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I, Robot (Robot 0.1)

4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 · rating details · 85,630 ratings · 1,781 reviews

The three laws of Robotics:
1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm
2) A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

With these three, si...more

Hardcover, 225 pages

Published June 1st 2004 by Spectra (first published 1950)

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Dec 24, 2011 Evan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: scifi-utopia-dystopia, __in-my-collection, erin-collection, _less-than-200-pages, 2011-reads

In 1989 I drove to Indianapolis to meet Eric, a collector of rare films, ostensibly to see his 16-millimeter print of the elusive 1926 W.C. Fields movie, So's Your Old Man, of which he claimed there were only a half dozen extant copies. We also screened prints of the Lon Chaney Sr. silent, He Who Gets Slapped and the silent German mountain film classic, The White Hell of Pitz Palu, both of which, at the time, were very difficult to see but which have since been issued on DVD. For good measure, h...more

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Jul 19, 2007 Kevin rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Sci-Fi Thinkers

Shelves: scifi

Isaac Asimov's books were far from the normal trash novels you might buy for a 2 day read. Within anything he has written, he tries to spell out lessons in psychology.

How would we react to Robots once they become free thinkers?

How should we react to Robots when they become our slaves?

Should we institute a whole new brand of slavery for the purpose of a "clean society"?

What is sentient life?

The I, Robot novel progresses through these questions, and questions like them, in scenarios rarely ever po...more

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Apr 08, 2009 Brooke rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009, science-fiction

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this, and I ended up being pleasantly surprised. It's a series of short stories revolving around Susan Calvin, a robopsychologist with the company U.S. Robots. The stories show the progression of robots (from ones that can't even talk to the machines that govern how the planet operates) and the relationship humans have with them.

I really enjoyed the overall arc and how it was presented. I also really dug how most of the stories were puzzles abo...more

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Apr 07, 2009 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, read-in-2009

I liked the way this collection of short stories were framed as recollections from Dr. Calvin after a long life. The stories progressed from more primitive robots to some advanced enough to be intriguing.

Robbie: A robot serves as a child's playmate and loves to tell stories. In this story, Robbie seems to have as much affection for Gloria as she does for him. This is presumed to be a case of Robbie being compelled to obey the first law of robotics. Can love and affection be distilled down into a...more I liked the way this collection of short stories were framed as recollections from Dr. Calvin after a long life. The stories progressed from more primitive robots to some advanced enough to be intriguing.

Robbie: A robot serves as a child's playmate and loves to tell stories. In this story, Robbie seems to have as much affection for Gloria as she does for him. This is presumed to be a case of Robbie being compelled to obey the first law of robotics. Can love and affection be distilled down into a simple statement to be programmed into a robot? At the end of the story, it is implied that Robbie lives with Gloria until finally she outgrows him. This also points to something implicitly troubling - is it moral to create something with the capability to think and have the relationship be one-way? The Robot has allegiance to humans programmed in - over self-preservation!

Runaround: This story shows what happens when two laws are in conflict - they come to an equilibrium, and the robot literally ends up going in circles - the radius of the circle determined by the equilibrium point! At this point, robotics is a logic/engineering challenge. In this story (and other early stories) the nicknames of the robots are derived from their serial numbers - SPD 13 becomes "Speedy". Kind of clever.

Reason: This is a hilarious story and one of my favorites. A robot (QT-1 or Cutie) does not believe he was created by humans. Trying to use his brain to figure out his origin, he determines that the humans are a lower life form created by his Master - he is the perfected product, making the humans obsolete! His "Master" is the solar station designed to transmit power from the sun to distant planets. The two humans debate trying to overcome his beliefs - when they discover that 1) his beliefs have no bearing on his ability to do his job and 2) the first rule is still intact, they decide to let him live with his delusional religion.

Catch That Rabbit: DV-5 (Dave) is a robot designed to control six subsidiary robots. He functions perfectly when watched by humans, but as soon as he's left unsupervised, he's got his robots marching in drill-like formations. If unaware of the laws of robotics, the technicians would assume he was plotting some sort of uprising. Eventually, it is determined that Dave functions fine except when danger causes him to give orders to all six robots at the same time. This causes Dave to overload and go 'crazy.' Again, this shows that human logic is superior to the robots at this point.

