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The Ugly Little Boy / The Widget, The Wadget, and Boff
The Ugly Little Boy by Isaac Asimov & Robert Silverberg
Neanderthal boy plucked out of time and transferred to the 21st century.
The Widget, The Wadget, and Boff by Theodore Sturgeon
Benevolent aliens test humanity for the reflex that marks the truly transcendental being.
Neanderthal boy plucked out of time and transferred to the 21st century.
The Widget, The Wadget, and Boff by Theodore Sturgeon
Benevolent aliens test humanity for the reflex that marks the truly transcendental being.
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published June 15, 1989
About the author
Isaac Asimov
4,366 books28.3k 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 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 31, 2019
This is Tor Double #9, of a series of 36 double books published from 1988 to 1991 by Tor Books. It contains two novellas, bound together tête-bêche in mass market paperback – back-to-back, inverted, with two front covers and both titles on the spine. The novellas are listed here alphabetically by author; neither should be considered “primary.”
The Ugly Little Boy, by Isaac Asimov (1958)
This was originally published in the September 1958 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction, under the title "Lastborn." It was then included in Isaac Asimov's 1959 short story collection Nine Tomorrows, under the current title. Robert Silverberg collaborated to extend the story to a novel The Ugly Little Boy, published after Isaac Asimov's death in 1992. The novel is also known as Child of Time in the UK. This Tor Double contains the 1959 novella version.
A Neanderthal child is brought to the present day as a result of time travel experiments by Stasis Inc. He cannot be removed from his immediate area because of the vast energy loss and time paradoxes that would result, and is kept in the present by way of a Stasis module. In order to care for the boy the organization hires a children's nurse, who falls in love with him. It is a classic story, and has remained in print, in one form or another for the 60 years since it was written. The conceptualization of Neanderthals was accurate for its time, but has changed a little with modern genetic science. I don't feel that's a big deal; this would be award material if the SF awards had existed at the time of publication.
The [Widget], The [Wadget], and Boff, by Theodore Sturgeon (1955)
This was originally published in the November 1955 issue of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The premise is that all sentient species have a trait called Synapse Beta sub Sixteen, which in moments of extreme crisis allows members of these thinking species to step outside of time and space and observe their situation. They may either take appropriate action to save themselves or to act for the greater good by saving others. Disguised aliens live among us, and befriend a little boy. Their decision on what to do about humanity will be based on the case study of him and those who live around him. I found the story typical of its time, and amusing.
The Ugly Little Boy, by Isaac Asimov (1958)
This was originally published in the September 1958 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction, under the title "Lastborn." It was then included in Isaac Asimov's 1959 short story collection Nine Tomorrows, under the current title. Robert Silverberg collaborated to extend the story to a novel The Ugly Little Boy, published after Isaac Asimov's death in 1992. The novel is also known as Child of Time in the UK. This Tor Double contains the 1959 novella version.
A Neanderthal child is brought to the present day as a result of time travel experiments by Stasis Inc. He cannot be removed from his immediate area because of the vast energy loss and time paradoxes that would result, and is kept in the present by way of a Stasis module. In order to care for the boy the organization hires a children's nurse, who falls in love with him. It is a classic story, and has remained in print, in one form or another for the 60 years since it was written. The conceptualization of Neanderthals was accurate for its time, but has changed a little with modern genetic science. I don't feel that's a big deal; this would be award material if the SF awards had existed at the time of publication.
The [Widget], The [Wadget], and Boff, by Theodore Sturgeon (1955)
This was originally published in the November 1955 issue of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The premise is that all sentient species have a trait called Synapse Beta sub Sixteen, which in moments of extreme crisis allows members of these thinking species to step outside of time and space and observe their situation. They may either take appropriate action to save themselves or to act for the greater good by saving others. Disguised aliens live among us, and befriend a little boy. Their decision on what to do about humanity will be based on the case study of him and those who live around him. I found the story typical of its time, and amusing.
March 1, 2022
The Ugly Little Boy, written by Asimov in 1958. I enjoyed it, as it takes on the issues of human experimentation, ethics of time travel, and what price the cost of scientific research. A very intense and moving story.
October 30, 2010
This paperback book came out in 1989 in an unusual "flip-side" format. Two wonderful short stories The Ugly Little Boy by Isaac Asimov and The Widget, the Wadget, and Boff by Theodore Sturgeon were printed together. The style of both writers is 1950s - the era when the stories were originally written. In Asimov's story, the boy is the main character. In Sturgeon's story, although the boy is not central to the story, he is the only one who sees all the players. Of the two, I like The Widget, the Wadget, and Boff better. Still, these are masterfully crafted stories by authors at the pinacle of their creativity.
July 4, 2017
Two books (well, short stories) in one. Asimov's "Boy" is dry and straightforward and, sadly, a still-accurate picture of science-as-business and media shorthand. Barely 60 pages.
"[Widget]" is twice as long and focuses on unseen aliens conducting an experiment on the odd bundle of characters living in a boarding house. Apparently, humans lack a certain instinct that every other sentient species in the universe has, and the aliens want to see it can be brought out...
I recommend them both. "Boy" explores the consequences of 'expendable' people, while the other highlights just how strange and illogical our behavior can be.
"[Widget]" is twice as long and focuses on unseen aliens conducting an experiment on the odd bundle of characters living in a boarding house. Apparently, humans lack a certain instinct that every other sentient species in the universe has, and the aliens want to see it can be brought out...
I recommend them both. "Boy" explores the consequences of 'expendable' people, while the other highlights just how strange and illogical our behavior can be.
April 14, 2008
Science Fiction
January 1, 2010
I enjoyed the Ugly Little Boy, and had that deja vu feeling that I had read it before. The other story was rather confusing and I couldn't get into it at all.
February 2, 2026
Bringing a Neandrethal boy up to modern times
short story
short story
September 24, 2013
Amusing double novel, but this puppy is on its way to listia. =)
February 25, 2016
Two great Stories from Isaac Asimov and Theodore Sturgeon, I have to say that Sturgeon's is definitely the funniest.
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June 29, 2016Isaac Asimov / Theodore Sturgeon
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews