Science Fiction Favorites Isaac Asimov/Audio Cassettes/Cxl 505

by Isaac Asimov

Introduction; I Just Make Them Up, See; Someday; The Feeling of Power; Living Space; Satisfaction Guaranteed; The Last Question; Jokester; The Immortal Bard; Spell My Name With an "S"; The Ugly Little Boy

Genres: Science Fiction, Audiobook, Short Stories

Audio Cassette

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Works 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...

Reviews

[Josef Constantine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth it for The Last Question and The Ugly Little Boy if nothing else. The latter I had read once before in an anthology but I'd forgotten just how poignant it was. The former I hadn't read at all and absolutely loved it. The remaining stories are fillers but they are all fairly decent.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun listen especially since it was read by Asimov himself. I had to laugh because of the way he pronounces robots. The king of the robots pronounces it "Robits". Other than that good book!!

[Ryan Dermek · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better short story collections I have read - these tales have withstood the test of time. I even recited a summary of one to my partner and she thought it was great. Plenty of Asimov's wit and character shine through almost all the stories, with genuinely thought-provoking and hilarious moments a plenty.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good to hear the master’s voice reading these stories. Most of the stories are meh. Some are better than others. The last story “The Ugly Little Boy” is by far the best in this collection and one of Asimov’s best stories. That alone makes it worthwhile.

[William Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Asimov's commentary on each story, especially The Ugly Little Boy. this is a fun collection of shorts by a grandmaster of SciFi.

[Gr1972 · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 out of 5

[Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

incredible science fiction writer. but we all already knew that

[Matt]

I borrowed this audiobook from the library and did not listen to all the stories yet so it is still in progress for a future borrow date

[Ob-jonny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection of science fiction short stories and it is only available on audiobook. The story "The Last Question" was especially interesting because it presents an entertaining explanation behind the creation of the universe and even how God came to be who he is. He said it was the best thing he ever wrote. There is a little bit of a relation to the Foundation universe in that story which is amusing to fans of that series. Some of the other stories are very down to earth like "Spell My Name With an S" but with a hilarious little twist that make them completely original and though-provoking. This is a must listen for Asimov fans.

[Scott Diamond · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can you say about Asimov? I've been a fan so many years and I've always enjoyed the introductions he writes in his short story collections so this audiobook was such a treat to hear him reading his stories. Definitely get if you are a fan. His reading adds another dimensions.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories are very nice, and it's worth listening.

[Eric Bowers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best, but still entertaining.