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Of Matters Great and Small
Book by Asimov, Isaac
- GenresScienceNonfiction
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
3 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
Isaac Asimov
4,342 books27.9k 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 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 25, 2011
I'm semi-addicted to Asimov's collections of F&SF science essays, so I was bound to like this one. A little uneven; I think he's at his best when explaining difficult topics, not so great when he's supporting particular causes or ideas, since his writing then verges on the polemic (even when I agree with him). High points in this one are his utter destruction of the basis of popular astrology and his clear description of the difficulties involved in getting a controlled fusion reaction going. Low points are his diatribe about the energy crisis and the concluding essay about Skewes' Number, which, though it might fascinate a math addict, frankly lost my attention midway through. (Not that it wasn't made understandable; Asimov makes everything understandable. But it lost my interest.)
November 20, 2010
This collection of previously published science essays by Isaac Asimov was picked up at a local used bookstore, read, then passed on to a thirteen-year-old friend interested in nature and science. He, the friend, watches many cable programs about such matters, but isn't in the habit of reading much. I was hoping Asimov's light-handed treatment of science might inspire him as it had inspired me as a kid.
August 12, 2018
Once again, Isaac covers it all. And - once again - he gets his, well-deserved, 5 Stars.
May 1, 2021
A mixed bag of essays - some are decent, some are good. Still, the final essay in the collection - 'Skewered!' is excellent, heartily recommended to anyone who enjoys mathematics.
August 13, 2007
Please see my review of X Stands for Unknown ([http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/98...]) for general comments on Isaac Asimov's science essays.
Of Matters Great and Small comprises Isaac Asimov's column for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction from August 1973 through September 1974, plus one essay from the June 1974 Science Digest. It is not an exceptional collection, but does contain a couple of top-flight essays. In "Constant as the Northern Star," Asimov explains one of Shakespeare's most glaring factual errors. "Skewered!," the final essay in the anthology, is an attempt to grasp the number of greatest magnitude ever to appear in a mathematical proof (up to publication of the article).
In other articles in this collection, the Good Doctor traces the history of humankind's endeavors to measure the speed of light and the size of the universe; demonstrates just how little astrological signs have to do with their respective constellations, especially in modern times; recounts his viewing of a total eclipse and explains why there are at least two solar eclipses a year, and occasionally as many as five; extrapolates the inevitability of life from the organic chemistry of space; rebuts creationist claims that Homo sapiens is unrelated to the (other) great apes; muses upon his successful and mistaken predictions about the future when he was a young science fiction writer; relates the history of the "mispronounced metal," aluminum; describes, in intricate mathematical detail, which are the most important radionuclides remaining in the Earth's crust; decries, prophetically, the willful ignorance of American industry and the American public to the limitations of fossil fuels; and, not so prophetically, makes a very optimistic prediction about the timeline for developing nuclear fusion as an alternative energy source.
Of Matters Great and Small comprises Isaac Asimov's column for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction from August 1973 through September 1974, plus one essay from the June 1974 Science Digest. It is not an exceptional collection, but does contain a couple of top-flight essays. In "Constant as the Northern Star," Asimov explains one of Shakespeare's most glaring factual errors. "Skewered!," the final essay in the anthology, is an attempt to grasp the number of greatest magnitude ever to appear in a mathematical proof (up to publication of the article).
In other articles in this collection, the Good Doctor traces the history of humankind's endeavors to measure the speed of light and the size of the universe; demonstrates just how little astrological signs have to do with their respective constellations, especially in modern times; recounts his viewing of a total eclipse and explains why there are at least two solar eclipses a year, and occasionally as many as five; extrapolates the inevitability of life from the organic chemistry of space; rebuts creationist claims that Homo sapiens is unrelated to the (other) great apes; muses upon his successful and mistaken predictions about the future when he was a young science fiction writer; relates the history of the "mispronounced metal," aluminum; describes, in intricate mathematical detail, which are the most important radionuclides remaining in the Earth's crust; decries, prophetically, the willful ignorance of American industry and the American public to the limitations of fossil fuels; and, not so prophetically, makes a very optimistic prediction about the timeline for developing nuclear fusion as an alternative energy source.
August 22, 2018
Asimovs F&SF essays. He cannot miss. Nun ja, einiges ist vielleicht doch nicht ganz soo interessant.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews