Isaac Asimov

Born

in Petrovichi, Russian Federation

January 02, 1920

Died

April 06, 1992

Website

http://www.asimovonline.com/

Genre

Science Fiction & Fantasy, Mystery & Thrillers, Science

Influences

Robert Ingersoll, Henry Moseley, John Dalton

edit data

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 one of the most prolific writers 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 t 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 one of the most prolific writers 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.

----------------------------------------
Isaac Asimov. (2007, November 29). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:50, November 29, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As... ...more

Combine Editions
Isaac Asimov’s books

Average rating: 4.14 · 1,649,938 ratings · 43,988 reviews · 2,682 distinct works • Similar authors

	Foundation (Foundation #1) 4.14 avg rating — 333,218 ratings — published 1951 — 181 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I, Robot (Robot, #0.1) 4.18 avg rating — 226,289 ratings — published 1950 — 108 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Foundation and Empire (Foundation #2) 4.21 avg rating — 126,708 ratings — published 1952 — 154 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Second Foundation (Foundation #3) 4.24 avg rating — 114,913 ratings — published 1953 — 151 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Foundation Trilogy (Foundation, #1-3) 4.40 avg rating — 80,088 ratings — published 1953 — 83 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Caves of Steel (Robot #1) 4.15 avg rating — 64,905 ratings — published 1954 — 148 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Foundation's Edge (Foundation #4) 4.10 avg rating — 57,795 ratings — published 1982 — 105 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Prelude to Foundation 4.08 avg rating — 52,443 ratings — published 1988 — 101 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Foundation and Earth (Foundation #5) 4.03 avg rating — 46,929 ratings — published 1986 — 99 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Gods Themselves 4.09 avg rating — 44,581 ratings — published 1972 — 107 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Isaac Asimov…

Series by Isaac Asimov

Robot (4 books)
by

Isaac Asimov

4.17 avg rating — 421,511 ratings

Galactic Empire (3 books)
by

Isaac Asimov

3.81 avg rating — 40,679 ratings

Lucky Starr (6 books)
by

Isaac Asimov,

Paul French

3.63 avg rating — 9,885 ratings

The Complete Stories (2 books)
by

Isaac Asimov

4.35 avg rating — 7,458 ratings

The Black Widowers (6 books)
by

Isaac Asimov,

Harlan Ellison (Foreword)

Charles Ardai (Editor/Contributor)

William Brittain (Contributor)

3.98 avg rating — 5,512 ratings

More series by Isaac Asimov…

Quotes by Isaac Asimov

“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.”
― Isaac Asimov

tags: life, science, wisdom

11765 likes

“Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.”
― Isaac Asimov, Foundation

tags: humor, inspirational, philosophy, wisdom

6290 likes

“In life, unlike chess, the game continues after checkmate.”
― Isaac Asimov

3590 likes

See all Isaac Asimov's quotes »

Polls

Random Sci-Fi for June

A Scanner Darkly, by Philip K. Dick

12 votes, 24.0%

Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, by Kate Wilhelm

8 votes, 16.0%

Downbelow Station, by C.J. Cherryh

6 votes, 12.0%

Dr. Identity, by D. Harlan Wilson

6 votes, 12.0%

The Caves of Steel, by Isaac Asimov

5 votes, 10.0%

Native Tongue, by Suzette Haden Elgin

4 votes, 8.0%

China Mountain Zhang, by Maureen F. McHugh

4 votes, 8.0%

Camp Concentration, by Thomas M. Disch

3 votes, 6.0%

Look to Windward, by Iain M. Banks

1 vote, 2.0%

Invitation to the Game, by Monica Hughes

1 vote, 2.0%

50 total votes

5 comments

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
SciFi and Fantasy...: Space Opera Theme Books Needed	62	704	Dec 01, 2008 03:12AM
SciFi and Fantasy...: February Theme: Historically inspired fantasy !	63	679	Jan 13, 2009 04:13PM
Glens Falls (NY) ...: What are U reading these days? (Part Four) (begun 2/18/09)	207	184	Apr 03, 2009 06:11PM
Glens Falls (NY) ...: How do you organize your bookshelves?	30	46	Apr 21, 2009 05:19PM
The Next Best Boo...: Utopia/Distopia Books	17	325	Apr 21, 2009 07:51PM

More…

Isaac Asimov’s Followers (15,146)

Add New
Videos

Isaac Asimov

Combine Editions
Isaac Asimov’s books

Series by Isaac Asimov

Quotes by Isaac Asimov

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Isaac Asimov’s Followers (15,146)

Add NewVideos

Isaac Asimov

Combine EditionsIsaac Asimov’s books

Series by Isaac Asimov

Quotes by Isaac Asimov

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Add New
Videos

Combine Editions
Isaac Asimov’s books