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The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov #1
Isaac Asimov. In Memory Yet Green./Isaac Asimov. In Memory Yet Green.
The Good Doctor's two-hundredth book!The amazing Isaac Asimov has once more taken pen in hand to tackle his most fascinating subject to date — himself. In this first volume of his autobiography he recounts in his candid and inimitable manner his life's work in science, science fiction, and practically everything else.Beginning in the beginning, Asimov tells of his family's emigration from Russia when he was only three. We see the young Isaac, barely more than a toddler, determined to decipher Brooklynese. Intrigued by signs in the "new" language, he taught himself to read and whizzed through school as a child prodigy, without modesty, getting A's in everything except deportment. In his early years at school he befriended a talkative little boy who held Isaac spellbound with his stories. this was Isaac's first introduction to fiction, and soon afterward he began to borrow science fiction magazines from the rack in his father's candy store, reading them in secret, and returning them still looking like new.Entering college at the age of fifteen, he emerged with a doctorate in chemistry from Columbia University. Then there were his stints at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia during World War II and in the Army (for once the military couldn't fail to recognize a genius!), his first marriage, and his years teaching biochemistry — to standing ovations from his classes — at Boston University Medical School. All this time he was rising to prominence as a storyteller, author of The Foundation Trilogy and "Nightfall," and laying the groundwork for his future as our most outstanding diverse science writer.In short, this is a book where the man who has been called a "national resource and a natural wonder" tells how he got to be that way. A treasure-trove for Asimov fans of all ages, all walks of life.
Unknown Binding
First published February 1, 1979
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About the author
Isaac Asimov
4,672 books27.3k followersWorks of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles,
The Foundation Trilogy
(1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.
Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.
Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).
People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.
Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.
Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...
Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.
Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).
People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.
Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.
Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
March 7, 2017
Re-read; just as tremendous as I remembered. The page where he describes, at age 21, hitting his home run:
"My status on that evening of March 18 was as nothing more than a steady and (perhaps) hopeful third-rater. … The Golden Age was in full swing and it contained, already, such brilliant stars as Heinlein and Van Voigt… Surely no one could possibly have thought I would ever be considered comparable to these…
With that background, I put a piece of paper in the typewriter, typed the title, which Campbell and I had agreed should be "Nightfall"…then began the story…
Did I have any notion that after thirty-one stories ranging from impossibly bad to mildly good, I was going to write the best science fiction story of all time? How could I?
Yet some people think exactly that of "Nightfall". Thirty years later, when a poll was conducted of the members of the Science Fiction Writers of America, "Nightfall" finished in first place by a healthy margin. Other polls, under other conditions, also put it in first place."
Yet, I swear he added a paragraph to this addition grumbling about blood transfusions. This only would make sense had Asimov revised this work on his deathbed--for I believe he was among the first to die of AIDS from contaminated blood.
"My status on that evening of March 18 was as nothing more than a steady and (perhaps) hopeful third-rater. … The Golden Age was in full swing and it contained, already, such brilliant stars as Heinlein and Van Voigt… Surely no one could possibly have thought I would ever be considered comparable to these…
With that background, I put a piece of paper in the typewriter, typed the title, which Campbell and I had agreed should be "Nightfall"…then began the story…
Did I have any notion that after thirty-one stories ranging from impossibly bad to mildly good, I was going to write the best science fiction story of all time? How could I?
Yet some people think exactly that of "Nightfall". Thirty years later, when a poll was conducted of the members of the Science Fiction Writers of America, "Nightfall" finished in first place by a healthy margin. Other polls, under other conditions, also put it in first place."
Yet, I swear he added a paragraph to this addition grumbling about blood transfusions. This only would make sense had Asimov revised this work on his deathbed--for I believe he was among the first to die of AIDS from contaminated blood.
August 26, 2010
When Isaac Asimov gets going on a subject, he can write extensively on it. This is Volume I of his autobiography, over 1,000 pages.
When his publisher first proposed this, he mentioned nothing ever happened to him. He tells the joke on himself, when he shows up with this huge manuscript, the publisher wonders aloud what it would be like if something HAD happened to him!
But it is not just about Asimov. It tells a lot about the history and customs in the US from 1920 to 1954. It contains lots of information on the pulp indstry and publishing in the 1920's and 1930's. It contains a large number of personal anecdotes--some funny, some sad.
If you like Isaac Asimov--and I do ,a lot---this autobiography contains a great deal of interest. I have always found Asimov a good story teller, and this is a good story.
Recommended for fans of autobiographies; fans of SF, and especailly fans of Isaac Asimov.
When his publisher first proposed this, he mentioned nothing ever happened to him. He tells the joke on himself, when he shows up with this huge manuscript, the publisher wonders aloud what it would be like if something HAD happened to him!
But it is not just about Asimov. It tells a lot about the history and customs in the US from 1920 to 1954. It contains lots of information on the pulp indstry and publishing in the 1920's and 1930's. It contains a large number of personal anecdotes--some funny, some sad.
If you like Isaac Asimov--and I do ,a lot---this autobiography contains a great deal of interest. I have always found Asimov a good story teller, and this is a good story.
Recommended for fans of autobiographies; fans of SF, and especailly fans of Isaac Asimov.