Liar: I had to read this story twice. A robot is accidentally created who can read human minds. Herbie (RB-3) reads people's minds - and then, because the first law prevents him from hurting them, he tells them exactly what they want to hear. Dr. Susan Calvin, a plain, 40ish robo-psychologist, has a crush on a younger coworker. Herbie convinces her that her feelings are returned. When the ugly truth is finally revealed, Dr. Calvin intentionally drives Herbie insane. Two things disturbed me about this story. One is the portrayal of Dr. Calvin as an unfulfilled plain woman. Cracks were made about her inexpert application of makeup. The old stereotype that a woman can't be feminine and successful at the same time.
The second is the deliberate cruelty Dr. Calvin employs in destroying Herbie. She has a tendency to trust robots above human; if she is anthropomorphizing Herbie, than it is completely unacceptable for her to deliberately destroy him while she is enraged. And if she is remembering that he is a robot, she should put him out of commission in a less vindictive fashion. The story uses a robot to expose weaknesses in human nature.

Little Lost Robot: This story was one of the most amusing to me. A number of Nestor (NS-2) robots have been created with a modified first law. They are designed to allow humans to take expose themselves to harm in an important physics experiment. This is all top-secret. One of the Nestors is told by a young scientist to go lose himself, after getting royally cursed out. The Nestor does. He hides in a cargo ship containing 62 other Nestors destined for sale elsewhere - these 62 all have an intact first law. The hidden Nestor is a possible danger and must be discovered. The scientists use several rounds of tricks before finally getting the Nestor to expose himself.

Escape: Two rival robot companies. The race to develop interstellar space travel. Two powerful robot thinking brains. One destroys itself solving the problem - another is successful, only because instructed to not worry about the death of humans. Turns out, humans die briefly but are resurrected during interstellar travel.

Evidence: Robots have evolved to the point where it is conceivable possible that a robot could masquerade as a human. One lawyer running for political office is accused of being a robot. This story discusses this kind of charge and the possible defenses.

The Evitable Conflict: The most chilling story in the book was saved for last. Four powerful brains control all economic activity on earth. They each control a region. Lately, some indicators have been slightly off in each region. Is something wrong with the robot brains? Or are the humans disregarding the instructions of the brains? Turns out, the brains know what is best for humans. They are actually intentionally messing things up, to expose members of a conservative group opposed to robots having so much power....The robots know what is best. They will control things to provide what is best for humans. Just do what the robots say and everything will be all right....

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Apr 23, 2009 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, 2009, book-club

It's 2057 and a journalist for the Interplanetary Press is interviewing robopsychologist Susan Calvin, just retired. Wanting to get the “human interest” angle, he pries stories from her that reveal the evolution of robotic technology, and the evolution of robots into machines with a higher order of thinking.

The first story is set in 1998, about a non-vocal robot called Robbie who was a nursemaid and best friend to a demanding little girl called Gloria. Her mother finds their relationship unnatur...more It's 2057 and a journalist for the Interplanetary Press is interviewing robopsychologist Susan Calvin, just retired. Wanting to get the “human interest” angle, he pries stories from her that reveal the evolution of robotic technology, and the evolution of robots into machines with a higher order of thinking.

The first story is set in 1998, about a non-vocal robot called Robbie who was a nursemaid and best friend to a demanding little girl called Gloria. Her mother finds their relationship unnatural and convinces her husband to get rid of it, but Gloria won’t let go of the idea that Robbie just needs to be found. The question of robot emotions is clearly answered in this story, and there’s no doubt that Robbie is presented as a character in its own right, with its own clear and unique personality.

The other stories follow either Greg Powell and Mike Donovan on space stations, space ships or planets as they handle wayward robots with a mind of their own, or Dr Calvin herself as she investigates devious robots, a mind-reading robot, and a human politician who just might actually be a robot. Each story features the same characters and are connected, but each story can also stand alone. I would be hard pressed to say which was my favourite – they were all highly enjoyable and thought-provoking.

They’re also highly readable. I tend to expect science fiction to be hard to read and alienating, mostly because of its focus on science, technology – everything non-human, anyway, whereas I’m the kind of person who prefers stories with strong human or humanoid characters and that garner a real emotional response from me. While I, Robot loses a star for often using characters as devices in the plot, and are often portrayed stereotypically (the robots get more subtle personality and are creatively imagined), the novel is smoothly written, tightly paced, often humorous, and engrossing in its detective style.

Asimov is credited with setting the pace for all robot stories with his creation of the three Laws of robots:
1) a robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2) a robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3) a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

The stories in I, Robot revolve around these three fundamental laws that are an intrinsic part of the robots’ positronic brains, and pose some very interesting questions. In a way, the robot is an analogy for our own economy: you create something to serve you, but you create it in such a way that it is superior to you, and acts independently of you. The robots and machines (super brains that run whole continents with the personality of a five-year-old) in these stories not only confront humans with their own inferiority, asking “why should we serve you when we are better than you?”, but also make humans almost redundant. Questions of robots as beings in their own right, with a soul, aren’t directly touched upon here, but certainly the robots in these stories show that the only thing holding them back from being completely unique in their own mind and emotions are the three Laws. They were, after all, made in “man’s” image, so to speak. Fascinating.

One thing that always strikes me about these older science fiction novels is how they show how quickly people thought our technology would advance. In just a hundred years from the time Asimov was writing, humans have conquered the solar system, mined the crap out of other planets, re-organised the structure of countries and governments, and created machines that are infallible. The excitement and expectations that came with the “atomic age” and the Cold War has definitely waned.

If you've seen the movie, you'll have a feel for the themes of this novel - or one of them, at least - but the story they used in the film isn't in this book. Both can be enjoyed in their own right, but the novel certainly makes you think more than the film did.(less)

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Mar 18, 2012 Stephen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2012, science-fiction

Just read this and realized that the first time around I'd never finished it. I'm not sure why.

This book is timeless in many ways. There's a curious mix of future think and past think in this 60 year old science fiction masterpiece. The main ideas concerning robotics are as fresh and current as ever. The space exploration elements are a bit dated but not terribly so. However the corporate think is what feels the most creaky. Also Asimov was a bit off on his predictions about jet cars and the co...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Jon added it · review of another edition

Recommended to Jon by: Sci Fi & Fantasy Book Club April 2009 Selection

Shelves: anthologies, fiction, science-fiction, classics, read-in-my-40s, loved-it

4 stars

For my mini-reviews of each story, please references my updates and the comments thereto (some of which may contain spoilers). My favorite stories include Runaround, Liar! and Escape!

Due to the acquisition of GoodReads by Amazon on March 28, 2013 and my existing and continuing boycott of all things Amazon, the review I wrote after reading this book now resides, safe and secure, at my blog. You can read it by following this link: http://bit.ly/166Ln2y

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Dec 06, 2009 Markham Anderson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am inclined to tear this book apart in a review. I expected better. And yet it gripped me like no book has gripped me for years.

The bad:
Rather than a novel, the book was a collection of short stories which pertained to the same story world. I desired a "novel" experience, one in which the reader is engaged in a single plot for several hundred pages. Several characters surfaced in more than one short story.

Originally published in 1950, it is hardly any surprise that the author's portrait of rob...more I am inclined to tear this book apart in a review. I expected better. And yet it gripped me like no book has gripped me for years.

The bad:
Rather than a novel, the book was a collection of short stories which pertained to the same story world. I desired a "novel" experience, one in which the reader is engaged in a single plot for several hundred pages. Several characters surfaced in more than one short story.

Originally published in 1950, it is hardly any surprise that the author's portrait of robots is at odds with current understandings of linguistics and computer science.

The author's respect for psychology and for his psychologist protagonist was galling. (I have but a modicum of reverence for the field.)

The good:
In different stories, the robots supply vastly different roles, from that of slave to that of master over humanity (in more ways than one). The employment of robots as the "slave class" of society is, I think, accurately illustrative of the desire which is common (though perhaps not universal) among mankind to dominate others. To read the robots called, "Boy" by their bosses drove home the comparison.

The portrait of creative vigour being found primarily in the US and Russia and being mostly depleted in Europe was (and is) apt, given that it was written in the wake of the first world war. It brought a wry but regretful smile to my lips.

The best:
In the closing paragraphs of the book, Byerly says of his world, which is to a large part governed by machines:

I notice that capable men are still at a premium in our society; we still need the man who is intelligent enough to think of the proper questions to ask.

They are at a premium. However, in our day, we have the benefit of seeing where wealth and the information age lead a society: to wit, fewer and fewer men of capability are needed to keep society moving profitably. The progress of our own society suggest that it is perhaps inevitable that those men of lesser virtue will amass greater and greater power, and when they find that they are wealthy in spite of their indolence, they will devour the men of intelligence and initiative, just like the parasite destroys its host.

After appearing to make a portrait of what would be the optimum way to handle society, puffed up in his arrogance as it were, Asimov subtly displays that he is aware of his own ignorance as to the matter and calls the reader to the enormity of the question. He deftly indicates the uncertainty and vulnerability of all of us.

"But you are telling me ... that Mankind has lost its own say in its future."

"It never had any, really. It was always at the mercy of economic and sociological forces it did not understand—at the whims of climate, and the fortunes of war."

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Oct 31, 2008 Jim rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, classics, favorites

The original "I, Robot" not the movie of the same title, is excellent & is a classic. It set the tone for almost every artificial intelligence novel since it was written. The three laws of robotics first appeared in these stories. There are quite a few stories from humorous to touching to scary. Asimov had a pretty good idea that artificial intelligence was similar to fire - a dangerous servant. He proves it in these pages.

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Jan 18, 2008 Loren rated it 4 of 5 stars

From ISawLightningFall.blogspot.com

I first cracked the cover of Asimov’s short-fiction collection I, Robot without much relish. I’ve never enjoyed hard science fiction, a genre whose proponents often seem more interested with the gravitational pull on Mars or the finer points of quantum physics than in crafting an entertaining narrative. Imagine my surprise when I realized I, Robot isn’t SF at all. It’s a collection of mysteries.

From police procedurals to cozies, hardboiled detective stories to...more From ISawLightningFall.blogspot.com

I first cracked the cover of Asimov’s short-fiction collection I, Robot without much relish. I’ve never enjoyed hard science fiction, a genre whose proponents often seem more interested with the gravitational pull on Mars or the finer points of quantum physics than in crafting an entertaining narrative. Imagine my surprise when I realized I, Robot isn’t SF at all. It’s a collection of mysteries.

From police procedurals to cozies, hardboiled detective stories to whodunits, the mystery genre operates on a central convention: the dilemma. Something is wrong, someone doesn’t know everything about it that he would like and he (and the reader) spend the bulk of the narrative trying to figure it out. It could be the motivation for a character’s strange behavior or an unknown cause of death or the location of a missing perpetrator. No matter the emphasis, though, the pattern of dilemma, investigation and discovery remains constant.

Asimov clings to those conventions like a drowning man to driftwood. He erects three laws to which all robots must hew, introduces an apparently impossible violation and invites the reader to figure it out. (For the uninitiated, the three laws- -in decreasing order of importance- -are that a robot must not directly or indirectly harm a human; a robot must obey humans; and a robot must preserve itself unless doing so conflicts with the other two laws.) One scenario involves a robot becoming convinced he was created by a space station’s power converter and refusing to acknowledge his handlers’ commands. Another finds a mind-reading robot answering questions conflictingly despite being told to tell the truth. In a third, a flippant order from a frustrated technician to “go lose yourself” gets taken in a very literal manner.

I, Robot proudly wears all the trappings of SF. There are positronic brains and deep-space energy storms, asteroid-mining expeditions and interstellar travel. But you get the odd feeling while reading that Dorothy Sayers could’ve written it if only she’d studied biochemistry at university. Some might not enjoy having their genre expectations subverted in such a manner, but to me that was exactly when the fun started.(less)

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Dec 08, 2007 James rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books-you-must-read, science-fiction, us-author

The laws known as the Three Laws of Robotics are as follows:

LAW1 A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

LAW2 A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the first law.

LAW3 A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first or second law.

