
Isaac Asimov: Man of 7,560,000 Words (1969) - jeremynixon
https://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/23/lifetimes/asi-v-profile.html
======
fossuser
For those looking for an introduction, here are some of my favorite short
stories.

The Profession:
[http://www.inf.ufpr.br/renato/profession.html](http://www.inf.ufpr.br/renato/profession.html)

The Last Question:
[http://www.physics.princeton.edu/ph115/LQ.pdf](http://www.physics.princeton.edu/ph115/LQ.pdf)

The Last Answer: [http://www.thrivenotes.com/the-last-
answer/](http://www.thrivenotes.com/the-last-answer/)

Nightfall:
[http://www.astro.sunysb.edu/fwalter/AST389/TEXTS/Nightfall.h...](http://www.astro.sunysb.edu/fwalter/AST389/TEXTS/Nightfall.htm)

~~~
tzs
Here are a couple that raise some interesting ideas on a couple topics that
often come up here on HN.

The Dead Past:
[http://www.rednovels.com/ScienceFiction/Asimov41/27323.html](http://www.rednovels.com/ScienceFiction/Asimov41/27323.html)

"In a Good Cause-":
[http://www.rednovels.com/ScienceFiction/Asimov41/27354.html](http://www.rednovels.com/ScienceFiction/Asimov41/27354.html)

The first concerns issues of privacy, surveillance, and government control of
information flow. It also was the starting point for an article by Alex
Kozinski, Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on
how the scope of the 4th Amendment is determined by what society considers
acceptable and how we are greatly reducing that scope by the way we are
voluntarily giving up so much privacy online [1].

(Read the Asimov story before reading Kozinski's article, because Kozinski
opens with major spoilers for the story).

The second story concerns idealism vs. pragmatism, pacifism vs. militarism.

For those new to Asimov, don't try to infer Asimov's beliefs from either of
these stories. He personally would have been on the sides that ultimately were
shown to be wrong in both of these stories. I believe I read somewhere that in
the case of "In a Good Cause-" he deliberately set out to write a story whose
point was opposite of his beliefs.

[1] [http://www.stanfordlawreview.org/online/privacy-
paradox/dead...](http://www.stanfordlawreview.org/online/privacy-paradox/dead-
past)

~~~
sohkamyung
Thank you for that link.

------
jeffwass
"What I will be remembered for are the Foundation Trilogy and the Three Laws
of Robotics. What I want to be remembered for is no one book, or no dozen
books. Any single thing I have written can be paralleled or even surpassed by
something someone else has done. However, my total corpus for quantity,
quality and variety can be duplicated by no one else. That is what I want to
be remembered for."

\- _Yours_ , Isaac Asimov (20 September 1973)

~~~
paulddraper
He achieved it.

Ask "Who is the the author of the best sci-fi story of all time?" and the
answers will vary (though Asimov is a likely choice).

Ask "Who is the most prolific sci-fi writer of all time?" and, and you'll hear
Asimov.

Also, I'd have added The Fantastic Voyage to the list. That has a movie.

------
madengr
Just finished up a hardbound copy of "Asimov on Physics", and was able to find
"Asimov on Chemistry" overseas for a good price. Definitely my favorite
author, and the Foundation Series are my favorite books. Hard to believe he
started those when he was 19; genius.

Anybody think a collapse is happening like in foundation (i.e. falling back
from nuclear to primitive fossil fuels)?

~~~
cpeterso
I just (like two days ago :) finished reading the Foundation series.
Psychohistory loses some of its magic for twenty-first century readers in the
face of chaos theory and black swans.

If we are facing a societal collapse, we will have a hard time bootstrapping a
reboot because we've consumed most of the easily accessible fossil fuels.
We're in a virtuous cycle of high technology and fossil fuels that continue to
support access to more fossil fuels.

~~~
coldtea
> _I just (like two days ago :) finished reading the Foundation series.
> Psychohistory loses some of its magic for twenty-first century readers in
> the face of chaos theory and black swans._

Chaos theory might be good for the weather (or the stock market and other such
micro/fast events) but it might not apply that well to human societies in long
term trends (which are not that chaotic and unpredictable, most of history
reads like a continuous narrative with cause and effects quite very much at
play).

He also predicted the possibility of "black swans" ruining psychohistories
predictions and had an agency (let's call it a "second foundation") to
influence things and handle those situations.

That said, there were rumors of a Foundation based tv series. I wonder how
that's going...

[http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/asimovs-foundation-
trilogy...](http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/asimovs-foundation-trilogy-to-
be-made-into-hbo-series.454575436/)

[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0804484/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0804484/)

------
SwellJoe
This article was very early in the story of the Asimov's prolific nature (or
practice). He had written 108 books at the time, and published over 500 at the
time of his death.

I've often thought that the most valuable thing (out of many valuable things)
one could learn from Asimov would be his work ethic. He wrote in one of his
autobiographies that he never got writers block because he was always writing.
Even vacations included time for writing.

------
mturmon
"The world is the oyster for Asimov, and for the future there are vague plans
for almost everything therein save two. No mysteries are on the schedule, and
no books on computers. He has been asked to write his autobiography, but
counters this with the remark, "What can I say?" "

Of course, those rash statements were made in 1969, but Asimov's typewriter
just kept going.

He eventually published a two-volume autobiography (about 1500 pages!), and
then a condensed version called _I, Asimov_. He also published SF mystery
novels ( _Caves of Steel_ , et al.), and straight-up mystery short stories
(collected in the _Black Widowers_ stories), which are quite enjoyable.

