
A List of Isaac Asimov's Books - dedalus
http://www.asimovonline.com/oldsite/asimov_titles.html
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gambler
Ah, Asimov. I still consider him the most important SF writer in history,
rivaled only by Phillip K. Dick. It's not that any single one of Asimov's
stories stunned me or changed my mind in a profound way. It's more about the
cumulative effect of many works combined. He shaped the science-related
mindset of at least two generation. The echoes of his writing are still seen
everywhere in science fiction, but many people no longer recognize them as
such.

It really disturbs me that a lot of people in US consider Asimov "no longer
relevant". One, his works aged really well - as long as you don't expect
stories about smartphones and cat videos. Two, his works are huge outside of
English-speaking countries. In that context they seem to be far more popular
than most books that Americans consider "American classics". (Just look at all
the references in Anime, for example.) That ought to tell you something.

~~~
madaxe_again
He also wrote a huge amount of non-fiction in which he presented all sorts of
science in an accessible fashion - "The Left Hand of the Electron" springs to
mind as a favourite selection of his essays, covering everything from
chirality in life to an exploration of polar solvents.

Re: relevance - I'd argue that both he and PKD are more relevant than ever -
Asimov probed the forces that shape society, the impact of automation, the
decadent decay of empire, and the all too human reactions to forces both
inhuman and inhumane, and PKD probed how we each shape our individual and
collective realities, and the myriad fashions in which this could go
disastrously wrong with ever escalating and increasingly magical technologies.

Hell, I almost think it should be compulsory that policymakers are made to
read their respective corpii!

~~~
pklausler
"corpus" is a 3d declension neuter noun; its Latin plural is "corpora".

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abecedarius
[http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Physics-Magnetism-
Electr...](http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Physics-Magnetism-Electricity-
Electron/dp/0880292512) was a surprisingly good alternative to my high school
physics text. He wrote more than stories and essays.

(And it really ought to be free: 50 years old, by a writer 25 years dead now.)

~~~
ddoran
He died April 1992 - not quite 25 years ago.

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ghshephard
Note that this is just the _books_ published, and doesn't include the stories
that he had published earlier (and presumably later?). For example, on of
Asimov's great short stories/novels, "Nightfall" \- was published in 1941 -
about 9 years before this list begins.

~~~
khrm
Quite correct. But his stories are also published as anthology. Nightfall is
there (1969). So that list might be complete.

~~~
B1FF_PSUVM
Chances are the story is reprinted in several anthologies, to boot.

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ninjin
Excellent list, I am currently on a reading streak with my new e-reader and
this list will certainly keep me going. My favourite Asimov essay must be "The
Relativity of Wrong" [1], possibly since it resonates so strongly with my
views on the pitfalls of the teacher/student relationship when it comes to
tests.

[1]: [http://hermiene.net/essays-
trans/relativity_of_wrong.html](http://hermiene.net/essays-
trans/relativity_of_wrong.html)

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sohkamyung
Ah, the list brings back memories of being involved with Ed Seiler. I
originally helped to convert the Asimov FAQ on his website into HTML (1.0?)
format [1]. It was manually done, and I enjoyed doing it.

[1]
[http://www.asimovonline.com/asimov_FAQ.html](http://www.asimovonline.com/asimov_FAQ.html)

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todd8
Asimov's method to being so productive is instructive. Basically, write
everyday and use a straightforward style. See
[https://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/23/lifetimes/asi-v-
profi...](https://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/23/lifetimes/asi-v-profile.html)

~~~
riffraff
I just finished re-reading an Asimov book after a hiatus of maybe a decade.

It is very refreshing to see how high the important-stuff/useless-details
ratio is compared to some modern authors.

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mojoe
Cool list! I don't think I've ever seen them all in one place before.

I cannot stress enough what an incredible force for good Asimov had (and
hopefully continues to have) on society. I remember reading "the World of
Carbon" and not being able to put it down -- a non-fiction organic chemistry
book! The high quality and sheer volume of work he output are each impressive
on their own, but combined are astounding.

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rpgmaker
I started to read Asimov relatively recently and I've found that I prefer his
short stories over his novels. There is a very good and comprehensive
collection that I've been reading for a while now, reading one or two stories
every once in a while. I really recommend it: [http://www.amazon.com/Isaac-
Asimov-Complete-Stories-Vol/dp/0...](http://www.amazon.com/Isaac-Asimov-
Complete-Stories-Vol/dp/038541627X) [http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Stories-
Vol-2/dp/0385420781](http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Stories-
Vol-2/dp/0385420781)

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fitzwatermellow
There's also tons of stuff on Internet Archive, including, just in time for
Easter, Asimov's Guide to the Bible ;)

I love the opening sentence of "Lastborn" from Galaxy Magazine 1958:

 _Edith Fellowes smoothed her working smock as she always did before opening
the elaborately locked door and stepping across the dividing line between the
"is" and the "is not"_

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sizzzzlerz
I knew the man was a prolific writer, but even death couldn't stop him from
publishing books. He died in 1992 and the list shows new books up to 1996.

~~~
astrodust
He once famously quipped that if he was diagnosed with something fatal the
only thing he'd do is _write faster_.

~~~
dsr_
And, in fact, he was: he acquired HIV from a blood transfusion in 1983. He
then wrote/edited 180+ books in the next ten years.

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paozac
You might also enjoy his Robots/Foundation timeline:

[http://www.sikander.org/foundation.php](http://www.sikander.org/foundation.php)
[http://kaedrin.com/fun/asimov/aguide.html](http://kaedrin.com/fun/asimov/aguide.html)

~~~
sikander-hn
hey, thanks! I haven't updated that Foundation page since early 2000s.

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dannylandau
My favorite book of his is actually his Memoir, one of the most memorable
books I've ever read -- [http://www.amazon.com/I-Asimov-A-Memoir-
Isaac/dp/055356997X](http://www.amazon.com/I-Asimov-A-Memoir-
Isaac/dp/055356997X)

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madengr
Definitely my favorite author, and my bucket list is to read all of his books.
So far: Foundation series Nightfall I, Robot Asimov on Chemistry Asimov on
Physics Nemesis (almost finished)

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troymc
Another source: [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-
bin/ea.cgi?5](http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?5)

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ratfacemcgee
you know that old saying, "Poor Asimov had writers block once; it was the
worst 30 seconds of his life"

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azraomega
That's really inspiring how much passion he has for his work... such talent
and work ethic. Back to work! Umph!

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tibbon
Is there any documentation of just _how_ he was able to be so prolific? That's
an incredible list.

