Customer Reviews

In Joy Still Felt: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov 1954-1978

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This is the second volume of Asimov's interesting life, a bit scary when seeing the thickness of the volume, but well worth it to really inderstand this man. His writing style is orderly and and paragraphs small, you keep reading just one more quick page until you find a chapter has passed.

I did find it frustrating that he didn't include much insight into his family's personalites. He really valued their privacy, but it left me with a feeling of uncompleteness. It reads like diary entries that he knows someone will be reading. No gossip, just the facts.

Isaac does give you a lot of insight into his personality, and by reading "between the lines" you see the real Asimov. He truly was a wonderful entertaining writer as he made the most commonplace activities, good reading.

This companion volume to "In Memory Yet Green" is a must for anyone that truly appreciates the works of Isaac Asimov. If you can find it, read it. I humbly suggest that the publishers are crazy for letting it go out of print. While the contemporary autobiography (I.Asimov: A Memoir) is fine and provides details beyond 1978, the original two volumes allow you to know the man, his aspirations and accomplishments much more thoroughly. (See review for "In Memory Yet Green - the Autobiography of Isaac Asimov - 1920-1954")

This was a wonderful book and a great insight into a man whose passion for the positiveness of the human race was, I felt, equal to none. There are moments when Asimov turns a brief, yet discerning eye to himself and admits his flaws such as his failed marriage which he acknowledges he had part in its dissolution. He only briefly touches on the lives of his children preferring to keep those portions of his life, and theirs, private. I did not mind these exclusions at all because Asimov makes up for it with a wide range of details in his life from his many speeches, his travels and his interactions with fellow writers, celebrities and other noted figures. He may not be a Shakespeare and some of his non-fiction works may not hold out the test of time but this was an amazing and insightful man whose positiveness about the human race and its limited potential has certainly earned him a place in history.

Asimov continues the story of his life which he began in "In Memories Yet Green". The first part dealt with his childhood in Brooklyn, his schooldays, his college days, his marriage and his short military service. The second part gives us here the story of Isaac Asimov the writer.

He begins as a newly minted chemistry Ph.D. with a knack for giving good (great) lectures but with no special affinity for original academic research. He continues writing and this supplements his income. He lands a job in Boston and eventually becomes an associate professor of biochemistry in Boston University's department of medicine.

He turns from writing fiction to non-fiction and gradually his writing income exceeds his medical school income and circumstances push him to write full time, much to his delight.

Asimov meets friends and editors for lunch and dinner, he begins a side career as a speaker, he travels a little but only by car, train, or cruise ship since this man who zips through space in his mind won't get on an airplane. He raises two children, divorces, moves back to New York, and remarries. By the end of this account, he's written and published over 200 books.

I'm a great fan of Asimov but I am under no illusion. As a writer of fiction Asimov wrote fun, clever, hugely entertaining stories but I doubt they will be read in a hundred years the way Edgar Allan Poe's stories are today. His fiction entertains but doesn't soothe or enlighten the soul. As a non-fiction writer of science, new discoveries can only make his books outdated. His books on history and literature will last longer, but the fact is there are better books than his on those topics.

In the end though, Isaac Asimov was a phenomenal human being and I don't see why that topic will ever be dated. Perhaps he was not an original thinker like Marvin Minsky or a literary novelist like John Irving. But his account of his own life gives us an intimate and realistic portrait of family life in the 1960s and of the fun an intellectual could have in New York in the 1970s.

This book will, I think, stand the test of time.

Vincent Poirier, Tokyo

This biography paints a positive picture of humanity and idealizes Asimov's life. Not much detail on his personal life or bad habits (he was famous for feeling up women) is included. If you like Asimov's work, reading this will let you follow the early professional development of the mind behind the words; Asimov at his peak reflecting upon himself. It's long, but keeps up a stream of entertaining anecdotes (easily forgotten).

Still, after finishing the book, all I remember is Asimov knew celebrities, was great at parties, and made an interesting life for himself. He enjoyed being famous, and much of the book reinforces how famous he was. I believe his success came from sheer force of personality as much as ability. "In Joy Still Felt" is like an award Asimov wrote for himself, excellent self-marketing, emphasizing his own best face. I don't intend to re-read it.

There's nothing like the smell of an old book thats just waiting to be read.Icould not belive when I found this baby at the bottom of a box.I enjoyed this book as much as his other books.It makes a great companion to the other two autobiographys.