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Summary: A Brilliant Biography
Review: Asimov writes a brilliant biography. A true masterpiece
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Summary: The self-aknowledged most prolific wirter of all time
Review: Dr Asimov does himself one better with this self-depreciating (just kidding) view of his life and relationships. A rich treasure of humorous and entertaining short observations and reflections of and on those with whom Dr Asimov bestowed his personal charm, wit and wrath. Well worth the modest investment to keep his memory alive in our hearts and minds
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Summary: Just Read
Review: Easily the greatest work of nonfiction I have ever read, and ever portend to read. Asimov drew me in as a youngster with his Foundation stories, but it is his later nonfiction that most impresses me. His style of writing is unsurpassed by any author I have yet to read(and being an English major, I have read more than a few), and his life story is all the more interesting to those of us who admire him. Though some petty reviewers may remark at Asimov's penchant for tossing off witicisms and regard this disposition as a degredation to the book, this only reveals that reviewer's particular shortcomings in social settings. Asimov was witty, and anyone who is at all farmiliar with the Gradmaster through his writings knows that he never put on a front of false modesty. He was PROUD to be witty, and displayed this wherever he went to whomever he talked. If you are a fan of Asimov's and have not read this book, get crackin'! If you are not a fan of Asimov yet and have not read this book, get crackin'! I guarantee you'll be gripped shortly, and after you're done, you may want to take a stab at the more in-depth accounting of his life string in his other two volumes of autobiography: In Memory Yet Green, and In Joy Still Felt.
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Summary: Honest, engaging recapitulation of his life
Review: I am in complete agreement with the person who referred to Isaac Asimov as a natural resource. While he certainly ranks at the highest level in terms of output, no one can challenge the breadth of his writing. I learned more science from his books than I did in taking the courses en route to a double major in biology and chemistry.
In this personal recollection of his life, Asimov is as always honest, even when it is embarrassing. He makes no apologies for his life and actions. To use the old phrase made famous by sportscaster Howard Cosell, he tells it like it was. Which is a necessary precondition for an engaging set of memoirs.
His life and how he performed throughout is a lesson for us all. It may be said that Asimov is one of the lucky few who was able to find work that was also his passion. While true, he also is to be commended for pursuing it when other options were available. Like all of us, he encountered several forks in his life and he was clever enough to follow the best of all his possible worlds.
Issac Asimove was above all things conceited with justification. His life was interesting and there is no better role model from which to guide yours.
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Summary: Delightful reading about a reamarkable man - Highly recommen
Review: I bought this book with some reluctance, I have not read any book by Asimov since I was in College (In Memory Still Green (old book), Nemesis (kind of new book at the time).
Supposedley with age I was somewhat a more "sophisticated" reader, whatever that means, and even though I greately regret Asimov's death at the time, I did not feel compelled to buy any more books by him after that time.
This Christmas among the several books I bought to spend the Holidays I bought I Asimov, and I did not expect too much since I thought that its fragmented structure, with different topics was kind of haphazard, and just a marketing plot to exploit the author`s fame postmortem.
Boy I was wrong!, from all the books I read this past month, this really made an impression, it was like being in the same room with the man himself, and to hear his evaluation of his memories, and his outlook in what his final days would be.
Since I was a teenager I enjoyed Asimov`s fiction and nofiction, but I can say that I enjoyed the most when he wrote about himself, and the world he inhabited, I highly appreciated his sincerity, humor, and authenticity.
It always warmed me to read about how this boy from very humble origins got to get to the top of the the craft that he so much loved.
This was a very emotional book to read, I laughed aloud many times, and shed a tear at some of the last essays.
I highly recommend this to anyone who has or has not read Asimov in the past, as an account of a man`s life, his virtues, deffects, accomplishments, and the legacy he left for his family, readers and fellow human beings.
Finally, I do not think that the Good Doctor had to worry about being forgotten any time soon, each new genaration that reads any of his books will keep his ideas and dreams alive.