This is in itself the plot of the short stories that make up this collection. There are in all nine...more

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Apr 14, 2009 Otis Chandler rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Otis by: Sci-Fi & Fantasy Bookclub

Shelves: sci-fi, fiction

As an engineer I couldn't help but love this book. It's full of logic games! The 3 rules of robotics are a very rich medium for lots of fun puzzles, and I very much enjoyed reading them. I think the book originally came out in serial form, as it was broken down into short stories or capers. Kind of reminded me of Sherlock Holmes - another favorite of mine.

Examining robots also gave a canvas for defining what it is to be human. I loved the robot religion story. Robots with a superiority complexes...more

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Jul 13, 2012 Merve Özcan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

http://kitabisevda.blogspot.com/2012/...

Kitap hakkında kısa bir bilgi.
I, Robot (Ben, Robot) Isaac Asimov tarafından yazılan dokuz bilimkurgu öyküsünün toplandığı kitap. İlk kez 1950'de Gnome Press tarafından basılmıştır. Hikayeler ilk kez amerikan dergileri Super Science Stories ve Astounding Science Fiction'da 1940 ile 1950 arasında yayımlanmıştır. Hikayeler birbiriyle bağlantılı olmadığı halde hepsi insanlar, robotlar ve ahlâk doğruluğunun ilişkileri hakkındadır. Birlikte Asimov'un robotik yas...more

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Dec 14, 2011 Todd Russell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, robots, short-stories, reread

I've read this book a few times over the years and what keeps pulling me back is Asimov's incredible passion for the scientific side of the story. The characters, which normally are the draw, are not front and center in these stories. It's the machines and what will or won't happen to them with the best programming intentions. One would think with Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics that nothing could go wrong and that's part of what makes this so much fun. If you are a fan of the movie with Will Sm...more

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May 02, 2012 Stefan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a collection of inter-related tales bound together by an outer "frame" tale. The stories serve to explain Asimov's three laws of Robotics and some of the problems inherent in trying to apply absolutes to semi-sentient beings. The tales are entertaining, especially the various ways that the characters find to work out their problems by either working with the laws of robotics or finding creative ways to work around them. It also deals philosophically with the idea that a man-made robot if...more

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Jul 30, 2011 Leslie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, sf-fantasy-speculative

Hugely important and influential in the history of SF. It's always interesting, when reading old SF, to see what that period's vision of the future was, what the authors projected forward into their imagined future and what their blind spots were. SF claims to be about the future, but it's really always about the present. Asimov foresaw humanoid robots with emotions and personalities, but he didn't foresee personal computing or changes in gender roles or the position of women. Really interesting...more

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Dec 12, 2009 K.D. Oliveros rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Jillian Joy

Recommended to K.D. by: 501 Must Read Books

My first book on robots and I had a good time reading this. My daughter is very interested on robotics and I just had to buy this book for her. She tried reading it and got confused. So, I have to read this and my review below is with the hope that she will have the interest to pick the book again as this is a worthwhile read.

Dear Jillian,

The book is actually composed of 9 short stories. Based on Wikipedia entry each of these was originally published individually in the mid 50's. That's the rea
...more My first book on robots and I had a good time reading this. My daughter is very interested on robotics and I just had to buy this book for her. She tried reading it and got confused. So, I have to read this and my review below is with the hope that she will have the interest to pick the book again as this is a worthwhile read.

Dear Jillian,

The book is actually composed of 9 short stories. Based on Wikipedia entry each of these was originally published individually in the mid 50's. That's the reason why, for this to be published in a book (can loosely be referred to as a sci-fi novel), the Introduction was added where Dr. Susan Calvin is introduced and have the stories told in a flashback to some reporters.

The plot basically revolves around the 3 Laws of Robotics. Do you remember when we were in SM Megamall Science Center when you were still very young (6-8 y/o)? In the exhibit about robots, we read these:

1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2) A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Those nine short stories basically talk about at least one of these laws. Then at least the first 3 stories introduce at least one robot-character. The first one has Robbie - the nursemaid, the second one has Speedy, etc. Then the later stories raise some questions like the history of robotics (e.g., who actually "creates" robots, is it the human being or the "master" who supplies the inputs?), related questions (e.g., what does "hurting" in relation to the first law, human mean? etc) or questions (e.g., what if the robot is giving out incorrect answers, do you blame the creator or the data being fed into it?).

