Frequently Asked Questions about Isaac Asimov

Last modified: 10 March 1995

This document answers frequently asked questions about Isaac Asimov and his works. It is posted periodically to the Usenet newsgroups alt.books.isaac-asimov, alt.answers, and news.answers, and is available via anonymous FTP at rtfm.mit.edu as the files:
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The latest WWW edition of this FAQ can be found at Lightside, Inc. via the URL: http://www.lightside.com/SpecialInterest/asimov/asimov-faq.html

Many thanks to Fred Condo (fred@lightside.com) for graciously allowing this FAQ to reside there.

Compiled by Edward Seiler (Ed.Seiler@gsfc.nasa.gov) and John H. Jenkins (John_Jenkins@taligent.com). Special thanks to Soh Kam Yung (sauron@ee.nus.sg, engp3010@leonis.nus.sg), Mark Brader(msb@sq.com), and Matthew P. Wiener (weemba@sagi.wistar.upenn.edu) for their contributions.

This HTML version was originally produced by Soh Kam Yung (sauron@ee.nus.sg) and is currently maintained by Edward Seiler.

Copyright notice: This document is copyrighted by the above people. You may distribute this document in whole or in part as long as the above attributions remain intact.

This FAQ is organized as follows (questions whose answers have changed since the last posting of the FAQ are marked with an asterisk.)

Table of Contents:

  1. For starters
    1. *Just how many books did Asimov write?
    2. Where can I get a list of all of Asimov's books? Is there an FTP site for this information?
      1. Lists available from books.
      2. Lists available on Internet.
    3. *Where else can I find Asimov stuff on the net?
  2. Biographical (non-literary)
    1. How do you pronounce "Isaac Asimov"?
    2. Is Asimov really dead? When did he die? Where is he buried?
    3. When and where was he born?
    4. Who are the other members of his family?
    5. Was he married? Did he have any children?
    6. Where did Asimov live, attend school, and work during his life?
    7. What are the titles of Asimov's autobiographies? Where can I get them?
    8. What books and articles about Asimov have been written by others?
    9. What religious beliefs did Asimov have?
    10. Did Asimov do anything other than write all day and all night?
    11. Is it true that Asimov had a fear of flying?
    12. *What other notable quirks, fears, and pet peeves did Asimov have?
  3. Biographical (literary)
    1. When did he start writing?
    2. What was his first published story?
    3. What awards did he win for his writing?
    4. *What is Asimov's last book?
    5. *Of his own work, what were Asimov's favorite and least favorite novel? What were his favorite and least favorite stories?
  4. The Foundation/Robot Series
    1. What is this Forward the Foundation I keep hearing about?
    2. Did Asimov really write Forward the Foundation? Didn't he die before it was done, so somebody else really wrote it up from notes?
    3. What about the contradictions between Forward the Foundation and other Foundation books?
    4. What is the chronological order of the Foundation books?
    5. What is the order in which the Foundation books should be read?
    6. What is the significance of the ending of Foundation and Earth?
    7. Why do Asimov's books give two reasons why the Earth becomes radioactive?
    8. Did Asimov write the Foundation books with any plan in mind?
    9. Is Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation an Asimovian robot?
    10. What are the Laws of Robotics, anyway?
  5. Other writings
    1. What is the relationship between the movie Fantastic Voyage and Asimov's novel?
    2. What did Asimov write besides the Foundation and Robot books?
    3. What is the source of the title of the novel The Gods Themselves?
    4. Is there an index of his science articles for the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (F&SF)? Of his editorials in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (IASFM)?
    5. What is the Asimov-Clarke treaty?
  6. More than books...
    1. *What records, audio tapes, videotapes, and software are available?
    2. Have any of Asimov's books or stories been made into a movie or television series?
  7. Coming attractions...

For starters

*Just how many books did Asimov write?

Short answer: An awful lot. Hundreds. Long answer: Well, it depends on how you count them. For example, the most complete Asimov bibliography which Asimov himself had a hand in preparing is the catalogue in I. Asimov: A Memoir. It lists 469 items, including 2 wall posters and a calendar (which some people might not be inclined to count as "books".) It also lists 117 science fiction anthologies, none of which are entirely by Asimov, and many of which include no stories by him (and so some people might be inclined not to count these.) There are also books which are almost entirely written by someone else (the Superquiz books, From Harding to Hiroshima, the Book of Facts) which Asimov counted because he had an extensive role in the editing of the book. Some books are counted more than once if Asimov did extensive work on later editions (such as the Biographical Encyclopedia.) And, of course, Asimov recycled many of his stories and essays so that they appeared in more than one collection, and some books are nothing but recyclings of older books. On the other hand, the catalogue in I. Asimov: A Memoir is not complete. Near the end of his life, Asimov's ill health kept him from keeping careful track himself of all the books he published, and so some books were left out of the catalogue. Some books, of course, were published after I. Asimov: A Memoir and so are not listed there. Ed Seiler's list of books includes numerous titles missing from the catalogue in I. Asimov: A Memoir, and ends up with a count of somewhat over 500. And then there are books like Harlan Ellison's I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay. It is based on Asimov's work and his name is listed on the title page together with Ellison's, but the actual work on the screenplay is virtually all Ellison's, and it was published in book form after Asimov's death, which makes it difficult to know if Asimov himself would have counted it. Does it count as an "Asimov" book? So about the only definitive answer that can be provided at this point is: An awful lot. Hundreds.

Where can I get a list of all of Asimov's books? Is there an FTP site for this information?

Lists available from books.

Asimov published lists of his books periodically through his life, in his three Opus books (Opus 100, Opus 200, Opus 300) and the three volumes of his autobiography (In Memory Yet Green, In Joy Still Felt, and I. Asimov: A Memoir.)

The lists in Opus 100, Opus 200, Opus 300, In Memory Yet Green, and In Joy Still Felt include an official number for the books listed, indicating the order of publication. The catalogue in I. Asimov: A Memoir does not number the books listed and is known to be incomplete. Official numbers for the books not listed in the other volumes are not available.

As of the time of his death, Asimov had published some two hundred books without official numbers. Many of these can be found by going through such sources as Books In Print or the Library of Congress card catalog [which can be accessed by telnet to locis.loc.gov during the hours (U.S. Eastern Time) 06:30-21:30 Monday-Friday, 08:00-17:00 Saturday, 13:00-18:00 Sunday]. However, since Asimov often did not count as "his" books those on which a publisher merely slapped his name, and because a number of his books were published in limited editions by obscure presses, these sources cannot be taken as complete. The compilation of a truly complete list is not a casual undertaking.

Lists available on Internet.

There are two sites that currently archive lists of his known books and short stories. These are Lightside, Inc. and the anonymous ftp site, vaxa.crc.mssm.edu. Thanks to Fred Condo (fred@lightside.com) and Alex Pechtchanski (pechtcha@vaxa.crc.mssm.edu) for providing the respective sites. Any omissions or errors in the lists should be reported to Edward Seiler (Ed.Seiler@gsfc.nasa.gov) or John H. Jenkins (John_Jenkins@taligent.com.)

Note: Some WWW Clients seem to have trouble accessing the ftp links to the VAX (vaxa) site. The problems encountered are:

Xmosaic (and Macintosh Mosaic)
Unable to connect to the site. Returns an error message stating that the requested document could not be accessed.
Lynx (in UNIX)
Can connect. But formatting of some documents is 'screwed up.'

The files available at the sites are as follows:

The anonymous ftp site, gandalf.rutgers.edu, archives sf-related material and contains a general Science Fiction resource guide. A bibliography of books by Isaac Asimov and Janet Asimov can be found here, as well as those on other writers. (The list on Asimov is less comprehensive or detailed than the ones given above.)
These lists of bibliographies are copyrighted by John Wenn (jwenn@world.std.com).

