986); Other Worlds of Isaac Asimov (omni 1987) assembling THE GODS THEMSELVES, The End of Eternity and The Martian Way; The Ugly Little Boy (1958 Gal; 1989 chap dos); Cal (1991 chap). As Editor: Because of the huge number of IA anthologies, we omit those that are not of genre interest and also break our listing into two main divisions: Miscellaneous and Series. Greenberg is understood always to refer to Martin H.GREENBERG as collaborator, Waugh to Charles G.WAUGH as collaborator, and Olander to Joseph D.OLANDER as collaborator. Miscellaneous titles Soviet Science Fiction (anth 1962) and More Soviet Science Fiction (anth 1962), both of which IA introduced but did not edit; Fifty Short Science Fiction Tales (anth 1963) with Groff CONKLIN; Tomorrow's Children (anth 1966); Where Do We Go from Here? (anth 1971; vt in 2 vols Where Do We Go from Here? Book 1 1974 UK and Book 2 1974 UK); Nebula Award Stories 8 (anth 1973); Before the Golden Age (anth 1974; paperback edn split into 3 vols in the USA, 4 in the UK); 100 Great Science Fiction Short-Short Stories (anth 1978) with Greenberg and Olander; The 13 Crimes of Science Fiction (anth 1979) with Greenberg and Waugh; The Science Fictional Solar System (anth 1979) with Greenberg and Waugh; Microcosmic Tales (anth 1980) with Greenberg and Olander; Space Mail (anth 1980) with Greenberg and Olander; The Future in Question (anth 1980) with Greenberg and Olander; The Seven Deadly Sins of Science Fiction (anth 1980) with Greenberg and Waugh; Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Treasury (omni 1981) assembling Space Mail and The Future in Question; The Future I (anth 1981) with Greenberg and Olander; Catastrophes! (anth 1981) with Greenberg and Waugh; The Seven Cardinal Virtues of Science Fiction (anth 1981) with Greenberg and Waugh; Space Mail, Volume II (anth 1982) with Greenberg and Olander; TV: 2000 (anth 1982), all with Greenberg and Waugh; Laughing Space (anth 1982) with J.O.Jeppson (Janet ASIMOV); Speculations (anth 1982) with Alice Laurance; Flying Saucers (anth 1982) with Greenberg and Waugh; Dragon Tales (anth 1982) with Greenberg and Waugh; The Last Man on Earth (anth 1982) with Greenberg and Waugh; Science Fiction A to Z (anth 1982) with Greenberg and Waugh; Caught in the Organ Draft: Biology in Science Fiction (anth 1983) with Greenberg and Waugh; Hallucination Orbit: Psychology in Science Fiction (anth 1983) with Greenberg and Waugh; Starships (anth 1983) with Greenberg and Waugh; The Science Fiction Weight-Loss Book (anth 1983) with Greenberg and George R.R.MARTIN; Creations: The Quest for Origins in Story and Science (anth 1983) with Greenberg and George ZEBROWSKI; 100 Great Fantasy Short Short Stories (anth 1984) with Terry CARR and Greenberg; Machines that Think: The Best Science Fiction Stories about Robots \& Computers (anth 1984) with Greenberg and Patricia S.WARRICK; Isaac Asimov Presents the Best Science Fiction Firsts (anth 1984) with Greenberg and Waugh; Computer Crimes \& Capers (anth 1984) with Greenberg and Waugh; Sherlock Holmes through Time and Space (anth 1984) with Greenberg and Waugh; Election Day 2084: Science Fiction Stories about the Future of Politics (anth 1984) with Greenberg; Great Science Fiction Stories by the World's Greatest Scientists (anth 1985) with Greenberg and Waugh; Amazing Stories: 60 Years of the Best Science Fiction (anth 1985) with Greenberg; Science Fiction Masterpieces (anth 1986); The Twelve Frights of Christmas (anth 1986) with Greenberg and Carol-Lynn Rossel Waugh; Young