''It's Been a Good Life'' (2002) is a book edited by Janet Jeppson Asimov. The book, published by

Prometheus Books Prometheus Books is a publishing company founded in August 1969 by the philosopher Paul Kurtz (who was also the founder of the Council for Secular Humanism, Center for Inquiry, and co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry). The publ ...

(), is a collection of

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

's diaries, personal letters, and a condensation of his three earlier autobiographies: * ''In Memory Yet Green'', (1979,

Doubleday Doubleday may refer to: * Doubleday (surname), including a list of people with the name Publishing imprints * Doubleday (publisher), imprint of Knopf Doubleday, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House * Doubleday Canada, imprint of Penguin Random ...

) * ''In Joy Still Felt'', (1980,

) * ''I. Asimov: A Memoir'', (1994,

) Janet Jeppson Asimov's primary role was in choosing the entries and occasionally editing them so the reader would know the people of whom he was speaking. In one case, her edited version is less explicit than Isaac's original, where Isaac and "a famous man" debate

anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

(chapter 23 of the book). The famous man voices opposition to scientists since some had aided the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, and Isaac replies that this is exactly the same as condemning the Jews for crucifying

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. The edited version omits the celebrity's name—

Elie Wiesel Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel (September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, List of Nobel Peace Prize laureates#1980, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored Elie Wiesel bibliogra ...

. In this book Janet Asimov revealed for the first time that Isaac had died of

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

as a result of contracting the

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

virus through a blood transfusion he had received in 1983. This had been kept a secret at the time – April 1992 – because of widespread prejudice against AIDS patients. The title "it's been a good life" is a quote from the concluding page of '' Asimov Laughs Again'' (1991), one of his last works.Asimov, Isaac (1994) ''I. Asimov: A Memoir'', p. 561

References

2002 non-fiction books Books by Isaac Asimov Literary autobiographies Diaries Collections of letters {{lit-bio-book-stub