*Where else can I find Asimov stuff on the net?

Here is a list of Asimov related material on the net (If you have found other sites with Asimov related information, please inform Edward Seiler, so that they can be included in this FAQ):

Biographical (non-literary)

How do you pronounce "Isaac Asimov"?

"EYE'zik AA'zi-mov". "AA'zi-mof" is also OK. The name is spelled with an "s" and not a "z" because Asimov's father didn't understand the Latin alphabet clearly when the family moved to the US in 1923. One way to remember this pronunciation is the pun from The Flying Sorcerers by Larry Niven and David Gerrold: "As a color, shade of purple-grey", or "As a mauve". Asimov wrote a poem ("The Prime of Life") in which he rhymes his surname with "stars above"; someone else suggested amending the poem to rhyme it with "mazel tov", which he thought an improvement.

Asimov's own suggestion, however, as to how to remember his name was to say "Has Him Off" and leave out the H's.

Is Asimov really dead? When did he die? Where is he buried?

Asimov died on April 6, 1992 of heart and kidney failure. His body was cremated and his ashes scattered.

When and where was he born?

Asimov was born (officially) January 2, 1920, in the town of Petrovichi (pronounced peh-TRUV-ih-chee), then in the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (czarist Russia no longer existed, while the USSR hadn't formed yet) and now in Russia. It can be found at latitude 53.58 N, longitude 32.10 E, about 400 km. southwest of Moscow and some 16 km east of the border between Belarus and Russia. Born to Jews in the early days of the RSFSR, there are no accurate records, however, and it is possible that he may have been born as early as October 4, 1919.

Asimov's birthdate was temporarily changed by his mother to September 7, 1919 in order to get him into school a year earlier. When, several years later, he discovered this, he insisted that the official records be changed back. January 2, 1920 was the date he personally celebrated throughout his life.

His family left the Soviet Union on January 11, 1923 and arrived in New York City February 3.

Please note that the date given on the first page of Asimov's last autobiographical book, I. Asimov: A Memoir is a typographical error (January 1, 1920). Asimov's other books leave no possible doubt that the date he celebrated as his birthday was January 2.

Who are the other members of his family?

He was the son of Judah Asimov (1896-1969) and Anna Rachel Berman Asimov (1895-1973), who were married in 1918. Asimov was named Isaac after his mother's father, Isaac Berman. He has a sister Marcia (born Manya in 1922) and a brother Stanley (b. 1929).

His father saved the money earned from several jobs during his first three years in the U.S. and bought a candy store in Brooklyn, which his parents ran for the next forty or so years.

Marcia married Nicholas Repanes in 1955 and has two sons, Larry and Richard.

Stan became a journalist and rose to vice president in charge of editorial administration for Newsday. Stan and his wife Ruth have a son, Eric, and a daughter, Nanette, both journalists. Ruth has a son, Daniel, by a previous marriage, who was adopted by Stan, and is a mathematician. Dan Asimov may be found on the net, but does not wish to be bothered with inquiries about Isaac, so please leave him alone.

Was he married? Did he have any children?

Asimov met Gertrude Blugerman on a blind date on Valentine's Day, 1942, and they were married five and a half months later, July 26, 1942. They had a son David (b. 1951) and a daughter Robyn Joan (b. 1955). They separated in 1970 and their divorce became effective on November 16, 1973.

Isaac first met Janet Opal Jeppson when he signed an autograph for her at an SF convention on September 2, 1956. He was suffering badly (and silently) from a kidney stone at the time, which gave her the impression that he was an unpleasant person. He later claimed to have absolutely no recollection of that first meeting. They next met on May 1, 1959, when Janet attended a mystery writers' banquet as a guest of Veronica Parker Johnson and was seated with Asimov. That time the mutual attraction was immediate. When Isaac and Gertrude finally separated in 1970, he moved in with Janet almost at once, and they were married at Janet's home by an official of the Ethical Culture Society on November 30, 1973. Asimov had no children by his second marriage.

Where did Asimov live, attend school, and work during his life?

When the Asimov family came to the United States in 1923, they moved into their first apartment at 425 Van Siclen Avenue, in the East New York section of Brooklyn. In the summer of 1925 they moved one block away to an apartment at 434 Miller Avenue. They moved half a mile eastward in December 1928 to another apartment at 651 Essex Street, above the second candy store bought by his father. In early 1933, they moved to an apartment on Church Avenue, and after a brief stay there they moved to an apartment above yet another family candy store, at 1312 Decatur Street, in the Ridgewood section of Brooklyn. In December of 1936, Asimov's father sold his third candy store and bought his fourth, at 174 Windsor Place, in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn, and the family moved to a house across the street.

In May of 1942, Asimov left New York to work at a wartime job at the Philadelphia Naval Yard, and there he rented a room in someone else's house at 4707 Sansom Avenue, until September, when soon after getting married he and Gertrude moved into an apartment at 4715 Walnut Street. When the lease ran out they moved to another apartment in Philadelphia at Wingate Hall in December. They moved back to New York in September 1945, and in November he was inducted into the army. In the army he spent a week at Fort Meade, Md., and was then stationed at Camp Lee, Virginia until March of 1946, when he was transferred to the island of Oahu. He returned to the states in May, and after his discharge from the army in July, he and Gertrude moved into a small apartment in Brooklyn on 213 Dean Street in September 1946. In September of 1947 they moved to the downstairs apartment of his parents' house on Windsor Place, and in July of the next year moved to Apartment 9-C of the Stuyvesant Town complex on 273 First Avenue. They moved to Boston in May 1949 to an apartment at 42 Worcester Square, and quickly moved again in July to an apartment in the suburb of Somerville. In May 1951 they moved to an apartment at 265 Lowell Street, in Waltham, Mass. They moved two miles to the south to a house at 45 Greenough Street in West Newton, Mass. in March 1956.

In July 1970, he separated from his wife and moved back to New York, staying at the Oliver Cromwell Hotel. After his divorce from Gertrude in November 1973, he married Janet and moved into her apartment. They moved to the Park Ten apartments in April 1975, to a 33rd floor apartment overlooking Central Park, where they lived together until his death in 1992.

Asimov began his formal education in the New York Public School system in 1925 at PS182, and transferred to PS202 when the family moved in 1928. He continued on to East New York Junior High School 149 in September 1930, where he was placed in the rapid advance course, and graduated in June 1932. He entered tenth grade at Boys High School in the fall, and graduated in the spring of 1935. After attending City College for only a few days, he switched to the Brooklyn campus of Seth Low Junior College, which provided him with a scholarship of one hundred dollars. The college closed after his freshman year, so he continued at the parent institution, Columbia University, at the Morningside Heights campus. He graduated from Columbia with a B.S. in Chemistry in 1939. After his applications to all five New York City medical schools were rejected, he applied for the master's program in chemistry at Columbia. After he was rejected for the master's program, he convinced the department committee to accept him on probation. After one year the probation was lifted, and he earned his M.A. in Chemistry in 1941. He continued on at Columbia in a Ph.D. program, and after the gap in his research that lasted from 1942 through 1946 (due to his wartime job and his army), he earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry in May 1948.