Star Travelers (anth 1986) with Greenberg and Waugh; Hound Dunnit (anth 1987) with Greenberg and Carol-Lynn Rossel Waugh; Encounters (anth 1988); Tales of the Occult (anth 1989) with Greenberg and Waugh; Visions of Fantasy: Tales from the Masters (anth 1989). Series titles Hugo Winners: The Hugo Winners (anth 1962); The Hugo Winners, Vol II (anth 1971; vt in 2 vols Stories from The Hugo Winners 1973 and More Stories from The Hugo Winners 1973; vt in 2 vols The Hugo Winners, Volume One, 1963-1967 1973 UK and Volume Two, 1968-1970 1973 UK); The Hugo Winners, Vol III (anth 1977); The Hugo Winners, Vol IV: 1976-1979 (anth 1985; vt in 2 vols Beyond the Stars 1987 UK and The Dark Void 1987 UK); The Hugo Winners, Vol V: 1980-1982 (anth 1986); The New Hugo Winners: Award-Winning Science Fiction Stories (anth 1989) with Martin H.Greenberg; The New Hugo Winners Volume 2 (anth 1992) with Greenberg. The Hugo Winners and The Hugo Winners, Vol II were assembled as The Hugo Winners, Volumes One and Two (omni 1972). The Great SF Stories, all ed with Greenberg: Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories 1 (1939) (anth 1979); 2 (1940) (anth 1979); 3 (1941) (anth 1980); 4 (1942) (anth 1980); 5 (1943) (anth 1981); 6 (1944) (anth 1982); 7 (1945) (anth 1982); 8 (1946) (anth 1982); 9 (1947) (anth 1983); 10 (1948) (anth 1983); 11 (1949) (anth 1984); 12 (1950) (anth 1984); 13 (1951) (anth 1985); 14 (1952) (anth 1985); 15 (1953) (anth 1986); 16 (1954) (anth 1987); 17 (1955) (anth 1987); 18 (1956) (anth 1988); 19 (1957) (anth 1989); 20 (1958) (anth 1990); 21 (1959) (anth 1990); 22 (1960) (anth 1991); 23 (1961) (anth 1991); 24 (1962) (anth 1992); 25 (1963) (anth 1992), at which point the series ended. 1 and 2 of the above were assembled as The Golden Years of Science Fiction 1 (omni 1982); 3 and 4 as 2 (omni 1983); 5 and 6 as 3 (omni 1984); 7 and 8 as 4 (omni 1984); 9 and 10 as 5 (omni 1986) and 11 and 12 as 6 (omni 1988). The Science Fiction Shorts, all ed with Greenberg and Waugh: After the End (anth 1982 chap); Earth Invaded (anth 1982 chap); Mad Scientists (anth 1982 chap); Mutants (anth 1982 chap); Thinking Machines (anth 1982 chap); Tomorrow's TV (anth 1982 chap); Travels through Time (anth 1982 chap) and Wild Inventions (anth 1982 chap). The Nineteenth Century series, all ed with Greenberg and Waugh: Isaac Asimov Presents the Best Science Fiction of the Nineteenth Century (anth 1981); Isaac Asimov Presents the Best Fantasy of the 19th Century (anth 1982) and Isaac Asimov Presents the Best Horror and Supernatural of the 19th Century (anth 1983). The Magical Worlds of Fantasy, all ed with Greenberg and Waugh: Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy 1: Wizards (anth 1983); 2: Witches (anth 1984); 3: Cosmic Knights (anth 1985); 4: Spells (anth 1985); 5: Giants (anth 1985); 6: Mythical Beasties (anth 1986; vt Mythic Beasts 1988 UK); 7: Magical Wishes (anth 1986); 8: Devils (anth 1987; vt Devils 1989); 9: Atlantis (anth 1987); 10: Ghosts (anth 1988; vt Ghosts 1989); 11: Curses (anth 1989) and 12: Faeries (anth 1991). Numbers 1 and 2 of the above were assembled as Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy: Witches \& Wizards (omni 1985). The Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction, all ed with Greenberg and Waugh: Isaac Asimov's Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction 1: Intergalactic Empires (anth 1983); 2: The Science Fictional Olympics (anth 1984); 3: Supermen (anth 1984); 4: Comets (anth 1984); 5: Tin Stars (anth 1986); 