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Asimov: the Unauthorised Life
Isaac Asimov dominated science fiction for over half a century, foreshadowing the excitement of the space race and numerous other technological breakthroughs that he was to live to see fulfilled. This biography charts his life and work until his untimely death in 1992..
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
Hardcover
Published May 12, 1994
14 people want to read
About the author
Michael White
46 books137 followersMichael White was a British writer who was based in Perth, Australia. He studied at King's College London (1977–1982) and was a chemistry lecturer at d'Overbroeck's College, Oxford (1984–1991).
He was a science editor of British GQ, a columnist for the Sunday Express in London and, 'in a previous incarnation', he was a member of Colour Me Pop. Colour Me Pop featured on the "Europe in the Year Zero" EP in 1982 with Yazoo and Sudeten Creche and he was then a member of the group The Thompson Twins (1982). He moved to Australia in 2002 and was made an Honorary Research Fellow at Curtin University in 2005.
He was the author of thirty-five books: these include Stephen Hawking: A Life in Science; Leonardo: The First Scientist; Tolkien: A Biography; and C. S. Lewis: The Boy Who Chronicled Narnia. His first novel Equinox – thriller, an occult mystery reached the Top Ten in the bestseller list in the UK and has been translated into 35 languages. His non-fiction production included the biography Galileo: Antichrist. Novels following Equinox include The Medici Secret, The Borgia Ring and The Art of Murder.
White wrote under two further names, Tom West and Sam Fisher. He used the latter pseudonym to publish the E-Force trilogy, State of Emergency, Aftershock, and Nano.
A further novel by White, The Venetian Detective, features characters including Galileo and Elizabeth.
White wrote a biography of Isaac Newton, The Last Sorcerer. He was both short-listed and long-listed for the Aventis prize. Rivals was short-listed in 2002, and The Fruits of War long-listed in 2006. He was also nominated for the Ned Kelly Prize for First Novel (for Equinox in 2007).
He was a science editor of British GQ, a columnist for the Sunday Express in London and, 'in a previous incarnation', he was a member of Colour Me Pop. Colour Me Pop featured on the "Europe in the Year Zero" EP in 1982 with Yazoo and Sudeten Creche and he was then a member of the group The Thompson Twins (1982). He moved to Australia in 2002 and was made an Honorary Research Fellow at Curtin University in 2005.
He was the author of thirty-five books: these include Stephen Hawking: A Life in Science; Leonardo: The First Scientist; Tolkien: A Biography; and C. S. Lewis: The Boy Who Chronicled Narnia. His first novel Equinox – thriller, an occult mystery reached the Top Ten in the bestseller list in the UK and has been translated into 35 languages. His non-fiction production included the biography Galileo: Antichrist. Novels following Equinox include The Medici Secret, The Borgia Ring and The Art of Murder.
White wrote under two further names, Tom West and Sam Fisher. He used the latter pseudonym to publish the E-Force trilogy, State of Emergency, Aftershock, and Nano.
A further novel by White, The Venetian Detective, features characters including Galileo and Elizabeth.
White wrote a biography of Isaac Newton, The Last Sorcerer. He was both short-listed and long-listed for the Aventis prize. Rivals was short-listed in 2002, and The Fruits of War long-listed in 2006. He was also nominated for the Ned Kelly Prize for First Novel (for Equinox in 2007).
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 1, 2018
Does a decent job of covering the main events of Isaac Asimov's life and furnishing them with nice contextual details, mostly in the form of quotes by Asimov himself, opinions and reminiscences by friends and confidantes, or references to things going on at the time.
I appreciate that White discusses the contents of some of Asimov's better known works and talks about their sources and how they influenced other writers (beware major plot spoilers though).
He also isn't afraid to speculate on the psychology behind some of Asimov's compulsions and to pierce the myth Asimov encouraged about himself, which I think is a commendable idea, if let down by White's actual execution, which is less carefully constructed insight than gossip-informed pronouncement.
