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Young Extraterrestrials
Eleven stories--by Piers Anthony, R.A. Lafferty, James E. Gunn, and others--focus on the lives and motives of extraterrestrials on Earth, their adjustment to human society, and their impact on human life
240 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1984
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About the author
Isaac Asimov
4,340 books27.8k followersWorks of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles,
The Foundation Trilogy
(1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.
Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.
Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).
People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.
Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.
Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...
Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.
Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).
People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.
Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.
Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 3, 2009
I thoroughly enjoyed this book when I first read it when I was young. In rereading it again as an adult, I'm even more impressed with how very good these stories are.
Some are better than others, of course, but even the stories that I can't quite call my favorites are very well written and quite worth the read. Most of the stories had lingered in my memory, but one passage in particular remained quite clear:
My favorite stories from this anthology include: "Doorstep" by Keith Laumer, wherein the last line of the story is hinged the entire profound; "The Witness" by Eric Frank Russell, partly because of 'No! You don't mean to say they had minds of their own!'; "Primary Education of the Camiroi" by R.A. Lafferty, who obviously had entirely too much fun writing it; "Zoo" by Edward D. Hoch, with the classically-scifi application of ellipses to the ending; and "Subcommittee" by Zenna Henderson, for sheer vivid imagery and depth of underlying implications.
It hadn't struck me when I first read this book how old the stories were. I had taken them as modern 90s creations because I had first read them in the early 90s, but the anthology was printed in the early 80s and the stories themselves were first published in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. This means that these stories were selected for this anthology because they were the editors' best and favorite of all that fit with this anthology theme; they weren't written specifically to be printed in this anthology. I think it's given the quality of the anthology a heft it wouldn't have had otherwise. And I also want to track down the other five books in Asimov's Young anthology set and see if the stories in those books are as good as the stories in this one.
Some are better than others, of course, but even the stories that I can't quite call my favorites are very well written and quite worth the read. Most of the stories had lingered in my memory, but one passage in particular remained quite clear:
Old Mr. Dobbs took the wraps off his English History course the last two weeks before finals and gave his students enough details about the Regency Period to arouse a burning love for scatology in the breasts of students who had never cared for history at all. He also gave the class a blanket "A." He was promptly suspended for conduct unbecoming a teacher and went chortling into retirement.
"I've been wanting to do that for thirty years," he chuckled as he made his way through a crowd of admiring students after his last session with the School Board. "For thirty years I've taught emasculated pap for children and I finally got tired of it. This time I gave them the facts."
"What do you intend to do now?" a reporter asked. "The Board can't allow you to continue teaching. They've got you labeled as a menace to society. In Socrates' time they'd have fed you a hemlock cocktail."
"I couldn't care less," Dodds said. "It makes no difference what they do. I'm six months past retirement, so they can't take away my pension. That was my last class. I stayed on only because I was asked." Mr. Dodds chuckled. "I guess I have finally become too old to be worried about anything. I was tired of distorting the truth. Put it down to senile dementia if you wish."
"Your diagnosis may be correct," the reporter said, "but I doubt it."
"You may be right," Dodds replied. "That might have been the only sane act of my entire life." ["Tween" by J.F. Bone, p. 159, 0060201673:]
My favorite stories from this anthology include: "Doorstep" by Keith Laumer, wherein the last line of the story is hinged the entire profound; "The Witness" by Eric Frank Russell, partly because of 'No! You don't mean to say they had minds of their own!'; "Primary Education of the Camiroi" by R.A. Lafferty, who obviously had entirely too much fun writing it; "Zoo" by Edward D. Hoch, with the classically-scifi application of ellipses to the ending; and "Subcommittee" by Zenna Henderson, for sheer vivid imagery and depth of underlying implications.
It hadn't struck me when I first read this book how old the stories were. I had taken them as modern 90s creations because I had first read them in the early 90s, but the anthology was printed in the early 80s and the stories themselves were first published in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. This means that these stories were selected for this anthology because they were the editors' best and favorite of all that fit with this anthology theme; they weren't written specifically to be printed in this anthology. I think it's given the quality of the anthology a heft it wouldn't have had otherwise. And I also want to track down the other five books in Asimov's Young anthology set and see if the stories in those books are as good as the stories in this one.
June 24, 2018
This book, as well as Young Monsters, was one of the most-read books from my childhood. I repeatedly checked it out from the library because the prose never got old. Even now, over thirty years later I would love to read it again. Both books have similar themes, but are complementary, not at all redundant. I recommend this book to people of all ages who love a good story with an unexpected climax.
January 23, 2018
I read this a long time ago as a children's librarian. Excellent selection of science fiction short stories all with young people as main characters.
Especially liked In the Jaws of Danger.
Especially liked In the Jaws of Danger.
May 14, 2019
Only 2 or 3 stories in here are worth your time. I guess it’ll help you get through an afternoon or two, but i would go with something else if you have another choice.
August 11, 2021
Il primo e l'ultimo racconto sono tra i più belli ch'io abbia mai letto.
December 2, 2018
Credo che la prima storia della raccolta sia una delle più belle short stories che abbia mai letto. Quasi al pari di Sentry di Frederick Brown. Alcune erano stupidotte, altre non sono sicura di averle capite, ma ricordo questo libro con affetto.
February 20, 2012
A couple of the stories fell a little flat, but there were several really funny ones, and this is definitely a nice afternoon read.
January 10, 2017
Fun stories for kids written by a variety of authors. Some of them have a lot of science in them. Great for young scientists.
September 1, 2018
Contiene dieci storie di fantascienza con protagonisti dei giovani alieni... Molto rilassante e scorrevole.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews