Rating: 
Summary: Not To Be Missed!
Review: This is a classic science fiction book, consisting of nine works of shorter fiction by Isaac Asimov linked together by the premise of Dr. Susan Calvin looking back on the history of robotics and her career on the event of her retirement. This book was published first in 1950, while the stories themselves were published in "Astounding Science Fiction" between September 1940 and June of 1950.
If I were to rate this solely on the content, it would probably be a four-star book, but I don't think one can ignore the importance roll it has played in Asimov's writing, and in the field of science fiction as a whole. It was this book that first introduced the three laws of robotics that were developed by John W. Campbell, Jr. and Asimov. This book would also lay the foundation for much of Asimov's work for the rest of his career.
This books importance to the genre has increased as time has passed. In 1952, it was rated 23rd on the Astounding/Analog All-Time Poll, it then was rated 21st in 1956, and all the way up to 12th in 1966. In addition, it was tied for 4th on the Locus All-Time Poll for Collection in 1999.
1) "Robbie" was published in September of 1940 under the title "Strange Playfellow", and is the story of a young girl who grows attached to her nursemaid robot, Robbie, against the wishes of her mother. The story is supposed to take place in 1996. This became the only story in this book to be recognized by readers separate from the book as a whole when it tied for 37th on the list of short stories in the Locus All-Time Poll in 1999.
2) "Runaround" was published in March of 1942, and in terms of the story's chronology is the first of the Greg Powell and Mike Donovan stories. They are setting up a mining operation, when their robot malfunctions where they are unable to safely reach it, and it is running around in circles. This story takes place around 2015.
3) "Reason" was published in April of 1941 and is the second of the Greg Powell and Mike Donovan stories. In this one they are bring a new type of robot to a power generating space station to set it up to run the operation so that fewer men will have to stay there. When the robot develops a religion of its own they need to determine what the consequences will be. This story takes place six months after "Runaround".
4) "Catch That Rabbit" was published in February of 1944, and is the last of the Greg Powell and Mike Donovan stories. It is probably the weakest story in the entire book. They are looking into a problem with the new multiple robot, where they sometimes fail to function when there are no humans present to watch them. This entire story appears to be written for the punch line at the end, and takes place 6 months after "Reason".
5) "Liar!" was published in May of 1941. In this story a telepathic robot is accidentally developed, and a team of experts, including Dr. Susan Calvin, try to determine what happened in the build process caused the error. This story takes place in 2021.
6) "Little Lost Robot" was published in March of 1947. In this story a specially built robot with a weakened first law has disappeared, and his hiding in a group of 62 other robots that are physically identical. Dr. Susan Calvin searches for a solution that will not force them to destroy all 63 robots. This story takes place in 2029.
7) "Escape" was published as "Paradoxical Escape" in August of 1945. In this story, Dr. Calvin tries to prevent the plans for a Hyperatomic Drive from destroying the positronic brain of U.S. Robots as happened to their competitor, `Consolidated'. This story takes place immediately after "Little Lost Robot".
8) "Evidence" was published in September of 1946. In this story a candidate for office threatens to leak a rumor that his opponent is a robot unless U.S. Robots can prove otherwise. This story takes place in 2032.
9) "The Evitable Conflict" was published in June of 1950. In this story, super robotic brains are running the world. However, there appear to be mistakes being made and Dr. Calvin is trying to determine how and why. This story takes place in 2052.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth a read
Review: This is a collection of very early short stories about robots. The book is dominated by explorations of the implications and manifestations of Asimov's famous Three Laws of Robotics. For those unfamiliar with Asimov's science fiction about robots, these are absolutely inviolable rules which govern the behavior of all robots in Asimov's fiction. They 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. Asimov's explorations are engaging and thought-provoking, and many of his stories take some unexpected twists (although at other times they are painfully predictable). My main complaint is with the characters. It sometimes seems as if the only characters with any personality, or even with a sense of humor, are the robots. When the humans aren't completely emotionless, they are constantly bickering with each other or bemoaning each others' incompetence. While this certainly emphasizes one character's view that robots are "a cleaner, better breed then we are," both the dispassion and the disagreeability of the main characters are painfully overemphasized. Even so, this is definitely worth a read, especially given its history among the earliest fictional writings about robots.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I've ever read!
Review: This is not merely one story, but a collection of stories taken from eras of time from 1998 to 2059. The book is set with the premise of a reporter interviewing one of the head 'robopsychologists' at US Robots and Mechanical Men, Inc. She tells of many of her and her fellow scientists' encounters with a runaway 'lost' robot, a mind-reading robot, a practical jokester robot, and a robot named Cutie, who refuses to believe that human beings created him and goes on to form a robot 'cult', recruiting other robots who then proceed to bowdown and worship the self-proclaimed 'prophet'. Although written over 50 years ago, Isaac Asimov gives great insight into the future world of science and culture that we can only imagine.
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