Asimov started working in his parents' Essex Street candy store in 1929, when his mother became unable to work a full day due to her third pregnancy, and learned the steady work habits that would stay with him for the rest of his life. After his freshman year of college, he had a summer job at the Columbia Combining Company, where he cut and folded sheets of rubberized fabric. During his sophomore year he held a National Youth Administration job working for a psychology professor, and as a junior and senior his NYA job was as a typist for a sociology professor. Throughout the period of 1929 to 1942, he continued to work at the family candy store. He worked as a junior chemist at the Philadelphia Navy Yard from May 1942 to October 1945, together with fellow science fiction authors Robert Heinlein and L. Sprague de Camp. In 1948 he obtained a postdoctoral position at Columbia researching antimalarial compounds. In June of 1949 he took a job as instructor in biochemistry at the Boston University School of Medicine, and was promoted to assistant professor in December 1951. He was promoted to associate professor, which provided him with tenure, in July 1955. He gave up his teaching duties and salary at the School of Medicine in 1958 , but retained his title, so that on July 1, 1958, he became a full-time writer. (He was fired, he said, for choosing to be an excellent lecturer and science writer, rather than be a merely mediocre researcher.) In 1979, the school promoted him to the rank of full professor.

What are the titles of Asimov's autobiographies? Where can I get them?

In Memory Yet Green covers the period from 1920-1954. In Joy Still Felt spans the time from 1954-1978. These two volumes were published by Doubleday in 1979 and 1980, with paperback editions following a year later. They are currently out of print, and thus your best bet for finding them is to check used book stores, science fiction conventions, etc.

I. Asimov: A Memoir was published by Doubleday in March 1994, and covers his entire life, written in 166 brief chapters arranged in roughly chronological order.

In addition, the three Opus books (Opus 100, Opus 200, and Opus300), The Early Asimov, and Before the Golden Age contain substantial autobiographical material, and Asimov talks a great deal about himself and his life in many of his other books, particularly in anecdotes found in his essays in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and his editorials in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine.

Note: Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine has been renamed Asimov's Science Fiction.

What books and articles about Asimov have been written by others?

Books:

Seekers of Tomorrow, "Isaac Asimov"
by Sam Moskowitz, World, 1966, pp. 249-265.
The Asimov Science Fiction Bibliography
compiled by M. B. Tepper, Chinese Ducked Press, 1970.
The Universe Makers
by Donald A. Wollheim, Harper & Row, 1971.
Asimov Analyzed
by Neil Goble, Mirage, 1972.
Isaac Asimov: A Checklist of Works Published in the United States, March 1939-May 1972
by Marjorie M. Miller, Kent State University Press, 1972.
The Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov
by Joseph F. Patrouch, Jr., Doubleday, 1974.
Asimov's Foundation Trilogy and Other Works: Notes, Including Life of the Author, an Overview of Asimov's Science Fiction, Categories of Science Fiction, Analyses of the Works
by L. David Allen consulting editor, James L. Roberts, Cliffs Notes, c1977
Isaac Asimov
edited by Joseph D. Olander and Martin Harry Greenberg, Taplinger Pub. Co., 1977.
Isaac Asimov
by Jean Fiedler and Jim Mele. Ungar, c1982.
Isaac Asimov, the Foundations of Science Fiction
by James Gunn, Oxford University Press, 1982.
Isaac Asimov - Scientist and Storyteller
by Ellen Erlanger, Lerner Publications Co., c1986.
Isaac Asimov
by Donald M. Hassler, Starmont House, 1989.
Isaac Asimov
by William F. Touponce, Twayne Publishers, 1991.

Articles:

"You Can't Beat Brains"
L. Sprague De Camp, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, XXXI (Oct. 1966), 32-35.
Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, XXXI (October 1966)
special Asimov Anniversary edition.
"Translator"
Time, XC (July 7, 1967), 55-56.
"The TV and Dr. A"
Greg Bear, Luna, No. 1 (June 1969), 5.
"Isaac Asimov, Man of 7,560,000 Words"
New York Times Book Review, Aug. 3, 1969, 8, 28.
"Asimov's Hundred"
Publishers' Weekly, CXCVI (Aug. 25, 1969), 270.
"A Thinking Woman's Philtre"
Judy-Lynn Benjamin, Luna, No. 5 (Oct. 1969), 14-17.
"Coming of the Humanoids: Android Fiction"
N. P. Huxley, Commonweal, XCI (Dec. 5, 1969), 297-300.
"Scientific Enquiry" a Boston Interview with Isaac Asimov
Boston, LXI (Dec. 1969), 51-54, 82-86, 89-90.
"ESFA Open Meeting-1970"
The WSFA Journal, No. 73 (Sept.-Nov. 1970), 11-22.
"Amazing Mr. Asimov"
P. Farrell, Writer's Digest, LIII (July 1973), 20-22.
"Keeping Posted"
Saturday Evening Post, CCXLVI (Jan. 1974), 6.
"Backward, March!"
Forbes, CXIX (Apr. 1, 1977), 74.
"Asimov, the Human Writing Machine"
J. L. Collier, Reader's Digest, CXI (Aug. 1977), 123-126.
"What Makes Isaac Write?"
Time, CXIII (Feb. 26, 1979), 79.
"Asimov at 200"
T. Lask, New York Times Book Review, Jan. 28, 1979, 43.
"Science and American Society"
F. Jerome, Current, CCXXXVII (Nov. 1981), 3-10. Also Environment, XXIII (Sept. 1981), 25-30.
"A Conversation with Isaac Asimov"
F. Kendig, Psychology Today, XVII (Jan. 1983), 42-47.
"Isaac Asimov: Modern-Day Renaissance Man"
J. Walsh, The Humanist, XLIV (July/Aug. 1984), 5.
"Asimov Is Celebrating 300th Book's Publication"
E. McDowell, The New York Times, Dec. 17, 1984, C13.
"The Protean Penman"
S. Kaufer, Time, CXXXII (Dec. 19, 1988), 80-82.
"Isaac Asimov Speaks"
The Humanist, IL (Jan./Feb. 1989), 5-13.
"Requiem: Isaac Asimov 1920-1992"
K. Ferrell, Omni, XIV (June 1992), 22.
"Giants Fall"
L. David, Ad Astra, IV (July/Aug. 1992), 11.
"Isaac Asimov"
K. Frazier, Skeptical Inquirer, XVII (Summer 1992), 351.
"Asimov's Vision"
A. Dane, Popular Mechanics, CLXIX (Aug. 1992), 96.
"Isaac Asimov"
Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, LXXXIII (Aug. 1992), 5.
"A Celebration of Isaac Asimov: a Man For the Universe"
Skeptical Inquirer, XVII (Fall 1992), 30-47.
"The Legacy of Isaac Asimov"
P. D. Hutcheon, The Humanist, LIII (Mar./Apr. 1993), 3-5.
"Isaac Asimov: a One-Man Renaissance"
B. Chambers, The Humanist, LIII (Mar./Apr. 1993), 6-8.
"Asimov's Laws of Robotics: Implications for Information Technology", part 1
Computer, Dec. 1993, 53-61.
"Asimov's Laws of Robotics: Implications for Information Technology", part 2
Computer, Jan. 1994, 57-65.

What religious beliefs did Asimov have?

Asimov had no religious beliefs; he never believed in either God or an afterlife. He considered himself a Humanist, one who believes that it is humans who are responsible for all of the problems of society, as well as the great achievements throughout history. The Humanists believe that neither good nor evil are produced by supernatural beings, and that the solution to the problems of humankind can be found without the intervention of such beings. Asimov was a strong proponent of scientific reasoning who adamantly opposed creationists, religious zealots, pseudoscience, and mysticism.

Asimov did not oppose genuine religious feeling in others. He did, however, have little patience for intolerance or superstition masquerading as religion.

Although he was an atheist, Asimov was proud of his Jewish heritage. His parents never made an effort to teach him religion. He did study in Hebrew school for several months while his father served as secretary for the local synagogue, where he learned some Hebrew and how to read Yiddish.

Asimov did have a great interest in the Bible, and wrote several books about it, notably the two volume Asimov's Guide to the Bible and The Story of Ruth.

