Rating: 
Summary: Worth to read
Review: This is the first volume of the robot series and to get to understand the other Robot books, you have to read this. It will make it much easier to undesrstand the concept of Robot and the laws of Robotics, as well as some 'Asimov histories' ocassionally mentioned in his other Robot books. This book has bunch of short stories of robots which are all written in diffrent time and was on diffrent magazines however they all fit into the Asimove's world timeline.(Timeline in Asimov's Robot, Empire and Foundation series is quite important because they all connect together somehow) So if you wanna make a fresh new start on Asimov books, start with this book.. or other books with those robot short stories. Sometimes it's a bit confusing because there are books with diffrent titles and the same content-those books seem to be containing some new stories but they don't because Asimov wrote only about 20 stories (or little more i'm not sure) and that's all they can get since Asimov's dead(sadly).
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Summary: A storyteller's history of robots
Review: While it is quite possible for many of these stories to stand on their own, each individual chapter in Asimov's classic on the mind, behavior, and history of robots is connected with the others, forming a coherent personalized account of his fabled robot histories.
"I, Robot" features robots from a time many modern science-fiction fans can't remember--the 40s. Given the age of these stories, they hold up surprisingly well, with a few small exceptions such as the absense of microchips and even the mention of "vacuums" being used in the robots' construction. The robots' construction is not the main interest of Asimov though, and this book would have been just as interesting and important had he not introduced the positronic brain. Asimov's interest is the activities of the robot brain itself.
A robot will go insane if presented with a logical fallacy? Robots will often lose their nerve if confronted with situations of varying danger to humans? Robots will outright lie to a human if they think the truth will hurt them? All consequences of Asimov's now legendary Three Laws of Robotics. Through these laws, Asimov's series of stories not only tell the history, but also how certain problems within the laws came to light and were solved. The strict programmed code of behavior (later correctly compaired to a rigid ethical system or religion) is what guides every robot's action--unless it is tampered with, and even then the actions of merely perverted responses to the Three Laws.
So what do we have here? We have a series of well-written and fascinating stories involving puzzling problems and troubleshooting by technicians and "robopsychologists". More than that, the three laws exemplify human behavior in relation to religion. Only with robots, to break these rules or go against leads to insanity, or no action at all. Or maybe you don't need to be thinking about that while reading. Asimov's fatherly writing style, neither entirely quaint or mind-numbingly complicated, and ability to write "out of time", so to speak, maybe for a very long-lived classic of SF, both fun to read and interesting in its influence. His characters follow a few standard models and hardly vary too much, but I was not bothered by this seeing as how the stories were crafted so well and the characters weren't unrealistic. Now if he could only take care of the Gilbert and Sullivan references, there'd be nothing stopping this from attaining the status of a truely timeless classic.
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Summary: Asimov predicted the computer nerd stereotype
Review: While rereading this book, I was struck at how prescient Asimov was concerning computers and the mysteries of their apparent anomalous behavior. As a computer programmer, I see many similarities between debugging software and the intricacies of robopsychology. Dr. Susan Calvin, the preeminent expert in the psychology of the robot brain, is the stereotypical computer geek. She was largely humorous, unattractive and had no romantic life, so Asimov predicted what we now see as the typical computer nerd personality. Considering that the stories were all written on or before 1950, long before computers became ubiquitous, the accuracy of his stories regarding the increase in the use of computers is amazing. Recall that this was a time when most experts believed that there was a worldwide market of somewhere around a dozen computers. Also, no one had any idea that it was possible to shrink computers down to the size we have now. Asimov had to postulate a device called a positronic brain to explain it.
In the first story, there is the love between a robot and a little girl, something that is certainly realistic. The concern that the mother has about the girl's affection for the robot and her insistence that it is damaging the child's personality is also fairly predictable. There will always be people who are afraid of new things, while automobiles are now considered a necessity, at first they were considered monstrosities.
