''X Stands for Unknown'' is a collection of seventeen nonfiction science essays written by
Isaac Asimov
yi, יצחק אזימאװ
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR
, spouse =
, relatives =
, children = 2
, death_date =
, death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
, nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...
. It was the seventeenth of a series of books collecting essays from ''
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'', these being first published between January 1982 and May 1983. It was first published by
Doubleday & Company in 1984.
Contents
*Physics
**1 Read Out Your Good Book in Verse (May 1982)
**2 Four Hundred Octaves (June 1982)
**3 The Three Who Died Too Soon (July 1982)
**4 X Stands for Unknown (August 1982)
*Chemistry
**5 Big Brother (September 1982)
**6 Bread and Stone (October 1982)
**7 A Difference of an 'E' (November 1982)
**8 Silicon Life After All (December 1982)
*Astronomy
**9 The Long Ellipse (January 1982)
**10 Change of Time and State (April 1982)
**11 Whatzisname's Orbit (March 1982)
**12 Ready and Waiting (February 1983)
**13 Dead Centre (April 1983)
**14 Out in the Boondocks (May 1983)
*Mathematics
**15 To Ungild Refinèd Gold (January 1983)
**16 The Circle of the Earth (February 1982)
**17 The Armies of the Night (March 1983)
Reception
Dave Langford
David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for most ...
reviewed ''X Stands for Unknown'' for ''
White Dwarf
A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...
'' #79, and stated that "If you're scientifically literate you'll find the interesting bits buried in over-familiar stuff (though I always cheer Asimov when he stomps the crackpots). If not, you probably don't read books like this. That's showbiz."
Reviews
*Review by Edward James (1985) in ''Paperback Inferno'', #55
References
External links
Asimovonline.com'X' Stands For Unknown
at goodreads.com
Essay collections by Isaac Asimov
1984 books
Doubleday (publisher) books
Works originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
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