Did Asimov do anything other than write all day and all night?

Although famous for writing over eight hours a day, seven days a week, Asimov found time to do a few other things beside writing.

He was a member of the Dutch Treat Club, a group that met for lunch every Tuesday at the Regency Hotel in New York. He joined the club in 1971 and was made president in 1985.

He joined the Baker Street Irregulars in 1973, a group of avid Sherlock Holmes fans that held an annual banquet to celebrate Holmes' birthday. Asimov admitted that he was not a true Holmes enthusiast, but enjoyed delivering banquet toasts, speeches, and singing sentimental songs.

Asimov was a Gilbert & Sullivan enthusiast since his youth, when he listened to the plays on the radio. In 1970 he joined the Gilbert and Sullivan Society, and attended almost all of their meetings. He regularly attended G & S productions in Manhattan, and occasionally served as toastmaster at benefit shows. He loved to sing songs from the shows, and was quite proud of his singing voice (among other things).

He belonged to an all-male club called the Trap Door Spiders, which met for dinner one Friday night every month, treating a guest invited by the host to dinner in return for the privilege of grilling him about his life and work. The club formed the basis for the Black Widower mystery short stories. The characters were loosely modeled on actual club members as follows: 

Black Widower      Trap Door Spider
=============      ================
Geoffrey Avalon    L. Sprague de Camp
Emmanuel Rubin     Lester del Rey
James Drake        Doc Clark
Thomas Trumball    Gilbert Cant
Mario Gonzalo      Lin Carter
Roger Halsted      Don Bensen
Henry              fictional
Asimov joined Mensa, the high-IQ society, in the early 1960's, but found that many of the members were arrogant about their supposed intelligence, so he let his membership lapse. However when he moved back to New York, he became an active member once again, and gave speeches to groups of Mensans on a number of occasions. Yet once again membership became a burden for him, so he resigned from the group.

Asimov was a member of the Explorers Club, and served as master of ceremonies for two years at their annual banquet.

Is it true that Asimov had a fear of flying?

Yes, the same author who described spaceflights to other worlds and who argued valiantly for the cause of rationality suffered from an irrational fear of heights and flying. This had the consequence of limiting the range over which he travelled throughout much of his life.

Asimov discovered that he was acrophobic at the New York World's Fair in 1940, when he took his date and first love Irene on a roller coaster, expecting that it would cause her to cling to him in fear and give him a chance to kiss her. Instead it was he who was terrified while his date remained perfectly calm. Two years later, his wife-to-be Gertrude convinced him to ride on a roller coaster at Coney Island, and he was once again terrified.

Asimov did in fact fly on an airplane twice in his life. The first time he did so while working at the Naval Air Experimental Station in Philadelphia during World War II. While working on dye markers that made ditched pilots more visible to rescue searchers, he developed a test to compare dye visibility that did not require a plane flight, but in order to validate his test he volunteered to fly in a small plane to observe the markers. He was so absorbed in his observations that he didn't suffer from any undue fear. His second plane flight took place on his return from his army station in Hawaii, in which he flew aboard a DC-3 to San Francisco.

After his military service in Hawaii in 1946, Asimov never ventured so far from home, and did not often travel great distances. When he did need to travel significant distances, he usually took a train, or rode in someone else's car, until he learned to drive in 1950. Oddly enough, he found that he felt quite comfortable behind the wheel of an automobile. In the 1970's he and Janet travelled by train to Florida and California, and they took several several sea cruises to such places as the Caribbean, West Africa, England, and France.

What other notable quirks, fears, and pet peeves did Asimov have?

Asimov was a teetotaler in later life, mainly because in all of his experiences with drinking alcoholic beverages, just one or two drinks were sufficient to get him drunk. On the day he passed the oral examination for his Ph.D., he drank five Manhattans in celebration, and his friends had to carry him back to school and try to sober him up. His wife told him that he spent that entire night in bed giggling every once in a while and saying "Doctor Asimov".

He was completely inept at any athletic activity that required any coordination; he never learned how to swim or ride a bicycle. Spending even ten minutes in the summer sun turned his skin a bright red. In the army he had the worst score in his company on the physical-conditioning test (though he had the highest score on the intelligence test). He was afraid of needles and the sight of blood.

Asimov discovered that he was claustrophiliac, meaning that he was fond of enclosed places. He was quite comfortable in small rooms with no windows, and always insisted on using artificial lighting when he worked. He considered the underground cities on Earth in The Caves of Steel as the ultimate windowless enclosures.

He did not allow anyone to call him by any nicknames, except for a few old friends who had been calling him Ike for years.

Asimov hated it when his name was misspelled in print or mispronounced by others. His desire to have his name spelled correctly even resulted in a 1957 short story, "Spell my Name with an 's'".

(Notable instances of his name being misspelled occurred on the cover of the November 1952 issue of Galaxy, which contained "The Martian Way", and on his 1976 Nebula Award for "The Bicentennial Man".)

When in 1939 he wrote a letter to Planet Stories, which printed it and spelled his name "Isaac Asenion", he quickly fired off an angry letter to them. (His friend Lester Del Rey took great delight in referring to him as "Asenion" for many years afterward. On the other hand, Asimov himself referred to positronic robots with the Three Laws as "Asenion" robots in The Caves of Steel.)

Asimov was quite perturbed when Johnny Carson, host of the Tonight Show, pronounced his first name as I-ZAK, with equal emphasis on both syllables, during an appearance on the television show in New York in 1968.

Biographical (literary)

When did he start writing?

When he was eleven years old he began writing The Greenville Chums at College, which he planned to be the first book in a series. After writing only eight chapters about the adventures of boys living in a small town, he gave up after recognizing the fact that he didn't know what he was talking about. However he made a very important discovery in the process. After he wrote the first two chapters, he told the story he had written so far to a friend at school during lunchtime. When he stopped, his friend demanded that he continue. When Asimov explained that he had told him all that he had so far, the friend asked to borrow the book when he was finished reading it. Asimov was astonished to discover that his friend thought that he was retelling a story that he read. The implied compliment impressed him so much that, from that day on, Asimov took himself seriously as a writer.

Asimov's first published writing was a column he did for his high school newspaper. His first accepted piece was a humorous essay entitled "Little Brothers", which appeared in The Boys High Recorder, his high school's semi-annual literary publication, in 1934, and is reprinted in Before the Golden Age. He wrote it in a creative writing class he took that year; a class which almost convinced him to give up writing.

What was his first published story?

After John Campbell, editor of Astounding Science Fiction, rejected his short stories "Cosmic Corkscrew", "Stowaway" and "This Irrational Planet" in June, July, and September of 1938, "Marooned Off Vesta" was accepted for publication by Amazing Stories in October and was published January 10, 1939.

What awards did he win for his writing?

*What is Asimov's last book?

Asimov's publishers have on more than one occasion published the Good Doctor's "last" book as a marketing ploy. The five titles most often so-described are:

All this, however, does not preclude the possibility of more books by Asimov being published in the future. There are, for example, enough uncollected F&SF science essays for one more collection, and probably enough uncollected Black Widower stories. Additional volumes could be published in the "Complete Stories" series, as well as other anthologies (e.g., "The Honest-to-goodness Complete Robot Stories Book").

All we can say for certain is that with his death, Asimov appears to have stopped writing. He has, by no means, stopped publishing. It is therefore probably meaningless to refer to Asimov's "last" book in absolute chronological terms.

*Of his own work, what were Asimov's favorite and least favorite novel? What were his favorite and least favorite stories?

Asimov's favorite novel was The Gods Themselves, largely because of the middle section, which was both absolutely brilliant and included non-humans and sex. (Asimov had often been accused of being unable to write stories with non-humans or sex and therefore leaving them out of his work.)