Several of the other stories involve robots whose behavior appears to be unbalanced. However, after examining the situation and sticking to the unshakable three laws of robotics, the human characters are able to determine the reasons for the behavior. This really struck a chord with me. There have been so many times when I was convinced that my program was behaving mysteriously and contrary to what it should be doing. However, in all cases, detailed analysis by following the rules of logic led to the inevitable conclusion that the computer was operating according to the innate laws of programming.
While the final story is in this collection of stories about robots, it deals more with the growing roles of computers in human society. The world has been broken up into large economic and political blocks, and computers control nearly all-economic activity. This story is the one that is closest to the current situation, as the growth of the Internet can be considered the first step in a world wide computing structure controlling the economy.
I love these stories and have read this book about five times. Asimov is both optimistic and pessimistic in writing about robots. He is optimistic in the belief that technology will continue to advance in dramatic fashion, but is pessimistic about the degree of reaction to it. Opposition to the use of robots is a theme woven throughout the stories, sometimes reaching
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Summary: The TRUE master of sci-fi
Review: Isaac Asimov was an absolutely brillaint man. And that shows in this amazing compilation of short stories dealing with his most famous creation-the Robot. Not many know that Asimov was actually the first to coin the term "robot" which is now used in common language. I, Robot introduces us to a saga of epic preportions (which spans an AMAZING 14 books!). In the future, the robot has been created. However, these robots must live by three laws.1. A Robot may not harm a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey a human beings orders, if the order does not conflict with the first law. 3. A robot must protect its own exhistence unless it conflicts with the first two laws. All robots must follow these laws. Or do they? In this particular compilation, you will read about a robot that does its best to return to its owner, robots that dance on mars, a robot that can read minds, a politician that is accused of being a robot himself, and many more fantastic tales. By this book and it will give you non-stop reading pleasure. And be sure to by the next book in the saga, The Caves of Steel. Which I have reviewed on its page. This book gets my highest praise available: It is put into the class of Star Wars, Star Trek, 2001, and Ender's Game.
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Summary: Good Asimov short-stories
Review: If you've never read Asimov this is a good book to introduce you his robot series. This collection of robot stories that appeared in several magazines in the 50's are entertaining and clever. Asimov's style as usual is flowing and engaging. The stories deal basically with diverse situations that provoke peculiar behavior in robots. They are almost little mysteries that the characters need to understand and resolve. Drunk robots, crazy robots, religious robots...take your pick. It all makes sense in the end and Asimov is extremely careful in always working along the rules he sets in the beginning. In short, very entertaining and undoubtedly a classic. These are the stories that created the way in which we see robots today.
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Summary: This book will change your opinion about science fiction.
Review: Fans of science fiction know how great this book is. If you consider yourself a fan of SF, and have not yet read this book...
...you are missing a cornerstone of the genre.
I was. I felt like an idiot after inhaling this book in a few short hours. How could I have neglected this for so long?
Yes, it's about the potential relationship between humans and robots, and addresses several near-theological questions about that relationship.
The book is comprised of several short stories written by Asimov in the fifties, linked via a plot device that works fairly well (an interview).
Each chapter reads like a novella or short story, and some display a fair amount of suspense. Some have an O. Henry type ending as well.
They are prime examples of classic SF...they are so good they will convert those previously averse to science fiction. You will find yourself rethinking about your own beliefs about the soul, about God, about identity, about politics, industrialism, nationalism...and not in any sort of heavy-handed way.
A truly amazing and eye-opening reading experience.
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Summary: THE definitive work on the origin of robots
Review: ¡°I, Robot¡± is considered to be the definitive work on the origin and nature of robots. All subsequent movies, book, and television shows based on robots or containing robotic characters find their foundation in author Isaac Asimov¡¯s ¡°I, Robot¡±. This book contains 9 interconnected stories that follow the evolution of the robot from nothing more than a glorified play toy to an advanced, complex machine that is indistinguishable from humans and capable of ruling the world. Each story adds its own distinct link the robotic evolutionary tale, and many of them include the humorous subplot of two skilled, but hapless, robot operators who seem to be the lot made to suffer for the growing pains of the robots. The most remarkable aspect of ¡°I, Robot¡± is the establishment of the immutable ¡®Three Laws of Robotics¡±:
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 orders given to 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 and Second Laws.