Unlike your favorite fairy tales (Winnie-The-Pooh, Alice, etc), this is definitely not an easy read. I will not give you the gist of the story and who really are those main characters like Dr. Calvin, Powell and Donovan as I still want you to give this book another try.

I will always be here to support you. Goodluck to your Robotics competition next year.

Love always,
Dad

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Apr 11, 2009 Beth A. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Beth A. by: SciFi Fantasy Book Club April

Shelves: before-i-was-born, sci-fi, favorites, sci-fi-classics

This book asks the question, if we created robots who were faster, smarter, and stronger than us, what would they think of us? Anticipating a certain amount of disdain, resentment, or rebellion, U. S. Robotics built into the robots’ programming the Three Fundamental Rules of Robotics. “One, a robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Two, a robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the Fir...more

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Nov 05, 2008 Suzanne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, sci-fi

I really loved this book. In fact, I read it pretty quickly throughout one day. I actually finished in the line at the commissary which has been so ridiculously long lately that I've learned to carry a book along.

I had seen the movie previously but I have learned not to trust a movie version. I was correct in this case. I'm not sure exactly where the movie came from at all. They only similarities that I remember are the 3 robot rules.

So this was actually a collection of short stories. The storie...more

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Oct 06, 2007 Chris Friend rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Sci-Fi fans

My first assumption of this book was that it was a novel with a robot as the first-person narrator. Instead, it was a collection of short stories held together by a series of interviews by a first-person reporter of unknown species (though I have no reason to believe he's anything but human). Once I got past the initial re-adjustment over the book's nature, I thoroughly enjoyed its content. The stories were all well-crafted, well-thought-out, and imaginative. They delved into the awkwardness and...more

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Sep 09, 2007 Tracey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone looking for the classics of science fiction

Shelves: re-read, audiobook

I'd wanted to re-read I, Robot this summer, before seeing the only-tangentially-related movie, but some SOB stole/lost the library's copy & the only copies I could find locally had Will Smith's smug face all over them.

I found a lovely hardback edition with an artsy dust cover still intact at the used bookstore last weekend & restrained myself from devouring the short story collection in one gulp. While I found that I remembered the majority of the denouements, (with poor Donovan & Po...more

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Mar 02, 2008 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was a very enjoyable read- especially when you think about the time period when it was written! Everything is conceived of way before you would have thought it possible for someone to dream it up.
The book is a series of short stories about robots- or rather human-robot interaction, and how "they" are looked at compared to "us". The last 3/4 of the book is from "Susan Calvin's" stories- a robot psychologist that trys to solve problems with the robots based on misunderstandings between...more

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Jul 02, 2009 Rebecca rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: scifi, read2009

Of course I adored this book. I agree with other reviewers that each story unfolds with all the suspense and challenge of a mystery or logic puzzle. And the case studies build on each other gracefully to address increasingly challenging philosophical issues. Taken as a whole, the book really straddles the line between optimism and cautionary tale, refusing to come down on one side. In conclusion, thinky fast-paced scifi that makes me drool. (NB: It probably goes without saying that scifi from 19...more

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Oct 29, 2007 Elida rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: extremelyboring

I am currently reading this book with my son as part of his summer reading list, (new school, therefore he has to do his summer reading during school session) and as I was reading, I discovered that this book is so different from the movie version of I, Robot starting Wil Smith. Usually there are differences between movies and books, but in I, Robot there is are significant differences, such as no mention of Wil Smith's character. My son and I are slightly in the middle of the book so maybe late...more

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Mar 08, 2011 Manny rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

Asimov gives you quite a good idea of what's it like to have to debug an artificial intelligence, before there were any. Applause! The movie, however, is an abomination that should have been strangled at birth. They've made Susan Calvin sexy; you see her suggestively outlined through the semi-opaque glass of her shower cubicle.