April 15, 2021
This is the very detailed autobiography of Isaac Asimov and covers the years from his birth in 1920 to 1954; the companion volume, In Joy Still Felt, picks up without a break and goes to the year 1978. Asimov's style is very slick, smooth, simple, and addictive, and captures the attention of the reader completely, even though you may realize after an hour that not much has happened in the last fifty pages. His ego and attitude may be a bit off-putting at times, but his remarkable memory of events and details is marvelous, and his opinions and perspectives on other science fiction celebrities is particularly fascinating. It also provides an educated look at the political, social, and scientific changes, events, and viewpoints of the mid-twentieth century and how he and those around him viewed them at the time. It's a great two-volume historical work, not just for science fiction fans.
October 21, 2020
When I was growing up the name Isaac Asimov loomed large in my reading. While I was unfamiliar with his nonfiction and didn’t come to his science fiction novels until later, his short stories frequently peppered the many anthologies and collections that I read avidly. Yet for all his fame and the enormous respect accorded him by the science fiction community, I knew very little about his life. Recently, though, my reading of a collection of Ace tête-bêche novels from the Golden Age sparked my interest in that era, so when I spotted a copy of the first volume of his autobiography in a used bookstore, I was inspired to buy it so that I could learn more about it.
And I’m so glad that I did. Asimov’s book offers an incredibly rich mixture of personal detail and anecdote leavened with a dose of social history. After recounting his family’s history in Russia and his infancy there, he describes his family’s move to America and their efforts to build a new life in Brooklyn. While informative and well-told, his narrative assumes greater intimacy when he begins to draw upon his own personal recollections. From them he tells the story of a precocious child whose family worked hard to establish themselves in their new country. This they did through ownership of a succession of candy shops, at which Asimov worked every day after school. This gave him exposure to the range of dime novels and pulp magazines that were published at that time, which Asimov consumed avidly and which fueled his interest in becoming a writer.
This goal Asimov pursued while getting his education. Graduating from high school at the age of 15, Asimov enrolled in a branch of Columbia University with the goal of becoming a doctor. Asimov’s pride in being a child prodigy is mixed here with his annoyance with the discrimination he faced in his education. With the elite Columbia College closed off to him, Asimov started out instead at the less-prestigious Seth Low Junior College, which had been created to absorb the growing numbers of Jewish applicants. Though the junior college was merged into the general university during Asimov’s time there, his resentment is plain and more than understandable.
It was while he was in college that Asimov began writing the stories which made him famous. He gives enormous credit in this regard to John W. Campbell, the legendary editor of Astounding Science Fiction, who in a series of regular meetings encouraged Asimov to submit stories. Though two stories were rejected, the acceptance of a third by another magazine signaled the start of an incredibly prolific career. During these years Asimov wrote only short stories, producing during this period both the bulk of his “Robot” tales and the works that later became his even more famous Foundation trilogy of novels – all while earning two degrees in chemistry, working at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and serving in the United States Army. It was also at this time that Asimov became acquainted with a veritable “who’s-who” of Golden Age SF, from L. Sprague de Camp and Frederick Pohl to Robert A. Heinlein and Willy Ley, many of whom he befriended and all of whom would dominate the genre for decades to come.
Asimov recounts his early life with evident forthrightness. Though far from modest, he is disarmingly candid about his flaws, including his personality quirks and his infidelity towards his first wife, Gertrude. When combined with his highly readable writing style it makes for an incredibly absorbing book, and one of the most pleasantly enjoyable ones that I have read in a while. This is not only a book that is a must-read for fans of Asimov or of Golden Age science fiction more generally, but it is one that everyone who likes reading evocative memoirs will find entertaining as well as informative.
And I’m so glad that I did. Asimov’s book offers an incredibly rich mixture of personal detail and anecdote leavened with a dose of social history. After recounting his family’s history in Russia and his infancy there, he describes his family’s move to America and their efforts to build a new life in Brooklyn. While informative and well-told, his narrative assumes greater intimacy when he begins to draw upon his own personal recollections. From them he tells the story of a precocious child whose family worked hard to establish themselves in their new country. This they did through ownership of a succession of candy shops, at which Asimov worked every day after school. This gave him exposure to the range of dime novels and pulp magazines that were published at that time, which Asimov consumed avidly and which fueled his interest in becoming a writer.
This goal Asimov pursued while getting his education. Graduating from high school at the age of 15, Asimov enrolled in a branch of Columbia University with the goal of becoming a doctor. Asimov’s pride in being a child prodigy is mixed here with his annoyance with the discrimination he faced in his education. With the elite Columbia College closed off to him, Asimov started out instead at the less-prestigious Seth Low Junior College, which had been created to absorb the growing numbers of Jewish applicants. Though the junior college was merged into the general university during Asimov’s time there, his resentment is plain and more than understandable.
It was while he was in college that Asimov began writing the stories which made him famous. He gives enormous credit in this regard to John W. Campbell, the legendary editor of Astounding Science Fiction, who in a series of regular meetings encouraged Asimov to submit stories. Though two stories were rejected, the acceptance of a third by another magazine signaled the start of an incredibly prolific career. During these years Asimov wrote only short stories, producing during this period both the bulk of his “Robot” tales and the works that later became his even more famous Foundation trilogy of novels – all while earning two degrees in chemistry, working at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and serving in the United States Army. It was also at this time that Asimov became acquainted with a veritable “who’s-who” of Golden Age SF, from L. Sprague de Camp and Frederick Pohl to Robert A. Heinlein and Willy Ley, many of whom he befriended and all of whom would dominate the genre for decades to come.
