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

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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.

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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/wiki/Isaac_As... ...more

Combine Editions
Isaac Asimov’s books

Average rating: 4.14 · 1,653,879 ratings · 44,120 reviews · 2,692 distinct works • Similar authors

	Foundation (Foundation #1) 4.15 avg rating — 334,297 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 — 227,108 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 — 126,909 ratings — published 1952 — 155 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 — 115,099 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 — 80,179 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 — 65,055 ratings — published 1954 — 149 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 — 57,944 ratings — published 1982 — 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
	Prelude to Foundation 4.08 avg rating — 52,574 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 — 47,006 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 — 44,688 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 — 422,608 ratings

Galactic Empire (3 books)
by

Isaac Asimov

3.81 avg rating — 40,764 ratings

Lucky Starr (6 books)
by

Isaac Asimov,

Paul French

3.63 avg rating — 9,907 ratings

The Complete Stories (2 books)
by

Isaac Asimov

4.35 avg rating — 7,482 ratings

The Black Widowers (6 books)
by

Isaac Asimov,

Harlan Ellison (Foreword)

Charles Ardai (Editor/Contributor)

William Brittain (Contributor)

3.98 avg rating — 5,522 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

11775 likes

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

tags: humor, inspirational, philosophy, wisdom

6295 likes

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

3590 likes

See all Isaac Asimov's quotes »

Polls

What to read, what to read--should it be 6 novels by Henry James for 2018 (alternating every month), or 3 by Henry James and 3 by...?

Henry James and Joseph Conrad

3 votes 30.0%

Henry James and Edith Wharton

2 votes 20.0%

Henry James and Virginia Woolf

1 vote 10.0%

I prefer a medley of those others, but omitting H.J.

1 vote 10.0%

Henry James and nothing but Henry James

1 vote 10.0%

Henry James and a medley of other writers, which, if we choose this option, may lead to utter chaos and imploded skulls

1 vote 10.0%

Henry James and Isaac Asimov

1 vote 10.0%

Henry James and Dawn Powell

0 votes 0.0%

10 total votes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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SciFi and Fantasy...: Space Opera Theme Books Needed	62	704	Nov 30, 2008 06:12PM
SciFi and Fantasy...: February Theme: Historically inspired fantasy !	63	679	Jan 13, 2009 07:13AM
Glens Falls (NY) ...: What are U reading these days? (Part Four) (begun 2/18/09)	207	184	Apr 03, 2009 09:11AM
Glens Falls (NY) ...: How do you organize your bookshelves?	30	47	Apr 21, 2009 08:19AM
The Next Best Boo...: Utopia/Distopia Books	17	327	Apr 21, 2009 10:51AM

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