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Summary: I. ASIMOV, A MEMOIR...WHAT A GREAT BOOK!
Review: I just finished this massive book and not only does Isaac tell stories on him self but also about most of my other favorite S.F. writers. It is a most well written masterpice and at 530 plus pages is still too short. I wish Mr. Asimov was still alive so I could write him and tell him that he has been captured in essence by one of the best, himself...this is a MUST READ for fans and non fans everywhere..
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Summary: free association kind of memoir
Review: I was a bit disappointed with this book. In Asimov's science fiction novels, his plot hangs together well, and the various details tie into the bigger picture. This is not at all true of his autobiography. Told in tiny chapters according to whatever bit of his history Asimov decided to write about at that moment, characters appear and disappear, and events are recorded with no explanation of their greater significance. Some chapters were wonderful, and I was laughing out loud. Others left me wondering why they had been written.
Some parts of this book are definitely worth reading. As a whole, though, I'm not sure it's worth the reader's time.
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Summary: A warm and touching memoir with the famous Asimov humor
Review: If you have the option, Asimov's two other autobiographies, IN MEMORY STILL GREEN and IN JOY YET FELT, give more depth and many more anecdotes of the famous Doctor, most ending in jokes at his own expense. I, ASIMOV, however, is for readers who can only dedicate a short period of time learning about this prolific author's life. Unfortunately, this autobiography is under 600 pages, and the reader wants more. Asimov, who wrote autobiography, mystery, science, SF, and in many other fields, brings a warm, self-deprecating humor to his work. This autobiography is a very useful resource for those interested in Isaac Asimov, or the development of Science Fiction in America from the Golden Age to the late 1980's. It is also a great motivator for anyone who wants to become a writer. One sees an author who did not struggle with existential angst and spew human suffering on the blank page. Asimov loved his work, and it shows.
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Summary: A great autobiography for a great author!
Review: In reading this book, I (obviously) discovered about Asimov's life. But I also learned about how it impacted his writing and why rather than how he wrote some of his stories. Though he is famed for science-fiction, this autobiography I consider one of his better stories because it is true and he tells it in such a casual manner that you feel like he is there telling you these stories. Some of the thoughts and actions, he tells you makes you wonder, how he became a writer. Asimov makes his story extremely interesting by telling it through his eyes and even though he digress from the topic of the chapter (Which happens a lot), you will not even notice because you will be enjoying his story so much. I loved this book! I found writing every page completely enjoying and think that anyone interested in getting to know the man behind classic science-fiction should read this and discover who they are dealing with. Though the book is over 500 pages, it is split up by man chapters (over 140), which make it easy to sit down and read a few chapters, or find a way to pace yourself by reading a certain amount of chapters per a set time.
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Summary: You, Asimov! You, baby! You! You! You!
Review: Isaac Asimov was just The Man, plain and simple. This book is a collection of dozens of little 2-4 page essays, dealing with myriad personal topics in his life, which amounts to a history of the very field of science fiction, in a lot of ways. He gives his account of his dealings with a lot of the other luminaries in the field -- Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Hal Clement, Lester del Ray, and lots of others. These accounts are always interesting, and often full of helpful little insights into the characters of other science fiction writers. One interesting thing -- he says that he had no ability at all to be a critic, in the sense that he couldn't criticize his own work, or anyone elses. He knew if he liked it or not, but that's as far as it went. For me, that was probably the most telling little essay in the whole book. The only author in history to have authored books classified in every single section of the Dewey Decimal system, one of the most prolific writers EVER, simply had no inner critic. He just wrote, and wrote, and wrote. Anyone else out there who finds that interesting, and possibly helpful to them somehow, might want to check out "Writing Without Teachers" by Peter Elbow, or, relatedly, "Flow" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. (Yes, I'm serious about the spelling of that guy's name). You also get a clear sense of Isaac Asimov's strong sense of self-respect, and his fundamental optimism about humanity, and his warmth. I'm glad his voice is still out there, on the printed page, reaching more people even after he has passed on.
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