6: Neanderthals (anth 1987); 7: Space Shuttles (anth 1986); 8: Monsters (anth 1988; vt Monsters 1989); 9: Robots (anth 1989) and 10: Invasions (anth 1990). The Young series, all ed with Greenberg and Waugh: Young Extraterrestrials (anth 1984; vt Asimov's Extraterrestrials 1986; vt Extraterrestrials 1988); Young Mutants (anth 1984; vt Asimov's Mutants 1986; vt Mutants 1988); Young Ghosts (anth 1985; vt Asimov's Ghosts 1986) and Young Monsters (anth 1985; vt Asimov's Monsters 1986) - both assembled as Asimov's Ghosts \& Monsters (omni 1988 UK) - and Young Witches \& Warlocks (anth 1987). The Mammoth books, all ed with Greenberg and Waugh: Baker's Dozen: 13 Short Fantasy Novels (anth 1985; vt The Mammoth Book of Short Fantasy Novels 1988 UK); The Mammoth Book of Short Science Fiction Novels (anth 1986 UK); The Mammoth Book of Classic Science Fiction: Short Novels of the 1930s (anth 1988 UK; cut vt Great Tales of Classic Science Fiction 1990 US); The Mammoth Book of Golden Age Science Fiction: Short Novels of the 1940s (anth 1989 UK); The Mammoth Book of Vintage Science Fiction: Short Novels of the 1950s (anth 1990 UK); The Mammoth Book of New World Science Fiction: Great Short Novels of the 1960s (anth 1991); The Mammoth Book of Fantastic Science Fiction: Short Novels of the 1970s (anth 1992); The Mammoth Book of Modern Science Fiction: Short Novels of the 1980s (anth 1993). Nonfiction: We make no attempt to list IA's enormous nonfiction output; however, of the hundreds of titles published since Biochemistry and Human Metabolism (1952; rev 1954; rev 1957) with Burnham Walker and William C.Boyd, more than half are likely to be of interest to sf readers for their lucid and comprehensive popularizations of all forms of science. Only a Trillion (coll 1957) contains three SATIRES. IA's FSF science columns have been regularly assembled, in many volumes, from Fact and Fancy (coll 1962) on. Recent non-popular-science titles of interest include: Isaac Asimov on Science Fiction (coll 1981); Futuredays: A 19th-Century Vision of the Year 2000 (1986); How to Enjoy Writing: A Book of Aid and Comfort (1987) with Janet Asimov; Asimov's Galaxy: Reflections on Science Fiction (coll 1989); Frontiers (coll 1990); Our Angry Earth (1991) with Frederik POHL. Nonfiction as editor: Robots: Machines in Man's Image (anth 1985) with Karen A.Frenkel; Cosmic Critique: How and Why Ten Science Fiction Stories Work (anth 1990) with Greenberg.

   About the author: FSF Oct 1966, Special Isaac Asimov Issue; The Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov by Joseph F.Patrouch Jr (1974); Asimov Analysed (1972) by Neil GOBLE; Isaac Asimov (anth of critical articles 1977) ed Joseph D.Olander and Martin H.Greenberg; Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction Success (1982) by James E.GUNN.

   See also: ANTHOLOGIES; APES AND CAVEMEN (IN THE HUMAN WORLD); ARTS; ASTEROIDS; BIOLOGY; CHILDREN IN SF; CITIES; CLICHES; CLUB STORY; COLONIZATION OF OTHER WORLDS; CONCEPTUAL BREAKTHROUGH; CRIME AND PUNISHMENT; CYBERNETICS; DEVOLUTION; DIMENSIONS; DISCOVERY AND INVENTION; ENTROPY; FANTASY; FUTUROLOGY; GALAXY SCIENCE FICTION; HISTORY OF SF; JUPITER; JUVENILE SERIES; LONGEVITY (IN WRITERS AND PUBLICATIONS); MEDIA LANDSCAPE; MERCURY; MUSIC; OUTER PLANETS; PARALLEL WORLDS; PHYSICS; PLANETARY ROMANCE; POLITICS; PSEUDO-SCIENCE; PUBLISHING; RADIO; RELIGION; SF MAGAZINES; SCIENTISTS; SERIES; SEX; SHARED WORLDS; SOCIOLOGY; SPACE OPERA; STARS; TECHNOLOGY; TRANSPORTATION; UNDER THE SEA; UTOPIAS; VENUS; VILLAINS.