en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov
I was suddenly taken seriously and the world of science fiction became aware that I existed. Taken together, they are his most famous work of science fiction. Many years later, he continued the series with 124 Foundation's Edge ( 125 1982) and 126 Foundation and Earth ( 127 1986) and then went back to before the original trilogy with 128 Prelude to Foundation ( 129 1988) and 130 Forward the Foundation ( 131 1992). His 132 robot stories -- many of which were collected in 133 I, Robot ( 134 1950) -- were begun at about the same time. They promulgated a set of rules of 135 ethics for robots (see 136 Three Laws of Robotics) and intelligent machines that greatly influenced other writers and thinkers in their treatment of the subject. One such short story, 137 The Bicentennial Man was made into a movie starring 138 Robin Williams. He also wrote a spoof science article, 139 The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline in 140 1948, which he feared would affect his chances of obtaining his doctorate. In 141 1956 Asimov published the short story " 142 The Last Question", his personal favorite and considered by many to be a contender to "Nightfall". It deals with the ability of humankind to cope with and overcome 143 entropy. Popular science During the late 1950s and 1960s, Asimov shifted gears somewhat, and substantially decreased his fiction output (he published only four adult novels between 144 1957's The Naked Sun and 145 1982's Foundation's Edge, two of which were mysteries). At the same time, he greatly increased his non-fiction production, writing mostly on science topics; Meanwhile, the 147 Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction invited him to create a monthly non-fiction column, ostensibly dedicated to 148 popular science, but with Asimov having complete editorial freedom. The first of these columns appeared in November of 149 1958, and they followed monthly thereafter until Asimov's terminal illness. These columns, periodically collected into books by his principal publisher, 150 Doubleday and Company, made Asimov's reputation as a "Great Explainer" of science. He published Asimov's Guide to the Bible in two volumes -- covering the 151 Old Testament in 1967 and the 152 New Testament in 1969 -- and then combined them into one 1300-page volume in 1981. Replete with maps and tables, the guide goes through the books of the 153 Bible in order, explaining the history of each one and the political influences that affected it, as well as biographical information about the important characters. Asimov also wrote several essays on the social contentions of his day, including "Thinking About Thinking" and "Science: Knock Plastic" ( 154 1967). Other Never entirely lacking wit and humor, towards the end of his life Asimov published a series of collections of limericks, mostly written by himself, starting with 155 Lecherous Limericks, which appeared in 156 1975. Asimov published two volumes of autobiography: 157 In Memory Yet Green ( 158 1979) and 159 In Joy Still Felt ( 160 1980). The epilogue was written by 162 Janet Asimov (ne Jeppson), shortly after his death. Much of Asimov's fiction dealt with themes of 164 paternalism. His first robot story, " 165 Robbie", concerned a robotic 166 nanny. As the robots grew more sophisticated, their interventions became more wide-reaching and subtle. In " 167 Evidence", a robot masquerading as a human successfully runs for elective office. In " 168 The Evitable Conflict", the robots ran humanity from behind the scenes, acting as nannies to the whole species. Later, in 169 Robots and Empire, a robot develops what he calls the 170 Zeroth Law of Robotics, which states that "A robot may not injure humanity, nor, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm". He also decides that the robotic presence is stifling humanity's freedom, and that the best course is for the robots to phase themselves out. A non-robot story, 171 The End of Eternity, features a similar conflict and resolution. In 172 The Foundation Series (which did not originally have robots), a scientist implements a semi-secret plan to create a 173 Utopia. This series has its version of 174 Platonic guardians, called the Second Foundation, to perfect and protect the plan. When Asimov stopped writing the series in the 175 1950s, the Second Foundation was depicted as benign protectors of humanity. When he revisted the series in the 176 1980s, he made the paternalistic themes even more explicit. Literally every animal, vegetable, and mineral on Gaia participated in a shared consciousness, and worked together for the greater good. In 180 Foundation and Earth, the protagonist must decide whether or not to allow the development of 181 Galaxia, the ultimate in paternalistic societies. Two of Asimov's last novels, 182 Prelude to Foundation and 183 Forward the Foundation, introduce robots to the Foundation universe. The robots are depicted as 184 covert operatives, acting for the benefit of humanity. Criticisms Asimov was criticised for the lack of sex and aliens in his science fiction. As is evident from writings later in his career, he attempted to placate his critics, particularly with regard to sex. He wrote 185 The Gods Themselves specifically as a response to these criticisms. Asimov said that of all his writings, he was most proud of the middle section of The Gods Themselves. Others have criticized him for a lack of strong female characters in his early work. In his autobiographical writings, he acknowledges this, and responds by pointing to inexperience. Asimov: A Memoir, April 366 1994 Other * Opus 100 ( 367 1969) * Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts ( 368 1979) * Azazel ( 369 1988) * Yours, Isaac Asimov: A Lifetime of Letters by Isaac Asimov, edited by Stanley Asimov (Doubleday), was among 370 1996 371 Hugo Awards nominations for the best non-fiction book. All text is available under the terms of the 409 GNU Free Documentation License (see 410 Copyrights for details). Wikipedia is powered by 412 MediaWiki, an open source 413 wiki engine.
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