Asimov recounts his early life with evident forthrightness. Though far from modest, he is disarmingly candid about his flaws, including his personality quirks and his infidelity towards his first wife, Gertrude. When combined with his highly readable writing style it makes for an incredibly absorbing book, and one of the most pleasantly enjoyable ones that I have read in a while. This is not only a book that is a must-read for fans of Asimov or of Golden Age science fiction more generally, but it is one that everyone who likes reading evocative memoirs will find entertaining as well as informative.
September 28, 2014
Perhaps the most salient thing I gleaned from In Memory Yet Green: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov, 1920-1954 was that Isaac Asimov had a major case of Asperger's going, even if no one had identified the syndrome yet at the time he wrote this first extensive volume of his autobiography. From his often particular memories of even the most trivial events, to his clearly well-above-average intelligence coupled with his resistance to conventional education, as well as his frequent social awkwardness and cluelessness and his obvious ability to go on at length about one favorite subject, Asimov is almost a textbook case of an Aspie. (Note: I am not a clinician, but I do have Asperger's, and the signs are unmistakeable to a fellow Aspie.) That Asimov so obviously succeeded beyond his wildest expectations, both professionally and literarily (although the bulk of that is left to In Joy Still Felt: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov, 1954-1978, the second volume of his autobiography), should inspire Aspies, both newly-diagnosed and old hats, that they can excel also.
It's equally clear that, for all his early self-questioning, Asimov's sense of his own ego was, shall we say, healthy. The man loved to talk about himself, as is obvious from over 1400 pages of memoirs, when he still had a full twelve years of career left before his death, but what redeems what would be obnoxious in almost everyone else is that Asimov is simultaneously self-deprecating and hugely engaging. Not for nothing was Asimov a popular public speaker and man-about-town. (That he was also an unrepentant lecher—and philanderer, to boot—becomes evident from Asimov's own admissions, beginning here.) Add to that that Asimov obviously was one of the most skillful writers of science fiction ever to have lived, and the overall effect of In Memory Yet Green is quite enjoyable.
Nevertheless, there are some downsides to the book. First, it starts off incredibly slowly. Before Asimov gets into the meat-and-potatoes of his career, along with a fascinating history of early 20th-Century science fiction and SF/F fandom, the narrative is somewhat slow. Second, as a more or less Orthodox Jew myself, I found Asimov's repeated denigration of observant Judaism, particularly in the first half of In Memory Yet Green, a bit grating. At the same time, however, once Asimov starts telling of the origins of the World Science Fiction Convention and the famous Futurians, and of the careers of Robert A. Heinlein, Frederik Pohl, Harlan Ellison, and L. Sprague de Camp (to name but a small few whom Asimov counted as longtime friends), In Memory Yet Green becomes fascinating, if not indispensable. And I can forgive Asimov's criticism of organized religion, if only because not once does he dispense with his profound cultural and social identification with Jews and Jewishness; a friend who enjoys the Eastern European Jewish delicacy p'tcha was quite amused and appreciative of Asimov's loving of same. (This connection with Judaism resonated, particularly when Asimov told of the running undercurrent during his time at the Philadelphia Navy Yard during World War II that many of the military personnel in Philadelphia believed the war was being fought on behalf of the Jews, against American interests; having recently read Joseph W. Bendersky's The Jewish Threat: Anti-Semitic Politics Of The U.S. Army, which posits much the same thesis academically.)
So ultimately, In Memory Yet Green, despite a few false starts and irritating elements, was quite an entertaining read, and I do recommend it to those who wonder how modern science fiction got to be the phenomenon it is today.
It's equally clear that, for all his early self-questioning, Asimov's sense of his own ego was, shall we say, healthy. The man loved to talk about himself, as is obvious from over 1400 pages of memoirs, when he still had a full twelve years of career left before his death, but what redeems what would be obnoxious in almost everyone else is that Asimov is simultaneously self-deprecating and hugely engaging. Not for nothing was Asimov a popular public speaker and man-about-town. (That he was also an unrepentant lecher—and philanderer, to boot—becomes evident from Asimov's own admissions, beginning here.) Add to that that Asimov obviously was one of the most skillful writers of science fiction ever to have lived, and the overall effect of In Memory Yet Green is quite enjoyable.
Nevertheless, there are some downsides to the book. First, it starts off incredibly slowly. Before Asimov gets into the meat-and-potatoes of his career, along with a fascinating history of early 20th-Century science fiction and SF/F fandom, the narrative is somewhat slow. Second, as a more or less Orthodox Jew myself, I found Asimov's repeated denigration of observant Judaism, particularly in the first half of In Memory Yet Green, a bit grating. At the same time, however, once Asimov starts telling of the origins of the World Science Fiction Convention and the famous Futurians, and of the careers of Robert A. Heinlein, Frederik Pohl, Harlan Ellison, and L. Sprague de Camp (to name but a small few whom Asimov counted as longtime friends), In Memory Yet Green becomes fascinating, if not indispensable. And I can forgive Asimov's criticism of organized religion, if only because not once does he dispense with his profound cultural and social identification with Jews and Jewishness; a friend who enjoys the Eastern European Jewish delicacy p'tcha was quite amused and appreciative of Asimov's loving of same. (This connection with Judaism resonated, particularly when Asimov told of the running undercurrent during his time at the Philadelphia Navy Yard during World War II that many of the military personnel in Philadelphia believed the war was being fought on behalf of the Jews, against American interests; having recently read Joseph W. Bendersky's The Jewish Threat: Anti-Semitic Politics Of The U.S. Army, which posits much the same thesis academically.)
So ultimately, In Memory Yet Green, despite a few false starts and irritating elements, was quite an entertaining read, and I do recommend it to those who wonder how modern science fiction got to be the phenomenon it is today.
