Isaac Asimov was a Jewish-American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. He was known for his works of science fiction and popular science. Asimov was a prolific writer, and wrote or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. His books have been published in 9 of the 10 major categories of the Dewey Decimal Classification.
Asimov wrote hard science fiction and, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, he was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers during his lifetime. Asimov's most famous work is the Foundation Series; his other major series are the Galactic Empire series and the Robot series. The Galactic Empire novels are explicitly set in earlier history of the same fictional universe as the Foundation series. Later, beginning with Foundation's Edge, he linked this distant future to the Robot and Spacer stories, creating a unified "future history" for his stories much like those pioneered by Robert A. Heinlein and previously produced by Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson. He wrote hundreds of short stories, including the social science fiction novelette "Nightfall", which in 1964 was voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America the best short science fiction story of all time. Asimov wrote the Lucky Starr series of juvenile science-fiction novels using the pen name Paul French.
Asimov also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as much nonfiction. Most of his popular science books explain scientific concepts in a historical way, going as far back as possible to a time when the science in question was at its simplest stage. He often provides nationalities, birth dates, and death dates for the scientists he mentions, as well as etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Examples include Guide to Science, the three-volume set Understanding Physics, and Asimov's Chronology of Science and Discovery, as well as works on astronomy, mathematics, history, William Shakespeare's writing, and chemistry.
Asimov was a long-time member and vice president of Mensa International, albeit reluctantly; he described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs". He took more joy in being president of the American Humanist Association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, a crater on the planet Mars, a Brooklyn elementary school, and a literary award are named in his honor.
“Is not all this an extraordinary concatenation of coincidence?”
Pelorat said, “If you list it like that—”
“List it any way you please,” said Trevize. “I don’t believe in extraordinary concatenations of coincidence.”
Source: The Foundation series (1951–1993), Foundation’s Edge (1982), Chapter 14 “Forward!” section 1, p. 281
In Joy Still Felt (1980), pp. 286-287
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In Joy Still Felt (1980), p. 217
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In Memory Yet Green (1979), pp. 301–302
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The Shaping of England (1969), p. 15
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"Worlds In Order" in The Secret of the Universe (1992), p. 63
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"The Nearest Star" (1989) (reprinted in The Secret of the Universe (1992), p. 82)
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“[W]hen one plays for top prizes one must be prepared to pay top stakes.”
The Roman Empire (1967), p. 125
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“Private profit is often hidden under a careful coating of great patriotism.”
The Roman Republic (1966), p. 128
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“It is the nature of science that answers automatically pose new and more subtle questions.”
The Wellsprings of Life (1960), p. 141
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"The World of 1990" in The Diners' Club Magazine, January 1965
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Source: Empire novels (1950–1952), The Stars, Like Dust (1951), Chapter 3 “Chance and the Wrist Watch” (p. 30)
“Truth is a discredited commodity among diplomats.”
Source: Empire novels (1950–1952), The Currents of Space (1952), Chapter 6 “The Ambassador” (p. 64)
The Near East (1968), p. 31
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“Ideas are cheap. It's only what you do with them that counts.”
"The Secrets of the Universe" (1989) (essay reprinted in The Secret of the Universe (1992), p. 167)
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“It is surely better to be wronged than to do wrong.”
In Memory Yet Green (1979), p. 175
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“Scientific writing is abhorrently stylized and places a premium on poor quality.”
Buy Jupiter and Other Stories (1975), p. 82
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Source: The Roman Empire (1967), p. 191
Source: The Roman Empire (1967), p. 176
What Can We Expect of the Moon?" in The American Legion Magazine, March 1965
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The Foundation series (1951–1993), Forward the Foundation (1993)
Source: Part 5 "Epilogue", Hari Seldon's last words
The Foundation series (1951–1993), Foundation and Earth (1986)
Source: Part 1 "Gaia", Chapter 1 "The Search Begins" section 4, p. 19
Source: The Foundation series (1951–1993), Second Foundation (1953), Chapter 16 "Beginning of War"
Source: The Foundation series (1951–1993), Second Foundation (1953), Chapter 12 "Lord"
Source: The Foundation series (1951–1993), Second Foundation (1953), Chapter 8 "Seldon's Plan"
Source: The Foundation series (1951–1993), Second Foundation (1953)
“Finished products are for decadent minds.”
Source: The Foundation series (1951–1993), Second Foundation (1953)
Source: Empire novels (1950–1952), Pebble in the Sky (1950), Chapter 5 "The Involuntary Volunteer" (p. 57)
Source: Empire novels (1950–1952), Pebble in the Sky (1950), Chapter 1 "Between One Footsep and the Next" (p. 6)
“Seldon found himself raging at the passage of time.”
Source: The Foundation series (1951–1993), Forward the Foundation (1993), Part 1 "Eto Demerzel", Chapter 5
“Earth governments in moments of stress are not famous for being reasonable.”
Source: Short fiction, The Early Asimov Book One (1972), History (p. 297)