His least favorite novel was The Stars Like Dust. It was scheduled for serialization in Galaxy, then edited by Horace Gold. Gold absolutely insisted on including a subplot about the characters ransacking the Galaxy for an ancient document which would utterly revolutionize their political order. In the end, it turns out that the document is "gur Pbafgvghgvba bs gur Havgrq Fgngrf" (rot-13 coding added as spoiler protection, as if this sub-par novel could be truly "spoiled" by giving away plot points).

Asimov loathed the subplot and bitterly resented being forced to add it. He offered to his editor at Doubleday, Walter Bradbury, to remove it for the hardcover publication, but Bradbury liked the subplot and insisted it be left in.

Then to add insult to injury, when the first paperback edition was published by Ace, they changed the title (for the worse) and totally gutted the novel, to the point that Asimov could hardly recognize it.

Asimov's three favorite stories were (in order): "The Last Question", "The Bicentennial Man", and "The Ugly Little Boy" (all found in The Best Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov, among other places).

Among his least favorite stories were:

"Black Friar of the Flame" (found in The Early Asimov). The story was his first attempt at a "future historical" and was bounced around from editor to editor until it was finally published. It was revised a half-a-dozen times and rejected ten times in a two-year-period. Asimov was so bitter over the story's history that he swore never again to revise anything more than twice, and he would even fight over having to do a second revision.

(This is his least favorite story among those that most Asimov fans are likely to have ever read. He also implies in The Early Asimov that it is his least favorite story of all time, but this is clarified in In Joy Still Felt.)

His all-time least favorite story was "The Portable Star" (Thrilling Wonder Stories, Winter 1955). As with "A Woman's Heart," Asimov never authorized its anthologization. He describes it as a sleazy attempt to cash in on the new interest in sex in sf started by Philip Jose Farmer's 1952 story, "The Lovers."

He also published a story, "A Woman's Heart" in the June 1957 Satellite which he considered so trivial that he never included it in any of his collections.

The Foundation/Robot Series

What is this Forward the Foundation I keep hearing about?

Forward the Foundation is the last-written of the Foundation books. It was near completion at the time of Asimov's death and published a year later. It is currently available in both hardback and paperback.

Did Asimov really write Forward the Foundation? Didn't he die before it was done, so somebody else really wrote it up from notes?

Yes, Asimov really wrote all of Forward the Foundation.

Forward the Foundation was originally planned to be a series of five novellas, bridging the chronological gap between Prelude to Foundation and Foundation.

The first three were completed long before Asimov died and published in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine.

A first draft of the fourth was completed before Asimov's death; since Asimov's typical writing methodology was to write a first draft, polish it slightly and use the polished version as the final draft, we can feel fairly confident that the fourth novella is reasonably close to what Asimov intended.

The fifth novella didn't make it beyond the rough outline stage. This is why the final book consists of four novellas and an epilog.

What about the contradictions between Forward the Foundation and other Foundation books?

The whole Foundation series is rife with contradictions. There are two main reasons for this.

First of all, Asimov simply didn't enjoy sweating over details in his fiction. There are a number of things Asimov enjoyed about writing -- that's why he wrote so much -- but purging his fiction of contradictions was not one of them. As early as 1945, he was finding it more effort than it was worth to keep up consistency in the Foundation stories and tried (three times) to end the series so that he wouldn't have to deal with it.

Secondly, Asimov's overall plan for the series changed. For example, the robot stories and Foundation stories were originally conceived as existing in separate fictional universes. It wasn't until the 1980's that he started to tie them together explicitly. Other examples would involve major spoilers for some of the later books.

(Also, the stories were written over the course of fifty years, starting from a time when Asimov was at the unspectacular beginning of his career and the Golden Age was a year old, to a time when Asimov was one of science fiction's Big Three and John Campbell, for whom the earliest stories were written, dead for twenty years. It should not be surprising that the seventy-year-old Grand Master should find some of the ideas of the twenty-year-old apprentice not quite up to snuff and not worth preserving.)

What is the chronological order of the Foundation books?

In the Author's Note at the beginning of Prelude to Foundation, Asimov says:
"In any case, the situation has become sufficiently complicated for me to feel that the readers might welcome a kind of guide to the series, since they were not written in the order in which (perhaps) they should be read.

"The fourteen books, all published by Doubleday, offer a kind of history of the future, which is, perhaps, not completely consistent, since I did not plan consistency to begin with. The chronological order of the books, in terms of future history (and not of publication date), is as follows:

"1. The Complete Robot (1982). This is a collection of thirty-one robot short stories published between 1940 and 1976 and includes every story in my earlier collection, I, Robot (1950). Only one robot short story has been written since that collection appeared. That is Robot Dreams, which has not yet appeared in any Doubleday collection. [Robot Dreams (1986) does contain it; see also Robot Visions (1990)]

"2. The Caves of Steel (1954). This is the first of my robot novels.

"3. The Naked Sun (1957). The second robot novel.

"4. The Robots of Dawn (1983). The third robot novel.

"5. Robots and Empire (1985). The fourth robot novel.

"6. The Currents of Space (1952). This is the first of my Empire novels.

"7. The Stars, Like Dust-- (1951). The second Empire novel.

"8. Pebble in the Sky (1950). The third Empire novel.

"9. Prelude to Foundation (1988). This is the first Foundation novel (although it is the latest written, so far).

[9a. Forward the Foundation (1993).]

"10. Foundation (1951). The second Foundation novel. Actually, it is a collection of four stories, originally published between 1942 and 1944, plus an introductory section written for the book in 1949.

"11. Foundation and Empire (1952). The third Foundation novel, made up of two stories, originally published in 1945.

"12. Second Foundation (1953). The fourth Foundation novel, made up of two stories, originally published in 1948 and 1949.

"13. Foundation's Edge (1982). The fifth Foundation novel.

"14. Foundation and Earth (1983). The sixth Foundation novel."

Note that this order is slightly wrong, in that Currents of Space actually takes place after The Stars, Like Dust. Also Foundation and Earth was published in 1986, not 1983.

What is the order in which the Foundation books should be read?

There are actually three answers to this question.

A) Read them in the order of action, as listed by Asimov.

B) Read them in the order of publication.

There is no real reason why (A) or (B) is the better order. If you're more interested in seeing the development of Asimov's universe, writing, and ideas, you may prefer (B). If you are more interested in the course of events in Asimov's universe, you may prefer (A). Note, also, that some of the more recent books contain spoilers for some of the earlier ones, so the impact of some stories may be lessened if you choose (A).

Note that Asimov in the Author's Note quoted does not actually suggest one order over the other, but does suggest chronological order as a possibility.

C) Just read the ones published in the 1950's (plus The Complete Robot) because the later ones all suck.

No true Asimov fan, of course, would agree that any of the Good Doctor's books "suck," but there is pretty broad feeling that the later books are not as good as the earlier ones. (There is also pretty broad disagreement with this assessment.) In particular, Foundation and Earth is considered one of the weaker books in the series. Of course, your mileage will vary, and you may be one of those who prefers the later books over the earlier ones.

What is the significance of the ending of Foundation and Earth?

Foundation and Earth ends with a "hook" for a sequel -- the main problem of the novel itself has been solved, but a new problem is introduced in the last few pages which threatens the future of mankind.

Asimov fully intended to write a sequel to Foundation and Earth, continuing the story chronologically. He had, however, no specific plans for how he would develop the problem with which Foundation and Earth ends, let alone how to resolve it. His next (and final) two Foundation books were stories of the life of Hari Seldon, written largely because he couldn't figure out what would happen after Foundation and Earth.

He died before he had any specific plans for what would happen next.

Why do Asimov's books give two reasons why the Earth becomes radioactive?

Asimov introduced the idea of the Earth becoming radioactive in Pebble In the Sky. It is also a plot element in the other two "Empire" books, The Stars, Like Dust and The Currents of Space. In these three books, it is always assumed that the Earth became radioactive as a result of a nuclear war. These books were all written in the early 1950's, when it was commonly felt that there would be a nuclear war between the United States and Soviet Union in the next few years.

Later on, Asimov realized that this explanation wouldn't wash. The effects he described would not be possible as the result of a nuclear war. He therefore provides a different explanation in Robots and Empire and Foundation and Earth.

Within the fictional universe, the explanation is that the characters in the three Empire novels thought that the Earth became radioactive as a result of a nuclear war, but that they were wrong.

Did Asimov write the Foundation books with any plan in mind?

No.

Asimov's original intention was to write a series of longer stories to complement the series of short stories he was writing about robots. He started the Foundation series as a saga of the collapse of the First Galactic Empire and rise of the Second.

It wasn't long before he got bored with the series. Since the Foundation's ultimate success was guaranteed by psychohistory, there was a considerable lack of dramatic tension, and it was hard keeping the stories from contradicting each other. He therefore wrote "The Mule" as a way to end the series by wrecking the Seldon Plan. That was not satisfactory to Asimov's public, and he wrote two more Foundation stories (now collected in Second Foundation) to restore the Plan. The nature and activities of the Second Foundation were developed only at this point, to make the story work.

With these last two stories written, he considered himself forever finished with the Foundation series, even though there were still 700 years of the Plan to run. They would simply be 700 years of the Foundation's growth and triumph, and really rather dull. He did write one more Foundation story to open Foundation and nothing more for over thirty years.

In the 1980's, Asimov was persuaded by Doubleday to write a new Foundation book. The result was Foundation's Edge. Again, he decided to create a more interesting story by making up a new threat to the Seldon Plan.

Foundation's Edge was so successful that Asimov was persuaded to finally write the third Elijah Baley novel, The Robots of Dawn, which created the first (implicit) connection between the Foundation and Robot books. This connection, which was not anticipated when Asimov started writing robot and Foundation stories in the 1940's, was made explicit in the next two books written, Robots and Empire and Foundation and Earth.

Finally, because he wasn't sure what to do next, Asimov wrote Prelude to Foundation and Forward the Foundation to tell the story of Hari Seldon's life and the beginnings of psychohistory.

Is Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation an Asimovian robot?

The television program Star Trek: The Next Generation included an android character, Data, whom we are specifically told (in the episode "Datalore") was created in an attempt to bring "Asimov's dream of a positronic robot" to life. Unfortunately, the producers of the show locked onto the "positronic" aspect as if that were the key quality to Asimov's robots. Asimov's view was exactly the opposite -- his robots are "positronic" because positrons had just been discovered when he started writing robot stories and the word had a nice science-fictiony ring to it. The use of positrons was just an engineering detail and relatively unimportant to him.

Asimov's key insight was that, inasmuch as we engineer our tools to be safe to use, we would do the same with robots once we start making them -- and that the main safeguards for an intelligent being are its ethics. We would, therefore, build ethics into our robots to keep them going off on uncontrollable killing sprees.

In some sense, the specific Three (Four) Laws are themselves an engineering detail, the robotic equivalent of the Ten Commandments -- it is a specific ethical system but not the only one possible. In Asimov's universe, they are the basis for robotic ethics and so absolutely fundamental to robotic design that it is virtually impossible to build a robot without them.

Asimov tended not to let other people use his specific Laws of Robotics, but his essential insight -- that robots will have in-built ethical systems -- is freely used.

In particular, Data is an "Asimovian" robot because he does have an in-built ethical system. He does not have the Three Laws, however (witness the episode "Measure of Man" in which he refuses to follow a direct order from a superior officer [Second Law] without invoking either danger to a specific human [First Law] or the higher needs of all of humanity [Zeroth Law]). Moreover, his ethical programming is not fundamental to his design (his prototype, Lore, lacks it altogether, and Data's ethical program is turned off for much of "Descent, part II").

Asimov stated that Roddenberry asked for his permission to make Data a positronic robot after the fact. Asimov himself had no input into the character.

There were plans to have Asimov appear on the show as a holodeck simulation and talk to Data (just as Stephen Hawking did). A combination of Asimov's location and ill-health made this impossible.

What are the Laws of Robotics, anyway?

The Three Laws of Robotics are:

1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

From Handbook of Robotics, 56th Edition, 2058 A.D., as quoted in I, Robot.

In Robots and Empire (ch. 63), the "Zeroth Law" is extrapolated, and the other Three Laws modified accordingly: 0. A robot may not injure humanity or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm. Unlike the Three Laws, however, the Zeroth Law is not a fundamental part of positronic robotic engineering, is not part of all positronic robots, and, in fact, requires a very sophisticated robot to even accept it.

Asimov claimed that the Three Laws were originated by John W. Campbell in a conversation they had on December 23, 1940. Campbell in turn maintained that he picked them out of Asimov's stories and discussions, and that his role was merely to state them explicitly.

The Three Laws did not appear in Asimov's first two robot stories, "Robbie" and "Reason", but the First Law was stated in Asimov's third robot story "Liar!", which also featured the first appearance of robopsychologist Susan Calvin. (When "Robbie" and "Reason" were included in I, Robot, they were updated to mention the existence of the first law and first two laws, respectively.) Yet there was a hint of the three laws in "Robbie", in which Robbie's owner states that "He can't help being faithful, loving, and kind. He's a machine - made so." The first story to explicitly state the Three Laws was "Runaround", which appeared in the March 1942 issue of Astounding Science Fiction.

Other writings

What is the relationship between the movie Fantastic Voyage and Asimov's novel?

Asimov wrote the novel from the screenplay. He made a certain number of changes which he felt were necessary to minimize the scientific implausibility of the story. Because, as he put it, he wrote quickly and Hollywood works slowly, the novel came out some six months before the film was released, giving rise to the idea that the movie was made from the novel.

Asimov was never satisfied with Fantastic Voyage, and he never thought of it as "his" work. Later, a person who had bought the rights to the title and concept (but not the characters or situation) of the original was interested in making Fantastic Voyage II. Naturally he turned to Asimov, who at first refused. At some point, Asimov agreed, but insisted on handling his side as a pure book deal with Doubleday. Consequently, Asimov's book Fantastic Voyage II should not be considered a sequel to the original.

What did Asimov write besides the Foundation and Robot books?

Lots. Asimov published over 500 books by the time of his death. Many of these, of course, are anthologies of work by other people, and a large number are juvenile science books, but there are a lot of books left.

Following is a list of some of Asimov's better-known or more influential works. The list is purely subjective, based on the personal preference of the FAQ-keepers. There is much which is worthwhile but not listed. See the full lists of Asimov's works for more information.