August 24, 2009
I have read this book a couple of times. Some it was laughing out loud funny, some poignant. This and the sequel I re-read during one of my exercise kicks and they were the only books that could distract me from the monotony of the exercise bike.
January 7, 2011
I loved every page of this. This was one of the first biographies I read as a kid. It made me realize that even common lives are interesting.
July 22, 2020
Asimov's autobiography gives us the early years of his life--from his birth in Russia and his family's immigration to the United States to the point where his writing career had really taken off. By the time the book ends, he has written his most famous novelette, "Nightfall," and has seen his Foundation series (originally published as separate short stories) released in book form. He provides an intimate view of history--from post-WWI Russia to the United States during WWII and the Korean conflict and includes snippets of other events along the way. The book also features the struggles faced by a young immigrant family in early 20th Century America. Most relevant for those who, like me, have enjoyed his science fiction are the insights into how he got into the writing business and what the early years of science fiction and publishing were like.
*****
Finally finished this one--it seems like I've been working on it forever. At over 700 pages, Asimov was one wordy dude and only covered 34 years of his life. I love his fiction, having cut my SF eye teeth on his books and short stories. But I must say: the man had a (shall we call it) healthy ego. Once he knew a thing, he was quite prepared to point out how well he knew a thing. Repeatedly, in case you missed it. To give him his due, he also presents the reader with his shortcomings and mistakes in life and is perfectly willing to own up when he was at fault. He also seems to have been a remarkedly loyal friend and family member--helping out in situations that may have turned out disastrously simply because he, as he called it, was following the code of the Woosters: Never let a pal down. He also stuck with his first book publisher, Walter "Brad" Bradbury at Doubleday even when Fredrick Pohl tried to tempt him with bigger profits at Ballantine books.
It would be great to make a lot of money with my writing, and I would feel silly if all the other writers went on to make a lot of money and left me behind
But then I thought of Brad taking my first book, and going over the galleys with me, and working with me to cure me of overwriting, and being kind and helpful, and I had to picture myself saying, "Sorry, Brad, you've been outbid."
So I finally said, "I can't do it, Fred. I'm sorry."
Asimov, as is true of all of us, was a complex individual. Intelligent, creative, competitive (he always wanted to be first or youngest to do something), loyal, sometimes easily angered over trivialities, in equal parts self-deprecating and somewhat egotistical, and, well....a bit of a lech--he never met a pretty girl he didn't want to hug. With his spare, direct style (you wouldn't think it since he took over 700 pages to to tell us about less than half of his life), he comes through as trying to be honest about his life. He is on display, warts and all, and some of it is a little difficult to take--especially in these days. One has to wonder if all the women he thought were so indulgent with his eyebrow-wagging and suggestive comments really were (I sincerely doubt it). And whether they really did think he was just harmless. It's obvious that he thought they thought so (or had chosen to believe it). He also seemed to be disproportionately concerned with everyone's looks--men and women--especially in first encounters. Everyone is initially described in terms of how attractive they are. He soon moves on to other matters and has great respect and interest in others' intelligence, but it's a bit jarring to see that everyone is measured on the Asimov attractiveness scale.
But--putting that to the side--this is a very good autobiography. It is entertaining and informative and even though it's quite long it was never tedious. Asimov is a storyteller above all and he makes the story of his life worth telling.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
*****
Finally finished this one--it seems like I've been working on it forever. At over 700 pages, Asimov was one wordy dude and only covered 34 years of his life. I love his fiction, having cut my SF eye teeth on his books and short stories. But I must say: the man had a (shall we call it) healthy ego. Once he knew a thing, he was quite prepared to point out how well he knew a thing. Repeatedly, in case you missed it. To give him his due, he also presents the reader with his shortcomings and mistakes in life and is perfectly willing to own up when he was at fault. He also seems to have been a remarkedly loyal friend and family member--helping out in situations that may have turned out disastrously simply because he, as he called it, was following the code of the Woosters: Never let a pal down. He also stuck with his first book publisher, Walter "Brad" Bradbury at Doubleday even when Fredrick Pohl tried to tempt him with bigger profits at Ballantine books.
It would be great to make a lot of money with my writing, and I would feel silly if all the other writers went on to make a lot of money and left me behind
But then I thought of Brad taking my first book, and going over the galleys with me, and working with me to cure me of overwriting, and being kind and helpful, and I had to picture myself saying, "Sorry, Brad, you've been outbid."
So I finally said, "I can't do it, Fred. I'm sorry."
Asimov, as is true of all of us, was a complex individual. Intelligent, creative, competitive (he always wanted to be first or youngest to do something), loyal, sometimes easily angered over trivialities, in equal parts self-deprecating and somewhat egotistical, and, well....a bit of a lech--he never met a pretty girl he didn't want to hug. With his spare, direct style (you wouldn't think it since he took over 700 pages to to tell us about less than half of his life), he comes through as trying to be honest about his life. He is on display, warts and all, and some of it is a little difficult to take--especially in these days. One has to wonder if all the women he thought were so indulgent with his eyebrow-wagging and suggestive comments really were (I sincerely doubt it). And whether they really did think he was just harmless. It's obvious that he thought they thought so (or had chosen to believe it). He also seemed to be disproportionately concerned with everyone's looks--men and women--especially in first encounters. Everyone is initially described in terms of how attractive they are. He soon moves on to other matters and has great respect and interest in others' intelligence, but it's a bit jarring to see that everyone is measured on the Asimov attractiveness scale.
But--putting that to the side--this is a very good autobiography. It is entertaining and informative and even though it's quite long it was never tedious. Asimov is a storyteller above all and he makes the story of his life worth telling.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
August 31, 2010
A fun and unexpectedly funny autobiography. Learned a lot about the psyche of the New York immigrant pre-WW2 and about the various elements of life that only a Russian-born Jew living in Brooklyn could write about.
August 21, 2009
The Good Doctor's autobiography of his first thiry-four years, as told "in excruciating detail" according to The Good Doctor himself.
April 19, 2019
708 pages of unbelievably minute details of the life of Isaac Asimov. He kept a detailed journal all his life and used it to fill not only this volume but also In Joy Still Felt which is the sister book to this. While spreading 34 years over 708 pages might seem a tad much, it's not at all. Isaac mentions events going on in the world around him that he followed along with his daily personal experiences. The only time it didn't fit well with me was when the Korean War was mentioned quite often but completely in footnotes and often after such mundane events as his infant son getting his first tooth. If I didn't so admire Asimov before reading this, I might actually greatly dislike or even despise him after. He was brutally honest about his first 34 years including how it worked very hard to avoid getting drafted into WW2 and how he continued to work tirelessly after he was finally drafted into the Army after the war ended to get discharged. Later he mentions his first affair in detail and goes on to mention that there were many others after that. Luckily, since I'm 34 myself at the time of reading it, I am not greatly in need of role models so I can go on adoring the man's writing and not feel at all bad about it.
March 8, 2017
Isaac Asimov is one of the few people who can make their autobiography interesting. He may sound like he's bragging but there's no escaping a fact he's a Master of Science Fiction and denying it would be ridiculous. It's interesting for writers to see his mind at work and will answer any questions fans of what happened behind the scenes while he was writing his stories.
June 24, 2017
Mostly entertaining, though he does go off the rails occasionally. I enjoyed the take on NYC before I was born.
July 18, 2023
È stato uno dei maestri riconosciuti della fantascienza della cosiddetta Età dell’oro, e nonostante l’enorme numero di autori venuti dopo di lui continua a essere uno dei più letti. Ciò per la qualità non solo dei suoi contenuti, ma anche della scrittura, intelligente e ironica, spesso miracolosamente leggera rispetto ai temi trattati. Sono le stesse qualità che ci si attende di trovare anche nell’autobiografia di Isaac Asimov.
Bisogna precisare che quella che passa sotto il titolo di ‘Io, Asimov‘ non è la traduzione italiana di ‘I, Asimov‘ (1994) ovvero dell’autobiografia definitiva (nonché inedita in Italia), bensì del primo di due precedenti volumi pubblicati tra il 1979 e il 1980. Si tratta di ‘In Memory Yet Green‘, racconto che copre gli anni dal 1920 al 1954. In pratica, gli anni dell’infanzia e dell’apprendistato di Asimov, che proprio dal 1955 comincerà a pubblicare i suoi grandi successi e a diventare uno scrittore a tempo pieno. Non mi risulta – magari mi sbaglierò – che sia mai stato tradotto da noi il secondo volume.
Poco male, per gli appassionati del grande autore del ‘Ciclo delle Fondazioni‘ (1951-93) si tratterà di un tuffo nell’autobiografia più intima del loro beniamino. Magari, anzi, il racconto sarà più spigliato e divertente. Inoltre Asimov avrà modo di raccontarci la nascita della sua passione per la fantascienza e delle idee che trasporrà nelle sue opere. Ci sorprenderà infine a non trovare nulla di tutto questo.
Abbastanza incredibilmente, Asimov in questo suo racconto – enorme, di quasi 600 pp. – sembra dimenticare tutto quello che gli ha guadagnato il favore dei lettori. A partire proprio dall’ironia e dall’intelligenza. La narrazione ha un impianto pressoché cronachistico, con lo scrittore che spende un’enormità di spazio per raccontare fatti e fatterelli del tutto insignificanti. Come se ci interessasse di più capire quanto ha preso in matematica alle elementari piuttosto che le sue letture d’infanzia. L’attività di scrittore emerge così dal nulla. Più interessante è il racconto successivo dei primi passi di Asimov nel mondo editoriale e nello specifico dell’editoria a tema fantascientifico. Lo scrittore racconta il suo ingresso nel celebre club dei ‘Futurians‘ e il suo rapporto con John Campbell, mitico autore-editore di quella nidiata di talenti, quasi una Gertrude Stein. Ma anche qui: cenni cronachistici e poco più. Ci sarebbe piaciuto sapere di più, vedere il cuore di Asimov messo a nudo, ma forse dobbiamo constatare di aver chiesto troppo.
Ignoro se nel terzo volume autobiografico, il succitato ‘I, Asimov‘, lo scrittore abbia cambiato approccio e composto l’opera che avrebbe meritato di scrivere. Al momento, però, non se ne prevede un’edizione italiana.
“Nella vita, al contrario di quanto avviene negli scacchi, il gioco continua anche dopo lo scaccomatto”
Bisogna precisare che quella che passa sotto il titolo di ‘Io, Asimov‘ non è la traduzione italiana di ‘I, Asimov‘ (1994) ovvero dell’autobiografia definitiva (nonché inedita in Italia), bensì del primo di due precedenti volumi pubblicati tra il 1979 e il 1980. Si tratta di ‘In Memory Yet Green‘, racconto che copre gli anni dal 1920 al 1954. In pratica, gli anni dell’infanzia e dell’apprendistato di Asimov, che proprio dal 1955 comincerà a pubblicare i suoi grandi successi e a diventare uno scrittore a tempo pieno. Non mi risulta – magari mi sbaglierò – che sia mai stato tradotto da noi il secondo volume.
Poco male, per gli appassionati del grande autore del ‘Ciclo delle Fondazioni‘ (1951-93) si tratterà di un tuffo nell’autobiografia più intima del loro beniamino. Magari, anzi, il racconto sarà più spigliato e divertente. Inoltre Asimov avrà modo di raccontarci la nascita della sua passione per la fantascienza e delle idee che trasporrà nelle sue opere. Ci sorprenderà infine a non trovare nulla di tutto questo.
Abbastanza incredibilmente, Asimov in questo suo racconto – enorme, di quasi 600 pp. – sembra dimenticare tutto quello che gli ha guadagnato il favore dei lettori. A partire proprio dall’ironia e dall’intelligenza. La narrazione ha un impianto pressoché cronachistico, con lo scrittore che spende un’enormità di spazio per raccontare fatti e fatterelli del tutto insignificanti. Come se ci interessasse di più capire quanto ha preso in matematica alle elementari piuttosto che le sue letture d’infanzia. L’attività di scrittore emerge così dal nulla. Più interessante è il racconto successivo dei primi passi di Asimov nel mondo editoriale e nello specifico dell’editoria a tema fantascientifico. Lo scrittore racconta il suo ingresso nel celebre club dei ‘Futurians‘ e il suo rapporto con John Campbell, mitico autore-editore di quella nidiata di talenti, quasi una Gertrude Stein. Ma anche qui: cenni cronachistici e poco più. Ci sarebbe piaciuto sapere di più, vedere il cuore di Asimov messo a nudo, ma forse dobbiamo constatare di aver chiesto troppo.
Ignoro se nel terzo volume autobiografico, il succitato ‘I, Asimov‘, lo scrittore abbia cambiato approccio e composto l’opera che avrebbe meritato di scrivere. Al momento, però, non se ne prevede un’edizione italiana.
“Nella vita, al contrario di quanto avviene negli scacchi, il gioco continua anche dopo lo scaccomatto”
December 2, 2020
Isaac, Isaac, Isaac... You don't make it easy for people to like you, do you?
Now I know much of this has to do with changing times - this is, after all, the autobiography of a man growing up in the 1930s and 40s - but reading (even from his own pen) of his "handsiness", flirtatious behaviour and at least one infidelity, all the while singing his own praises as a raconteur and scientist is disconcerting. He is also alarmingly candid about various medical conditions, but hey-ho...
To be fair he has much to be proud about: still one of the greats of science fiction, one of the pioneers of the genre, and his accounts of dealing with John W. Campbell and other editors of the groundbreaking pulp magazines of the time are fascinating. Even his continual recounting of how much he gets paid and the way his SF stories evolved from one-off sales, to anthologisation through to making real money from 'actual' books, is told in a winningly straightforward manner. In fact the whole 700-page book fairly zips by in the same crispness of style as his fiction.
With all that in mind the book is probably not going to garner much in the way of new readers outside the science fiction cognoscenti, but there is an interesting amount of social history in there as well: family life in the Bronx in the 1930s, academic in-fighting in the 1940s...
So if you're an Asimov fan, be prepared to find him a little human, not a child of the stars after all.
Now I know much of this has to do with changing times - this is, after all, the autobiography of a man growing up in the 1930s and 40s - but reading (even from his own pen) of his "handsiness", flirtatious behaviour and at least one infidelity, all the while singing his own praises as a raconteur and scientist is disconcerting. He is also alarmingly candid about various medical conditions, but hey-ho...
To be fair he has much to be proud about: still one of the greats of science fiction, one of the pioneers of the genre, and his accounts of dealing with John W. Campbell and other editors of the groundbreaking pulp magazines of the time are fascinating. Even his continual recounting of how much he gets paid and the way his SF stories evolved from one-off sales, to anthologisation through to making real money from 'actual' books, is told in a winningly straightforward manner. In fact the whole 700-page book fairly zips by in the same crispness of style as his fiction.
With all that in mind the book is probably not going to garner much in the way of new readers outside the science fiction cognoscenti, but there is an interesting amount of social history in there as well: family life in the Bronx in the 1930s, academic in-fighting in the 1940s...
So if you're an Asimov fan, be prepared to find him a little human, not a child of the stars after all.
May 5, 2018
Like all of Asimov's works, this first volume of his autobiography is eminently readable, and highly engaging. His writing style is fluidity itself, while his perceptions of what is relevant consistently result in anecdotes and digressions of a high level of interest. Although I read this work over twenty-five years ago, I still recall his descriptions of his surprising facility in driving a car, his meticulous manner of reading a newspaper so as to return it to its original state, his surprise at the degree of detail he cared for in amassing baseball statistics, and his bemusement at his 'Cary Grant' portrait which was put on the back cover of one of his first novels. Thoroughly first rate, and well worth reading. I own, but have as yet not read the second volume, and only just learned of the existence of a third. O, that Iwould not be so old! (So many books, so little time....)
September 29, 2019
In Memory Yet Green is the first volume of Asimov's autobiography, spanning from 1920 to 1954. I first read this as a kid after enjoying Asimov's Foundation and Robot fiction. I read it a few more times in my teenage years and early twenties, but have not reread it in 25+ years -- until now (September, 2019). It holds up and is still as engrossing and fascinating as I remember, in large part because Asimov is so detailed and his diary -- which he kept for most of his life -- enables him to paint a detailed picture of not only his day-to-day life as a writer but also captures the America, and especially NYC, of the pre and post war years. Recommended but note that it's not a quick read. The hardcover tops 700 pages!
