''The Best of Isaac Asimov'' is a collection of twelve

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

by American writer

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 ...

, published by

Sphere A sphere () is a Geometry, geometrical object that is a solid geometry, three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...

in 1973. It begins with a short introduction (six pages in the Doubleday hardcover edition) giving various details on the stories, such as how they came to be written, or what significance merits their inclusion in a "best of" collection, as well as some of Dr. Asimov's thoughts on a best of collection itself. The stories included are two of his early works, two of his late works (post-1960), and eight from the 1950s, which he refers to as his "golden decade" in the introduction. Except for the last story in the book, "

Mirror Image A mirror image (in a plane mirror) is a reflected duplication of an object that appears almost identical, but is reversed in the direction perpendicular to the mirror surface. As an optical effect it results from reflection off from substances ...

", none of the stories are related to his ''

Robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...

'' and ''

Foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

'' series, while a few ("

The Last Question "The Last Question" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It first appeared in the November 1956 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and was anthologized in the collections Nine Tomorrows (1959), The Best of Isaac A ...

", "

The Dead Past "The Dead Past" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov, first published in the April 1956 issue of '' Astounding Science Fiction''. It was later collected in '' Earth Is Room Enough'' (1957) and '' The Best of Isaac Asim ...

", and "

Anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints ...

") mention the

Multivac Multivac is the name of a fictional supercomputer appearing in over a dozen science fiction stories by American writer Isaac Asimov. Asimov's depiction of Multivac, a mainframe computer accessible by terminal, originally by specialists using mac ...

computer.

*Introduction *"

Marooned off Vesta "Marooned off Vesta" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was the third story he wrote, and the first to be published. Written in July 1938 when Asimov was 18, it was rejected by '' Astounding Science Fiction'' i ...

" (1939) *" Nightfall" (1941), novelette *"

C-Chute "C-Chute" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the October 1951 issue of ''Galaxy Magazine'' and later appeared in Asimov's collections ''Nightfall and Other Stories'' (1969) and '' The Best ...

" (1951), novelette *"

The Martian Way ''The Martian Way'' is a science fiction novella by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1952 issue of ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' and reprinted in the collections '' The Martian Way and Other Stories'' (1955), '' T ...

" (1952), novelette *" The Deep" (1952), novelette *"

The Fun They Had "The Fun They Had" is a science fiction story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It first appeared in a children's newspaper in 1951 and was reprinted in the February 1954 issue of ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'', ''Earth Is Room En ...

" (1951) *"

" (1956), ''Multivac'' series *"

" (1956), novelette, ''Multivac'' series *"

The Dying Night "The Dying Night" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. The story first appeared in the July 1956 issue of ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'', and was reprinted in the collections ''Nine Tomorrows'' (1959), ' ...

" (1956), novelette, ''Wendell Urth'' series *"

" (1959), ''Multivac'' series *"

The Billiard Ball "The Billiard Ball" is a science fiction short story by American author Isaac Asimov, written in September 1966 and first published in the March 1967 issue of '' If''. It appeared in Asimov's 1968 collection ''Asimov's Mysteries'', in his 1973 coll ...

" (1967), novelette *"

" (1972), ''Robot'' series #2.5

References

External links

* * 1973 short story collections Science fiction short story collections by Isaac Asimov Sphere Books books {{1970s-sf-story-collection-stub

Contents

References

External links