  1. Other science fiction novels
    1. The Lucky Starr books
    2. Fantastic Voyage, and Fantastic Voyage II
    3. Nemesis
    4. The Gods Themselves
    5. The End of Eternity
  2. Science fiction short story collections
    1. Nine Tomorrows
    2. Earth is Room Enough
    3. The Martian Way and Other Stories
    4. Nightfall and Other Stories
    5. The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories
    6. The Best Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov
  3. Anthologies
    1. The Hugo Winners/New Hugo Winners (7 volumes)
    2. Isaac Asimov presents the great sf stories (25 volumes for 1939 through 1963)
  4. Mysteries
    1. Black Widower stories (several collections)
    2. A Whiff of Death
    3. Murder at the ABA
  5. "Guides"
    1. Asimov's Guide to the Bible
    2. Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare
    3. Asimov's New Guide to Science
  6. Essay collections
    1. F&SF Essay collections (Asimov had a monthly science column from the early 1950's through 1991)
    2. Asimov on Science Fiction
    3. Asimov's Galaxy
  7. Histories
    1. The Greeks
    2. The Roman Republic
    3. The Roman Empire
  8. Other non-fiction
    1. Understanding Physics (aka The History of Physics)
    2. The Universe
    3. Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology
  9. Humor
    1. Isaac Asimov's Treasury of Humor
    2. The Sensuous Dirty Old Man
    3. Asimov Laughs Again

What is the source of the title of the novel The Gods Themselves?

The title is obtained from the quote "Against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain", which originally appeared in German in Friedrich von Schiller's play Jungfrau von Orleans (The Maid of Orleans, or Joan of Arc), Act III, Scene 6. Bartlett's Familiar Quotations translates the quote as "Against stupidity the very gods themselves contend in vain." The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations gives the translation "With stupidity the gods themselves struggle in vain."

Is there an index of his science articles for the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (F&SF)? Of his editorials in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (IASFM)?

Asimov compiled a list of his F&SF essays on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of his first essay, in the November 1978 issue of F&SF, and reprinted (slightly updated) in the collection The Road to Infinity. That list is ordered alphabetically according to the title of the essay, and includes a designation of the collection in which each essay appears as well as a very brief subject description for each essay. However Asimov went on to write a total of 399 essays, the last of which appeared in February 1992. (A 400th essay was compiled by Janet after his death and published in the December 1994 issue of F&SF.)

Of the 174 editorials published in IASFM, dealing mainly with Asimov's thoughts on Science Fiction, 22 were included in Asimov on Science Fiction and another 66 in Asimov's Galaxy, but he did not compile an index to these.

Asimov also wrote numerous other essays that were published in other magazines, many of which have appeared in other essay collections.

Certainly an index to Asimov's essays would be welcomed by avid readers of his nonfiction, to that end Rich Hatcher (hatcher@asd470.dseg.ti.com) has ambitiously agreed to compile one, and Ed Seiler, an ambitious list compiler himself, has agreed to help him out. A great deal of progress has been made, but more remains to be done.

What is the Asimov-Clarke treaty?

The Asimov-Clarke Treaty of Park Avenue, put together as Asimov and Clarke were travelling down Park Avenue in New York while sharing a cab ride, stated that Asimov was required to insist that Arthur C. Clarke was the best science fiction writer in the world (reserving second best for himself), while Clarke was required to insist that Isaac Asimov was the best science writer in the world (reserving second best for himself). Thus the dedication in Clarke's book Report on Planet Three reads:
"In accordance with the terms of the Clarke-Asimov treaty, the second-best science writer dedicates this book to the second-best science-fiction writer."

More than books...

*What records, audio tapes, videotapes, and software are available?

RECORDS AND AUDIO TAPES

Issac [sic] Asimov
Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul, Minn., 1972, 2 cassettes (120 mins.).
Recorded Oct. 15, 1972, at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Asimov talks about his belief that the goals of the women's movement will be achieved not through persistent attacks on discrimination, but by social necessity demanding the rationing of motherhood in the face of massive overpopulation.
Isaac Asimov talks: an interview
Writer's Voice, Cincinnati, 1974, 1 cassette.
Asimov discusses writing and his career as an author with Lois Rosenthal.
Isaac Asimov Himself
read by Isaac Asimov, Audio Partners Publishing, Auburn Ca., 1975, 2 cassettes (180 mins.).
Unabridged readings of "The Immortal Bard", "The Last Question", "Someday", "The Jokester", and "The Ugly Little Boy", plus anecdotes and comments.
Foundation: the psychohistorians
read by William Shatner, Caedmon, New York, 1976, 33 1/3 rpm., stereo, 12 in., 1 disc, 59 mins.
Foundation: the psychohistorians
read by William Shatner, HarperAudio, 1 cassette.
Nightfall
read by various performers, Conde Nast, 1976, 33 1/3 rpm., 12 in., 1 disc.
Inside Star Trek
Columbia, New York, 1976, 33 1/3 rpm, stereo, 12 in., 1 disc.
Includes the track "Asimov's world of science fiction".
The Mayors
read by Isaac Asimov, Caedmon, New York, 1977, 33 1/3 rpm., stereo, 12 in., 1 disc, 71 mins.
The Mayors
read by Isaac Asimov, HarperAudio, 1 cassette.
The Mule
read by Isaac Asimov, Caedmon, New York, 1981, 33 1/3 rpm., stereo, 12 in., 1 disc, 59 mins.
Foundation and Empire: Mule
read by Isaac Asimov, HarperAudio, 1 cassette.
Foundation's Edge
read by Isaac Asimov, Caedmon, New York, 1982, 33 1/3 rpm., stereo, 12 in., 1 disc, 62 mins.
Foundation's Edge
read by Isaac Asimov, HarperAudio, 1 cassette.
Asimov - Science Fiction
read by Isaac Asimov, Caedmon, New York, 1983, 33 1/3 rpm., stereo, 12 in., 1 disc, 51 mins.
Asimov - Science Fiction
read by Isaac Asimov, Listening Library, 1985, 2 cassettes (117 mins.)
Unabridged readings of "I Just Make Them Up, See?", "Someday", "The Feeling of Power", "Satisfaction Guaranteed", and "Living Space".
Stories from The Complete Robot
read by Lloyd Battista with an introduction by Asimov, Warner Audio Pub., New York, 1985, 2 cassettes (120 mins.), Dolby processed.
Unabridged readings of "Mirror image", "Segregationist", and "Evidence".
Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
read by Peter Marinker and Ed Bishop, Listen For Pleasure, Ontario Canada, 1986, 2 cassettes (120 mins.), Dolby processed.
Unabridged readings of "Strikebreaker" and "It's Such a Beautiful Day", plus Frederik Pohl's "Soaking Up the Rays".
Foundation
read by Isaac Asimov, Bantam Audio, New York, 1988, 2 cassettes (180 mins.), Dolby processed.
Abridged reading of Foundation.
Best of Science Fiction and Fantasy
Dove Audio, 1991, 4 cassettes (360 mins.).
Unabridged reading of "Someday" plus 10 short stories by other authors.
Asimov's Mysteries
read by Dan Lazar, Books on Tape, 8 cassettes (480 mins.).
Unabridged reading.
The Best of Isaac Asimov
read by Dan Lazar, Books on Tape, 8 cassettes (720 mins.).
Unabridged reading.
In Memory Yet Green
read by Dan Lazar, Books on Tape, 20 cassettes (1800 mins.).
Unabridged reading.
The Complete Robot
read by Larry McKeever, Books on Tape, 17 cassettes (1530 mins.).
Unabridged reading.
Foundation
read by Larry McKeever, Books on Tape, 6 cassettes (360 mins.).
Unabridged reading.
Foundation and Empire
read by Dan Lazar, Books on Tape, 8 cassettes (480 mins.).
Unabridged reading.
Second Foundation
read by Dan Lazar, Books on Tape, 8 cassettes (480 mins.).
Unabridged reading.
Foundation's Edge
read by Larry McKeever, Books on Tape, 9 cassettes (810 mins.).
Unabridged reading.
The Complete Robot
Random Audiobooks, 2 cassettes, 1988.
The Isaac Asimov Cassette Library
Random Audiobooks, 6 cassettes.
Science Fiction Favorites of Isaac Asimov
read by Isaac Asimov, Listening Library, 1975, 6 cassettes (288 mins.).
Unabridged reading of more than 10 stories.
Murder at the ABA
read by Daniel Grace, Books on Tape, 8 cassettes (480 mins.).
Unabridged reading.
Prelude to Foundation
read by David Dukes, Bantam Audio Publishing, 1989, 2 cassettes (180 mins.).
The Robots of Dawn
read by Isaac Asimov, HarperAudio, 1 cassette.
Abridged reading.
Norby the Mixed-Up Robot
read by Mark Hamill, HarperAudio, 1 cassette (45 mins).

VIDEOTAPES

Analog Presents: Isaac Asimov Visions of the Future
Quality Video, Minneapolis, Minn., 1992, 45 mins.
Asimov's last major interview, in which he talks about robots and robotics, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, deep space travel, terraforming planets, artificial intelligence, and the origins of the universe.
Voyage to the Outer Planets and Beyond
Today Home Entertainment, 1987, 54 mins.
A simulated video voyage through the Solar System, combining NASA and JPL images from the Voyager space probe with a digitized recording of Holst's "The Planets", with Isaac Asimov as host and narrator. Includes a full color NASA brochure about the planets, and a space almanac listing solar and lunar eclipses, occultations, and periodic comets.
Isaac Asimov's Robots VCR Mystery Game
Eastman Kodak Company, 1988, 40 mins.
A game based on the worlds of The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun, the players watch the tape and uncover each of the six photo clue cards at selected points in the story. At the end of the tape, each player makes an accusation based on the clues provided. Each clue card has two sides with different clues on each side, providing 32 possible outcomes to the game. Clue cards are provided for four levels of difficulty; suggested for 1 to 12 players, ages 10 and up.

COMPUTER SOFTWARE

The Complete Stories Volume 1
A Voyager Expanded Book, The Voyager Company, Santa Monica, Ca., 1992, one 1.4 MB high density floppy. Available for Macintosh, requires at least system 6.0.7 and hard drive with 2.2 MB available.
The entire text of the book, including features allowing the reader to search for every occurrence of any word, add margin comments and end notes, highlight text, mark pages and leave bookmarks.
Isaac Asimov's The Ultimate Robot
Byron Preiss Multimedia, Microsoft Home, CD-ROM. Available for Macintosh, requires Mac II or better, 13 in. color monitor, System 7.0 or later, 5 MB memory, CD-ROM drive.
Available for Multimedia PC, requires a Multimedia PC or compatible, with 386SX or higher microprocessor, 4 MB of RAM, 1-3 MB of available hard disk space, CD-ROM drive, MPC-1 Compatible sound card, and VGA+ graphics (640x480x256 colors), MS-DOS 3.1 or later, MS Windows 3.1 or later.
Contains the text of all of Asimov's major stories and essays about robots; illustrations of Asimov's robots by Ralph McQuarrie (production designer of Star Wars); an interactive robot toolkit for building animated robots; photos of many Asimov book covers; a collection of photos of Asimov in various settings; Quicktime movies of Asimov interviews and some of his television appearances, Quicktime clips from several motion pictures featuring robots, including Star Wars, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Forbidden Planet; videos of real robots used in space, undersea, offices, and labs; an animated handbook on robot movement; and a timeline of robotic history.
Isaac Asimov Science Adventure II
Knowledge Adventure. Available for DOS computers.
A virtual science museum with over 150 rooms, with over 1000 illustrated, interactive, and interlinked articles by Isaac Asimov, adapted from Isaac Asimov's Chronology of Science and Discovery.
Isaac Asimov's Kayleth, (only released in the U.K.). Available for the Commodore 64.
A graphic adventure with a robot storyline which is not in the least integrated into the universe of the novels.
The Robots of Dawn, Epyx. Available for the Commodore 64.
A text adventure released in 1986 which is well integrated into the world of the novels.

BOARD GAMES

Isaac Asimov Presents Stellar Traders, Steve Jackson games.
A game of stellar cargo transportation with little relation to Asimov.
Isaac Asimov Presents Superquiz
A trivia game based on Ken Fisher's Superquiz books.

Have any of Asimov's books or stories been made into a movie or television series?

Nightfall:
A movie named Nightfall was made after a group in Hollywood bought the rights from Doubleday in the late 1980's. The movie plot had practically no relation to the story, and by all accounts is truly and thoroughly awful. Asimov was never consulted in the making of it, and completely disowned any responsibility for it. Nightfall was released in 1988, starring David Birney and Sarah Douglas; directed by Paul Mayersberg; running time 83 minutes. If you should happen to have a chance to view it, run, don't walk, the other way.
Light Years:
An animated science fiction film from France, for which Asimov took the original, poorly done translation to English, and reworked the translation into good English. He did not have any part in writing the script or story, concerning a warrior that begins an adventure into the future in a search to discover the unseen evil force that is destroying his world. Light Years was released in 1988; directed by Harvey Weinstein, produced by Rene Laloux, running time 79 minutes.
Fantastic Voyage:
Rather than an Asimov story made into a movie, FV is a movie for which Asimov wrote a novelization of the screenplay. Initially he considered such a project as beneath his dignity, but then warmed to the idea once he realized that he could include a lot of anatomy and physiology. In his book he tried to correct some of the most glaring flaws in the screenplay, but nevertheless felt uncomfortable about the whole idea of miniaturization. (His dissatisfaction eventually led him to write Fantastic Voyage II.) Asimov wrote so much faster than the movie was produced that the book came out half a year before the movie was released, giving the mistaken impression that the movie was based on the book. He is not listed in the credits of the movie because he had no part in its production. Fantastic Voyage was released in 1966, starring Raquel Welch, Edmond O'Brien, and Donald Pleasance; directed by Richard Fleischer; running time 100 minutes.
I, Robot:
In August 1967, John Mantley, the producer of the television show "Gunsmoke" expressed interest in Asimov's robot stories, and paid for option rights. The option was renewed every year for the next twelve years until finally the rights to produce a movie were bought. After Asimov refused to do the screen adaptation, Harlan Ellison was hired, and though he wrote a screenplay in that Asimov was greatly pleased with, the movie was never made. Ellison tells the story of his battle with Hollywood in the introduction to I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay, published in December 1994.
Foundation:
The rights to a Foundation movie were purchased in 1994, but as the I, Robot experience illustrates, it remains to be seen if a film will ever be produced and released.
Evidence:
In September of 1946, Asimov sold the movie, radio, and television rights to the short story "Evidence" for $250. Welles never made a movie from the story.
Star Trek - The Motion Picture:
At the request of Gene Roddenberry, Asimov provided advice for this picture, and was listed at the very end of the credits as the Science Adviser.
Salvage 1:
A science fiction television series starring Andy Griffith which aired on ABC in 1979, for which Asimov served as a science adviser. Griffith played Harry Broderick, a scrap and salvage man who undertook such adventures as building a rocket that took him to the moon to collect abandoned space hardware, moving an iceberg from the North Pole to provide water for a drought-stricken island, and pumping oil from dried-out wells.
Probe:
Asimov was credited as adviser and co-creator of this television series, which lasted for a 2-hour pilot and six 1-hour episodes on ABC in 1988 before a writer's strike came along and ended the series. It starred Parker Stevenson as brilliant young scientist Austin James, who owned his own high-tech think tank consulting firm, and used his scientific expertise to solve baffling crimes as a sort of modern day Sherlock Holmes.

Coming attractions...

Here are just some of the questions planned to be answered in a future version of the FAQ:
  1. Can the three laws work in "the real world"?
(HTML Version) FAQ on Isaac Asimov
Originator:
Soh Kam Yung
sauron@ee.nus.sg

Current Maintainer:
Edward Seiler
Ed.Seiler@gsfc.nasa.gov