Some of the things working against the book: factual mistakes, typos, sloppy statements & generalizations, and it doesn't follow a true chronological approach and so as a biography can be jarring (we jump back and forth through the years depending on the subject being covered, though the flow is mostly chronological).
Overall 3.5 out of 5.
I appreciate that White discusses the contents of some of Asimov's better known works and talks about their sources and how they influenced other writers (beware major plot spoilers though).
He also isn't afraid to speculate on the psychology behind some of Asimov's compulsions and to pierce the myth Asimov encouraged about himself, which I think is a commendable idea, if let down by White's actual execution, which is less carefully constructed insight than gossip-informed pronouncement.
Some of the things working against the book: factual mistakes, typos, sloppy statements & generalizations, and it doesn't follow a true chronological approach and so as a biography can be jarring (we jump back and forth through the years depending on the subject being covered, though the flow is mostly chronological).
Overall 3.5 out of 5.
November 14, 2020
This book has been in my personal library for many years. It is one of those treasures that a random walk through second hand book stores in Bangalore unearthed.
Why did I pick up the book?
Well an uncle of mine introduced me to Asimov. Thus my introduction to Science Fiction began with the Foundation and Robot series. However it was many years later when I discovered his Opus Omnibus (another treasure hunt walks) that my interest in him as an author and prolific writer grew. His varied interest and topics on which he wrote upon is something unheard of today.
Was the man a saint?
No and I appreciate how Michael White has narrated Asimov's life. It drew in his prejudices and almost clinically examines Asimov and the great influences he has created.
Is this book for everyone?
Definitely not. If you are interested in origin stories and have a background into Asimov's works I would not recommend this book. In fact , that could have particularly been one of the reasons I have not read this book till today.
Now that I have done so , I have this inexplicable need to devour Asimov's entire set of work. Perhaps an adventure for 2021.
2020 has given everyone enough drama.
A toast to the gentleman lecher with prolific fingers and a toast to White for making the narrative of the doctor.
An amazing way for me to celebrate the festival lights. The universe truly conspires.
Why did I pick up the book?
Well an uncle of mine introduced me to Asimov. Thus my introduction to Science Fiction began with the Foundation and Robot series. However it was many years later when I discovered his Opus Omnibus (another treasure hunt walks) that my interest in him as an author and prolific writer grew. His varied interest and topics on which he wrote upon is something unheard of today.
Was the man a saint?
No and I appreciate how Michael White has narrated Asimov's life. It drew in his prejudices and almost clinically examines Asimov and the great influences he has created.
Is this book for everyone?
Definitely not. If you are interested in origin stories and have a background into Asimov's works I would not recommend this book. In fact , that could have particularly been one of the reasons I have not read this book till today.
Now that I have done so , I have this inexplicable need to devour Asimov's entire set of work. Perhaps an adventure for 2021.
2020 has given everyone enough drama.
A toast to the gentleman lecher with prolific fingers and a toast to White for making the narrative of the doctor.
An amazing way for me to celebrate the festival lights. The universe truly conspires.
July 8, 2025
Purposed to ”look closely at the man behind the myth”. Seems to be written mainly by using Asimov's autobiographies as a source. The book contains hardy anything which isn't from those volumes (or could not be deduced from them). The "unauthorized" bit seems to be mainly publicity ploy. There also seem to be couple of errors - apparently the author wasn't too careful when he read the source material. If you have read Asimov’s autobiographical books ”In Memory Yet Green” and ”In Joy Still Felt” you really should not bother with this book, and if you haven't read them you should rather go directly to the original works, and not this fairly sloppy condensed reworking which is written in much worse style and contains far less interesting and funny anecdotes.
July 10, 2016
The parallels of the author and mine in finding Asmov first and the Foundation series first is interesting - an excellent biography of a favored author. If you are a fan, I would definitely recommend.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews