The Best of Isaac Asimov

About this book

Isaac Asimov offers in this collection twelve of the best stories he has written over the past thirty-five years. Ingenuity of plot and style is a regular feature in these fascinating, often provocative tales of space and time. "Marooned Off Vesta," for instance, the first fiction Asimov ever published, is a prime example of the versatility of his imagination. It tells of three men in a spaceship only three hundred miles from Vesta -- with no way to reach it. His well-known "Nightfall" probes the reactions of a planet to the darkness of night which falls only once in two thousand years. Asimov gives his solution to the dissipation of energy of the Universe in "The Last Question" - a solution so disturbing that readers will never forget this unique story. "The Dying Night" is a science fiction-mystery tale with that delightful armchair detective, Wendell Urth; three scientists; and murder. And there is a long-awaited reunion between R. Daneel Olivaw and Lije Baley in "Mirror-Image," concerning two robots who lie about their masters. Here is a tempting sampler for those who have not yet experienced Isaac Asimov, and the piece de resistance for his many devoted followers. Here are Isaac Asimov's selections of the best of his short stories: 1939: Marooned Off Vesta 1941: Nightfall 1951: C-Chute 1952: The Martian Way 1952: The Deep 1954: The Fun They Had 1956: The Last Question 1956: The Dead Past 1956: The Dying Night 1959: Anniversary 1967: Billiard Ball 1972: Mirror Image