~~~
tzs
He also had a couple non-SF mystery novels ("Murder at the ABA" concerning a
murder at the American Bookseller's Association convention, and "A Whiff of
Death" concerning the murder of a chemistry graduate student...I'm not
counting this as SF because there is nothing fictional about the science in
it, it simply takes place in a university chemistry department).

There were also some SF mystery short stories, such as the Wendell Urth series
of stories, which are collected in the "Asimov's Mysteries" short story
collection along with some that are not part of any series.

------
albertzeyer
I read all of his SciFi books and short stories. They are still my absolute
favorites.

I'm still searching for similar authors. I have read many other SciFi books
but none has impressed me so much as some of the work and ideas by Asimov.

Maybe someone has some other recommendations for me?

~~~
fractallyte
Asimov's peers during the formative years/decades of science fiction (the
'Golden Age' of SF) are all worth reading: A E Van Vogt, Robert Heinlein,
James Schmitz, Murray Leinster, Jack Williamson, and _many_ more. Arthur C
Clarke - of similar gargantuan SF stature - was Asimov's pal; their friendly
barbs at each other are hilarious.

Each writer has a unique style and outlook, and they're all worth reading.
You'll find many unforgettable stories (such as 'The Humanoids', by Jack
Williamson). Indeed, writers like James Schmitz were _so_ far ahead of their
time that they're still awaiting re-discovery.

------
rootbear
I taught myself physics and learned to think scientifically by reading his
collected monthly essays from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. I
owe Asimov a huge debt and I'm very glad I got to tell him that once. I miss
seeing him at SF cons.

------
Artistry121
I was lucky enough to start reading the foundation series in chronological
order at the start of this month and finished already. It was an amazing
amalgamation of thoughts on possibilities, human nature, the potential of
technology and the meaning of life and how we fit into it (particularly in
Foundation and Earth).

My favorite part of reading the books though is realizing how things that seem
impossible are always being made possible. Computers have evolved near to the
point where they were in his foundation novels - space tech not so much - but
with passion and resources so much can be created. It's humbling and
empowering to see the world through his eyes.

~~~
tunesmith
I had a great time reading that series - I chose to do the long version, like
the complete narrative that included the Robot novels. But the bummer part is
that there's one book, Robots and Empire, that appears to be out of print -
it's the only book I couldn't buy for Kindle or iBooks, and I didn't realize
until I had already somehow skipped past it and spoiled something for myself.
Still haven't read it.

~~~
coldtea
If you've read all the Foundation + Robots stuff, there are 2 more Asimov
books I've found that also have some allusions/references to the Foundation
universe:

1) The End of Eternity (Again plays with the idea of a "babysitter"
organization for the world -- like foundation/2nd foundation was but in a
totally different manner, and in the end has some references to the Foundation
universe).

2) Nemesis

3) Peeble in the sky (which he wrote many years before).

------
sohkamyung
Time was when I would read almost anything Asimov wrote. I even have his Guide
to the Bible and Shakespeare, as well as his autobiographies. His editorials
in the magazine, "Asimov's Science Fiction" would be the first thing I read.

I haven't read Asimov recently, but his ideas and words form a core part of my
younger self.

------
hoag
My favorite book of his -- besides Robots of Dawn -- was Nemesis. Absolutely
incredible. Such a FEEL to that story.

------
fasteo
I have a vivid memory of the last phrase of "Foundation and Empire". It was a
shock to discover the Preem Palver was the First Speaker.

"But now there was a somber satisfaction on the round and ruddy face of Preem
Palver – First Speaker"

------
aidenn0
This is from memory, so I can't find a source, but I remember doing the math
at one point and coming up with 1800 published words per day from the point of
his first book being published until the day he died.

------
apricot
Asimov was my favorite Golden Age SF Writer.

And by Golden Age I mean roughly 13 years old.

More than his fiction, his books on science had a tremendous influence on me
during my larval stage. I still have my old copy of "Asimov's Guide To
Science" on my bookshelf.

------
jessegreathouse
Everybody is commenting about loving Aasimov, but did anyone read the article?
I read it 3 times and it still makes no sense to me. What is this all about?

~~~
coldtea
What exactly seems difficult to understand in the article?

It's a profile of Asimov, describing his office, his typical work day, and his
work ethic in general.