Throughout popular media in the past half-century you can clear examples where these laws influenced the development of robotic characters. The characters of Bishop in the movie ¡°Aliens¡± and Data from ¡°Star Trek: The Next Generation¡± are the two most notable examples.
¡°I, Robot¡± soars through its narrative, creating a fast and enjoyable read. The last tale is the only area where the book starts to lag a little bit. Yet, the strength of the previous eight stories more than compensates. ¡°I, Robot¡± is a seminal work of science fiction writing that must be read by all who profess the love the genre and even those who are merely curious about the subject.
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Summary: I, Robot
Review: I, Robot
Isaac Asimov
Reviewed by Leinad Laup
09-23-02 Isaac Asimov did a good job making I, Robot. The Author wrote about the future. The author writes as if he's really in the future. He is such a good author that you can actually believe it is real. It's freaky that this author would know that we'd walk on the moon or that we'd use sunrays to power the world someday. This author wrote this book I think, to inspire people to us his suggestions. I think in a way he shaped the future.
My favorite character throughout the whole book was Herbie the robot. Herbie, could speak telepathically and read people's minds. Yet the robot can't hurt the peoples feelings. If he does he thinks he breaking the first law of robotics. The first law is "A robot may not hurt a human being or, through inaction let a human being come to harm." This story continues and the people actually think he's telling the truth.
I thought these stories were amazing and that someone in the past about fifty years ago predicted this much. It's just amazing that he could come up with these ideas. He predicted that people would not only walk on the moon but on Mars and use the sun's light to power the world. He also predicted that robots would even exist. I absolutely loved this book!
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Summary: THE Master of true science-fiction!
Review: Without a doubt, Isaac Asimov is the greatest scientific and science-fiction writer to ever exist on this world (or did he really come from some other world or even our distant future to grace us with these fantastically written stories?}. With "I,Robot", of course, he set the bar (very high) for any and all other robotic tales or characters pretty much forever! ALL his works rank with "Ringworld", "Redezvous with Rama", "Childhood's End", "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Puppet Masters", "Neuromancer", "Mona Lisa Overdrive", "Cryptonomicon", "Prey", "Snow Crash", "Cyber Hunter", and dozens more in both the science-fiction and cyberpunk genres.
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Summary: Seminal and misunderstood
Review: This collection of short stories by Asimov seems to generate a huge variety of responses, from those who take it as a masterpiece to those who wouldn't use it for toilet paper. I think both sides are wrong. The book is a collection of some of Asimov's short stories involving robots. They're arranged in "chronological" order with a wrapper story to make this volume an outline of the rise of robots and robotics in the Asimov universe. As such, he explores the ideas of what it means to be human versus being a robot. This is done largely through the application of the three laws of robotics (quoted by many a review of this book) to real-life situations - in other words when things get complicated. The result is a bunch of stories which are a bit like logical puzzles, often with a philosophical basis. I enjoyed them and despite their limitations they made me think. My favourite is Reason with the philosophical rantings of Cutie - the first robot to question his/her existence. The limitations are that Asimov was writing this many a decade ago and our current conceptions of what machines can and can't do (yet) are dramatically different - his robots will seem much too human to someone looking at the field today. To counteract the criticism, no this work is not character driven and yes the characters are one-dimensional because that's what they're meant to be. This isn't an emotional/psychological drama, it's a good piece of science fiction exploring notions of technology and humanity with all the other elements of fiction used as tools. No-one would criticise a textbook for its lack of lack of believable characters of flowery prose and I don't see how this is different - both are genres which focus on other things. The only thing that matters is whether the book is enjoyable and has some good ideas which I think it does and I hope that people will agree after they read I Robot with an attitude that doesn't expect exhuberant literary style and realise that this is Asimov's first stab at the application of formal things like robotics to human situations. And I think it's a pretty good one at that!
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