I.Asimov: A Memoir
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Product Description
Arguably the greatest science fiction writer who ever lived, Isaac Asimov also possessed one of the most brilliant and original minds of our time. His accessible style and far-reaching interests in subjects ranging from science to humor to history earned him the nickname "the Great Explainer." I. Asimov is his personal story--vivid, open, and honest--as only Asimov himself could tell it.
Here is the story of the paradoxical genius who wrote of travel to the stars yet refused to fly in airplanes; who imagined alien universes and vast galactic
civilizations while staying home to write; who compulsively authored more than 470 books yet still found the time to share his ideas with some of the great
minds of our century. Here are his wide-ranging thoughts and sharp-eyed observations on everything from religion to politics, love and divorce, friendship and Hollywood, fame and mortality. Here, too, is a riveting behind-the-scenes look at the varied personalities--Campbell, Ellison, Heinlein, Clarke, del Rey, Silverberg, and others--who along with Asimov helped shape science fiction.
As unique and irrepressible as the man himself, I. Asimov is the candid memoir of an incomparable talent who entertained readers for nearly half a
century and whose work will surely endure into the future he so vividly envisioned.
Here is the story of the paradoxical genius who wrote of travel to the stars yet refused to fly in airplanes; who imagined alien universes and vast galactic
civilizations while staying home to write; who compulsively authored more than 470 books yet still found the time to share his ideas with some of the great
minds of our century. Here are his wide-ranging thoughts and sharp-eyed observations on everything from religion to politics, love and divorce, friendship and Hollywood, fame and mortality. Here, too, is a riveting behind-the-scenes look at the varied personalities--Campbell, Ellison, Heinlein, Clarke, del Rey, Silverberg, and others--who along with Asimov helped shape science fiction.
As unique and irrepressible as the man himself, I. Asimov is the candid memoir of an incomparable talent who entertained readers for nearly half a
century and whose work will surely endure into the future he so vividly envisioned.
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First Sentence
"I was born in Russia on January 2, 1920, but my parents emigrated to the United States, arriving on February 23, 1923." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
"I was born in Russia on January 2, 1920, but my parents emigrated to the United States, arriving on February 23, 1923." Read the first page
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Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is truly wonderful. And while no one should take it as a bible, it does indeed have things we all had to experience. In a way or another, all of my friends who have read this book had something in common with him. And I'm not an exception. It is a must, wholeheartedly. I could read it many times and still so don't get bored of it. I love it. I really mourn he has passed away. But his legacy is eternal. Read the Foundation & Robot series, and you'll know what a so great mind can create.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"I. Asimov" is a much more personal work than Isaac Asimov's previous autobiographies. Although "In Joy Still Felt" and "In Memory Yet Green" provide the reader with an amazing amount of detail, they don't go much further than to narrate the day-to-day events of the writer's life. If you want to learn something of the inner man behind the writer, this is the book for you.
We learn more about his rocky relationship with his mother, the basis for the stereotypically stupid female characters which show up in most of his early works; his relationship with his second wife, the basis for the much more realistic female characters which show up in his later works such as "The Caves of Steel" (which makes me wonder if this is why young men subconsciously prefer the earlier works); his troubles with academia, which he admits were as much his fault as academia's; and of course his famous ego, which at times gets in the way of the story. Even so, I cried at his admission that his son was not all he had hoped for, and rejoiced at his pride in his daughter's accomplishments.
I can see how this book might not appeal to a young reader looking for a hero to worship. Asimov isn't an easy character to understand; a combination of insufferable ego and blinding insecurities, of bad luck and incredibly good fortune, of horrendous thoughtlessness and heart-warming kindness. He was an imperfect man and he knew it, and he still loved himself. And good for him.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Easily the greatest work of nonfiction I have ever read, and ever portend to read. Asimov drew me in as a youngster with his Foundation stories, but it is his later nonfiction that most impresses me. His style of writing is unsurpassed by any author I have yet to read(and being an English major, I have read more than a few), and his life story is all the more interesting to those of us who admire him. Though some petty reviewers may remark at Asimov's penchant for tossing off witicisms and regard this disposition as a degredation to the book, this only reveals that reviewer's particular shortcomings in social settings. Asimov was witty, and anyone who is at all farmiliar with the Gradmaster through his writings knows that he never put on a front of false modesty. He was PROUD to be witty, and displayed this wherever he went to whomever he talked. If you are a fan of Asimov's and have not read this book, get crackin'! If you are not a fan of Asimov yet and have not read this book, get crackin'! I guarantee you'll be gripped shortly, and after you're done, you may want to take a stab at the more in-depth accounting of his life string in his other two volumes of autobiography: In Memory Yet Green, and In Joy Still Felt.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Really Uplifting Story
I have long been a fan of Asimov's science fiction and have also enjoyed his non-fiction. He has a clear and deceptively simple style of writing which is appealing and engaging... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Robert Lomas
Final Draft
This is Isaac Asimov's last autobiography, following In Memory Yet Green: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov, 1920-1954 and In Joy Still Felt: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov... Read more
Published 12 months ago by John M. Ford
Ego
Asimov has an easy style, is clearly highly intelligent and achieved fantastic things during his lifetime. Read more
Published on 3 Dec 2006 by James Calderbank
Really worth of Asimov
Absolutely wonderful: if you like "him" as an author you will learn to like him as a man too. Read more
Published on 30 July 2001 by Marco DI MARTINO
A Brilliant Biography
Asimov writes a brilliant biography. A true masterpiece.
Published on 6 July 1999
A warm and touching memoir with the famous Asimov humor
If you have the option, Asimov's two other autobiographies, IN MEMORY STILL GREEN and IN JOY YET FELT, give more depth and many more anecdotes of the famous Doctor, most ending in... Read more
Published on 28 Oct 1998
This book is an embarassment to a great sf writer
As Martin Amis once pointed out, every anecdote Asimov tells involves him tossing off a witticism and ends with "Everyone laughed. Read more
Published on 19 May 1998
The self-aknowledged most prolific wirter of all time
Dr Asimov does himself one better with this self-depreciating (just kidding) view of his life and relationships. Read more
Published on 6 April 1997
A great autobiography for a great author!
In reading this book, I (obviously) discovered about Asimov's life. But I also learned about how it impacted his writing and why rather than how he wrote some of his stories. Read more
Published on 31 Mar 1997
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