I can't continue with this review. I'm starting to get too emotional. Sorry. A few things are still sacred, you know?
_____________________________________

PS My real I, Ro...more

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Mar 18, 2008 Smarti rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, 1001-books

This rarely happens to me: I just could not finish this book. I found it unbearable and about half-way through I really did not care about how these stories would continue. In my opinion, it is incredibly poorly written and frankly, I found these robot stories dull and boring content-wise as well. I read that this is supposed to be one of the classics of sci-fi. I don't have a lot of experience with that genre but if this book is supposed to be one of the best, I doubt the genre is for me.
I'll n...more

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May 21, 2010 Jimmy Corvan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was fantastic. Nothing like the movie. While the story (as a whole) sometimes lacked a bit as it seemed more like a collection of short stories, the underlying themes were well maintained and had a very realistic learning curve.

That said, this book was made for problem solvers. If you love mind puzzles and lateral thinking, you will probably love this book. You are given the same set of 3 rules for every 'issue' and have to rationalize a solution given the specific environment.

It has...more

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Jan 08, 2008 Frank Hays rated it 3 of 5 stars

Time has not treated this book well. As robotics develop further and further w/o any regard to the three laws, it becomes more and more of a series of logic puzzles and less of a work of science fiction. That Asimov feels that humans might one day be better ruled by benevolent AI seems almost quaint and childish w/ a half century of robotics research being directed towards developing new killing machines. It is a fun read and a must for fans of vintage science fiction but it is simply no longer...more

4 likes · like · see review

Oct 02, 2011 Jean Tessier added it

Shelves: leisure

Isaac Asimov's seminal novel about robots and how they behave.
This is a collection of short stories that document the evolution
of robotic technology in the world of tomorrow and the societal
changes they trigger.

I started reading it in preparation for the
movie, knowing full
well that the movie has nothing to do with the book, except for the
title. I had bought the novel a long time ago, because it's a
classic, and figured I'd read it someday. So that day has finally
come.

The book is a collection of s...more

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May 23, 2013 Socialbookshelves.com rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Three Laws of Robotics:

1 - A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2 - A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3 - A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Yes, it's that book, and despite the fact that my copy has a photo of Will Smith on the cover, it bears little in common with the Hollywood...more

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About Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov was a Russian-born, American author, a professor of biochemistry, and a highly successful writer, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books.

Professor Asimov is generally considered the most prolific writer of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. He has works published in nine of the te...more Isaac Asimov was a Russian-born, American author, a professor of biochemistry, and a highly successful writer, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books.

Professor Asimov is generally considered the most prolific writer of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. He has works published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System (lacking only an entry in the 100s category of Philosophy).

Asimov is widely considered a master of the science-fiction genre and, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, was considered one of the "Big Three" science-fiction writers during his lifetime. Asimov's most famous work is the Foundation Series; his other major series are the Galactic Empire series and the Robot series, both of which he later tied into the same fictional universe as the Foundation Series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those pioneered by Robert A. Heinlein and previously produced by Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson. He penned numerous short stories, among them "Nightfall", which in 1964 was voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America the best short science fiction story of all time, a title many still honor. He also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as a great amount of nonfiction. Asimov wrote the Lucky Starr series of juvenile science-fiction novels using the pen name Paul French.

Most of Asimov's popularized science books explain scientific concepts in a historical way, going as far back as possible to a time when the science in question was at its simplest stage. He often provides nationalities, birth dates, and death dates for the scientists he mentions, as well as etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Examples include his Guide to Science, the three volume set Understanding Physics, and Asimov's Chronology of Science and Discovery.

Asimov was a long-time member and Vice President of Mensa International, albeit reluctantly; he described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs" He took more joy in being president of the American Humanist Association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, a Brooklyn, NY elementary school, and two different Isaac Asimov Awards are named in his honor.

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Isaac Asimov. (2007, November 29). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:50, November 29, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?t...(less)

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The Foundation Trilogy (Foundation, #1-3)

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“It is the obvious which is so difficult to see most of the time. People say 'It's as plain as the nose on your face.' But how much of the nose on your face can you see, unless someone holds a mirror up to you?” — 159 people liked it

“You can prove anything you want by coldly logical reason---if you pick the proper postulates.” — 49 people liked it

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