Asimov - the man

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Try and get any of the various short story collections released in Asimov's lifetime - they all have chatty introductions to each story where he discusses something of the genesis of the story.

 

[CatBar]

If you've read his biographies you know quite a bit about him. He's was, of course, intelligent tempered with a great deal of wisdom. He had a sense of humor that was out of this world. He was known as Science Fiction's dirty old man - regardless of his age. He was one of the most prolific writers to date writing not just fiction - science fiction, but mysteries, fantasies, and adventure, and non-fiction. He had a way of taking a subject and making it understood by anyone who took the time to read his books. His Asimov's Guide to ... I still reference when I have a question dealing with one of the subjects that he wrote a book about.

When I first wrote to him on a lark to ask him a question and also to tell him that he was one of my favorite authors, I never expected an answer. However I got one, hand typed by him complete with x's over the typos, and I was shocked.

He will remain always, one of my favorite authors, but also one of my favorite people. His passing was a sad day.

Cheers,

Don't know if you're still around these Forums Mything (this quote goes back to 2001) but - hey you lucky thing!

Fancy getting a actual hand-typed response - complete with x's over his typos - from the awesome man himself. How I have longed to write to him myself - but by the time I'd got back into Asimov again he'd been dead for 10 years!
That hospital ****-up where he died (at only 72) from infected blood has a whole lot to answer for. (They should've shut that damn hospital down!) What a monumental waste of a person.

He sounded like an incredibly likeable and approachable person with a great sense of humour. I first read him when I was about 15 and really into sci-fi. When I re-read him 35 years later I really fell into love - with all his robots, and Daneel and Giskard in particular. I'd also like to try some of his science books, particularly on Physics as, as you said in so many words Mything, he has such a readable writing style.

I quite liked some of his Foundation Books but much preferred his Robot Novels - and Positronic Man.

 

[j d worthington]

I'd second the suggestions of knivesout on this. That's also why I suggested Before the Golden Age and The Early Asimov... because each goes into precisely this sort of thing as well....

 

[jeff.s.p]

Thanks!

Jeff

 

[Hober Mallow]

I started reading his scifi novels two years ago. I was shocked to recently discover that he was a professor of BioChemistry where I am now attending grad school.

 

[JustPassingThrough]

I've said this elsewhere on the board, but he was the one author that I wish I had met. (And I've never read any of his fiction books.)