December 31, 2024
A tedious romp. Having grown up reading Asimov, and currently being the age this first autobiography finishes, this felt so relatable... despite his life being so distant in time, space and culture; rather it's his mind and how it developed that feels so close. The amount of detail recalled is ridiculous but helps paint the picture so fully, cheque by cheque and conversation by conversation - apparently recalled to the minute in length.
I feel I've come full circle, coming up behind Foundation, one of stories that scaffolded my own mind. I'm a bit bewildered looking down upon it.
I feel I've come full circle, coming up behind Foundation, one of stories that scaffolded my own mind. I'm a bit bewildered looking down upon it.
July 23, 2019
A comprehensive look at Asimov's life from birth until 1954. He's full of praise for himself, and occasionally others, but is also comically self-deprecating. This is volume 1 of his autobiography and he doesn't leave many details out. Despite the length and breadth, and the fact that I'm not usually interested in biographies, I was hooked on every page.
February 26, 2020
This meets the two major requirements of an autobiography: it is highly readable and one gets to know the author quite well.
Asimov's less desirable qualities are less evident here than in the sequel, "In Joy Still Felt".
Asimov's less desirable qualities are less evident here than in the sequel, "In Joy Still Felt".
August 19, 2018
Fascinating. My fav part was seeing his encounters with RAH from his POV.
August 2, 2024
An extremely detailed biography by The Good Doctor. See also single vol. autobiog. I. Asimov. The book really does get into mind-numbing detail at times - BUT - mostly okay.
March 8, 2017
It's not poorly written; in fact, it's a smooth read. No issue with the writing itself, I just found the subject unlikeable. Put me off reading the next volume and his other work.
November 21, 2012
Энциклопедическая эрудиция, тонкая самоирония, полная открытость перед читателем, идеальная память... Эти мемуары читаются как репортаж развесистого симпатяги, который готов говорить обо всём, что он видит и что приходит ему на ум. Мысль уклонилась вправо, в сторону, вверх, наискосок, поклон, а вот ещё кусочек - так много всего забавного, важного, познавательного, столько интересных наблюдений, портретов, тем, книг!
Как ему удавалось при всей этой свободе движений ни разу не потерять равновесия, не сдвинуть фокус, не выйти из луча прожектора? Поразительно. На примере этой книги легко показать, что автор суть текст. В художественных произведениях и в популяризаторских книгах он был более скован условностями и задачами, но эта книга было и его, и о нём, и в ней он мог перелиться в текст совершенно свободно. И он это сделал с фантастической органичностью. Между Азимовым и его текстом нет никакого зазора. Они - одно целое. И если Азимов вам интересен как человек, то вы можете купить эту книгу - и получить именно его, завёрнутого в суперобложку.
Нужно ли это переводить? Не уверен. Но то, что это стоит читать - безусловно. Каков герой! Аптечный сиделец, отличник-прогульщик, запойный журналоед, дебютант в 18 лет, практически классик в 24 года, позитронный мозг, встроенный в пишущую машинку. Кэмпбелл выдерживал его без публикаций до тех пор, пока этот восторженный щенок не научился ставить перед собой действительно серьёзные задачи, решать их, усложнять на порядок, снова решать. Публика не успевала развиваться нужными ему и Кэмпбеллу темпами, университетские профессора шипели ему вслед, погремушками хвостов загоняя его в угол. Он уходил сквозь стену. Он знал, как.
Вы думаете, это было фуэте? Это была битва. Кровь, предательства, напрасные надежды, минные поля и просроченные чеки. Там было всё. Удивительно: Джек Уильямсон в воспоминаниях тоже был скрупулёзен в отношении всяких мелких деталей, но из его мемуаров я запомнил именно что отдельные детали. Спрэг де Камп в мемуарах создал великолепные портреты своих друзей и знакомых, а сам остался в них большей частью ароматом трубочного табака и мягкой повествовательной интонацией. Аимову удалось всё это срастить с собой, остаться неразделимым со временем, идеями, соратниками, историей и фантазией.
Если романы Азимова сделали меня его читателем, то его мемуары приучили меня видеть в нём друга.
Да, я не объективен. Даже не пытаюсь. Ну и чёрт со мной.
Как ему удавалось при всей этой свободе движений ни разу не потерять равновесия, не сдвинуть фокус, не выйти из луча прожектора? Поразительно. На примере этой книги легко показать, что автор суть текст. В художественных произведениях и в популяризаторских книгах он был более скован условностями и задачами, но эта книга было и его, и о нём, и в ней он мог перелиться в текст совершенно свободно. И он это сделал с фантастической органичностью. Между Азимовым и его текстом нет никакого зазора. Они - одно целое. И если Азимов вам интересен как человек, то вы можете купить эту книгу - и получить именно его, завёрнутого в суперобложку.
Нужно ли это переводить? Не уверен. Но то, что это стоит читать - безусловно. Каков герой! Аптечный сиделец, отличник-прогульщик, запойный журналоед, дебютант в 18 лет, практически классик в 24 года, позитронный мозг, встроенный в пишущую машинку. Кэмпбелл выдерживал его без публикаций до тех пор, пока этот восторженный щенок не научился ставить перед собой действительно серьёзные задачи, решать их, усложнять на порядок, снова решать. Публика не успевала развиваться нужными ему и Кэмпбеллу темпами, университетские профессора шипели ему вслед, погремушками хвостов загоняя его в угол. Он уходил сквозь стену. Он знал, как.
Вы думаете, это было фуэте? Это была битва. Кровь, предательства, напрасные надежды, минные поля и просроченные чеки. Там было всё. Удивительно: Джек Уильямсон в воспоминаниях тоже был скрупулёзен в отношении всяких мелких деталей, но из его мемуаров я запомнил именно что отдельные детали. Спрэг де Камп в мемуарах создал великолепные портреты своих друзей и знакомых, а сам остался в них большей частью ароматом трубочного табака и мягкой повествовательной интонацией. Аимову удалось всё это срастить с собой, остаться неразделимым со временем, идеями, соратниками, историей и фантазией.
Если романы Азимова сделали меня его читателем, то его мемуары приучили меня видеть в нём друга.
Да, я не объективен. Даже не пытаюсь. Ну и чёрт со мной.
April 6, 2012
As endless as I remember from when I was a teenager, Asimov was my favorite writer, and I finished every book I started on principle. I'm much better at skimming uninteresting sections these days, and I have different principles when it comes to reading, shall we say. What else was bothersome? Asimov's deepseated prejudices against anyone who had a slightly different sort of intelligence than he did, anyone who isn't, in fact, Isaac Asimov, becomes extremely grating. His assumptions about whole groups of people, especially Americans not from the East Coast, are often ludicrous.
But these are quibbles.
There is lots and lots of interesting information within, lots of mid 20th century science fiction history. Furthermore, Asimov's endless totting up of check amounts for short story sales becomes a kind of soothing mantra after a few hundred pages, especially since we all know the amounts were going to grow and disaster did not lie ahead. In fact, the genesis of stories and the circumstances surrounding their creation is often more interesting than a mediocre biographer's interpretation of his subject's work, and Asimov piles on such details. It's a good autobiography; he just needed a real editor.
But these are quibbles.
There is lots and lots of interesting information within, lots of mid 20th century science fiction history. Furthermore, Asimov's endless totting up of check amounts for short story sales becomes a kind of soothing mantra after a few hundred pages, especially since we all know the amounts were going to grow and disaster did not lie ahead. In fact, the genesis of stories and the circumstances surrounding their creation is often more interesting than a mediocre biographer's interpretation of his subject's work, and Asimov piles on such details. It's a good autobiography; he just needed a real editor.
Read
October 22, 2013well, I don't know how to rate this thing. As an autobiography it's kind of terrible. By the end I somehow had stockholm syndrome and enjoyed it. Look, I make stupid agreements, and I stick to 'em.
Thoughts after visiting his archive:
This guy was a jerk. He's got this air of folly about him, and one that makes me want to excuse everything. He's not trying to be a jerk, he's well meaning and just doesn't know any better. He's just trying to be honest and straight forward.
Well, he says nasty things like, "Hey, I'm sorry I've been trying to squirm out of this thing I agreed to do for a while, but I will only do it on this day. Oh, and aren't you so glad that I am doing you the enormous favor of only charging what we agreed to rather than asking you to double the cost which is what I now charge. You really are lucky, and I'm really a gracious guy," a little too often. There's no in this, just nasty self absorption.
Thoughts after visiting his archive:
This guy was a jerk. He's got this air of folly about him, and one that makes me want to excuse everything. He's not trying to be a jerk, he's well meaning and just doesn't know any better. He's just trying to be honest and straight forward.
Well, he says nasty things like, "Hey, I'm sorry I've been trying to squirm out of this thing I agreed to do for a while, but I will only do it on this day. Oh, and aren't you so glad that I am doing you the enormous favor of only charging what we agreed to rather than asking you to double the cost which is what I now charge. You really are lucky, and I'm really a gracious guy," a little too often. There's no in this, just nasty self absorption.
October 24, 2016
The thing I liked best about this autobiography was the early history of SF and Asimov's encounters with others in the field during those first days. I'd actually very much like to find a book that focused on that alone. However, Asimov focuses on much more than that, from a limited perspective of history experienced by his family and himself from pre-WWII Europe through post-WWII New York, his stint in the Army, his personal relationships, his academic career, and his growth in the SF field. And more. It's a long book. And it's just Volume 1.
Besides an over-abundance of begats concerning his early stories (this story begat this amount of pay from this particular magazine), it's a good, solid, entertaining read.
Besides an over-abundance of begats concerning his early stories (this story begat this amount of pay from this particular magazine), it's a good, solid, entertaining read.
January 4, 2009
This autobiography provides an intimate look into the progress of one the great science authors (both fiction and non-fiction). The personal details and life experiences are both entertaining and inspiring. This volume and its companion In Joy Still Felt are worthwhile reads revealing both the mundane and outstanding sides of some of Asimov's life.
February 13, 2012
A good insight into what Isaac thought about his life, and the events in it.
While you get get an idea about a writer from his/her writings, what authors have to say directly about their lives, themselves, and what happened to them makes them more human somehow.
And I think Isaac is pretty honest about himself in this book.
While you get get an idea about a writer from his/her writings, what authors have to say directly about their lives, themselves, and what happened to them makes them more human somehow.
And I think Isaac is pretty honest about himself in this book.
February 12, 2014
Entertaining, informative, and perhaps the most well-written book of this fascinating man's whole career. He is at turns candid, self-deprecating and -- um, what's that term that means the opposite of "self-deprecating"? Oh yeah, an EGOMANIAC. But a charming one.
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