Asimov On Science: 30-Year [Mass Market Paperback]

Isaac Asimov (Author)

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About the Author

Isaac Asimov authored over 400 books in a career that lasted nearly 50 years. As a leading scientific writer, historian, and futurist, he covered a variety of subjects ranging from mathematics to humor, and won numerous awards for his work.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Pinnacle Books (November 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558175601
• ISBN-13: 978-1558175600
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,159,241 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Scientist with Style, May 28, 2008

By 

Paul Camp (Chattanooga, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Asimov On Science: 30-Year (Mass Market Paperback)

Let us consider the style of several science articles by a number of prominent science fiction authors (now, alas, departed from us). Hal Clement's science articles are impeccably researched and often highly imaginative. But his writing style, while clear and serviceable, is a bit rough. I sometimes find that his articles are on the stiff or stodgy side. John W. Campbell's articles are the opposite. They are smooth, relaxed, colorful, engaging... even dramatic. But they are also written in a style that is slangy, colloquial, and folksy (what I call the "Huh? Oh, yeah? Sez who? Izzat so?" style). I wouldn't say that it is a _bad_ style, but it doesn't really wear well over time.

Isaac Asimov's style sails between the rock of dry formality and the Charybdis of folksiness. It is smooth, clear, informal, and witty. But it is also reasonably dignified and elevated. It is a style that is easy to read but not so easy to emulate. Because of this style, the essays in this collection will surely outlast the nonfiction of Clement or Campbell.

The book itself is a retrospective collection of 31 essays from Asimov's science column for _Fantasy and Science Fiction_ between 1958 and 1989-- an essay for each year. The essay for November 1958 was the first essay for _F&SF_ and is reprinted in the introduction, along with commentary about why Asimov quickly became dissatisfied with it. The other essays are presented as separate chapters with short afterwards. The afterwards sometimes update the science, sometimes talk about predictions that turned out right or wrong, and sometimes talk about reader response to the article.

Asimov's column was wide-ranging, and it did not always cover strictly scientific subjects. Sometimes they were literary ("A Sacred Poet" and "Milton! Thou Shouldst Be Living at This Hour"), sometimes historical ("Pompey and Circumstances" and "The Longest River"), and sometimes on the Bible ("Lost in Non-Translation" and "The Circle of the Earth"). "Thinking About Thinking" deals with intelligence and intelligence testing. "Best Foot Backward" is a stern attack on humanists who long for "the good old days". "Knock Plastic!" is a satire of superstition and a series of security beliefs that we entertain.

Asimov admits that he is no mathematician and has difficulty writing on mathematical topics. Yet he also confesses that he is driven to do so. I remember that when I was in high school, some of Asimov's math essays sharpened my knowledge of algebra and number theory a bit. Two math related essays in this volumn are "A Piece of Pi" (on pi) and "Exclamation Point!" (on factorials). "Twelve Point Three Six Nine" is an exercise in mathematical nonsense in which Asimov demonstrates how numbers can be juggled about to mean whatever you want.

There are some other articles that are not purely mathematical: "Heaven on Earth" (on the magnitude of stars), "The Egg and Wee" (on the relative sizes of cells), "The Slowly Moving Finger" (on the life spans of mammals), "The Luxon Wall" (on tachyons), and "After Many a Summer Dies the Proton" (on "that VIP of subatomic particles"). But each of these essays feature a generous juggling of numbers.

Science articles of a less mathematical nature include "You, Too, Can Speak Gaelic" (on how to pronounce those pesky chemical names), "I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover" (on cosmology), "Look Long Upon a Monkey" (on evolution), and "The Floating Crystal Palace" (on icebergs). One of Asimov's most popular articles, "The Ancient and the Ultimate," is _sort of_ about computers... But I will Say No More.

This book is the best introduction to Asimov's _F&SF_ articles. Hopefully, you will not stop there. Other books in the series are helpfully listed at the front. I have only one small quibble. The correct date for "You, Too, Can Speak Gaelic" is March 1963, not June 1962 as listed on the copyright page.