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Spell My Name With an S
A short story
12 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1958
1 person is currently reading
26 people want to read
About the author
Isaac Asimov
4,337 books27.6k 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 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 6, 2021
Collected in Nine Tomorrows, Marshall Zebatinsky a Polish-American nuclear physicist visits a numerologist for advice on how to kick-start his stalled career. The numerologist tells him to change the first letter of his surname to a S. This themes in social experiment story on how little minor changes can result in large consequences has a very Trading Places vibe to it, in more than one sense.
This is what happens to Marshall Sebatinsky as he gets a promotion, and there are larger consequences. Loved the twist at the end.
This is what happens to Marshall Sebatinsky as he gets a promotion, and there are larger consequences. Loved the twist at the end.
August 7, 2023
I wonder how significant your name is in determining your entire life course; if you change it by just a letter, will it affect the whole trajectory of your world? ‘Spell My Name with an S’ by Isaac Asimov did indeed spark a heated discussion in the book club meeting about the weight of alternating names in different cultures, like how some of Eastern Asians have both real and westernized name and how having them determine their quality of life.
November 17, 2023
I really enjoyed this short story involving a physicist, a numerologist, and bureaucracy. There is even a very unexpected ending, by me anyway. Narrated by the always excellent narrator George Guidell. This can be found in the collection 'Robot Dreams'.
February 10, 2021
Interesting!
May 31, 2022
Interesting story but with an out of place and unnecessary ending.
January 16, 2024
3.5 Stars
The twist at the end of this short story is initially reminiscent of Asimov's short story, The Pause, but if the intervening aliens were the Duke brothers from Trading Places.
The twist at the end of this short story is initially reminiscent of Asimov's short story, The Pause, but if the intervening aliens were the Duke brothers from Trading Places.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews