Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Barcelona Luis de Caralt 1977
Description
A collection of twenty classic short stories by Isaac Asimov, author of the Foundation series, featuring the definitive version of "Nightfall". From one of history's most influential writers of science fiction comes this collection of twenty short works of fiction, arranged in order of publication from 1941 to 1967. Compiled by Asimov himself, who prefaced each story with an introduction.
User reviews
LibraryThing member drewandlori
Asimov has never been one of my favorites, but there are a few flashes of true brilliance in this collection. "Eyes Do More than See" completely blew me away; I had to re-read it three times in a row
LibraryThing member Hamburgerclan
This is a nice collection of tales from Isaac Asimov. They range from 1941's "Nightfall" to 1967's "Segregationist". The rationale behind the collection is to see how "Nightfall", which many consider Asimov's best story, compares with his later work. He was a bit miffed that a story written so
--J.
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early in his career was considered his best work. Well, with all due respect to the late Dr. Asimov, I thought that "Nightfall" was the best tale in the book. Not that the rest of the book isn't great. Anyway, I enjoyed the collection immensely and recommend it to all. This one's on my shelf.--J.
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LibraryThing member readafew
This is an anthology of Isaac Asimov's work.
The story Nightfall was one of Asimov's earlier works and many say his best (which, with everything he wrote after made him unhappy to have, in their opinion, not gotten better). Now I won't say it was his best, but it was definatly VERY good and VERY
The story Nightfall was one of Asimov's earlier works and many say his best (which, with everything he wrote after made him unhappy to have, in their opinion, not gotten better). Now I won't say it was his best, but it was definatly VERY good and VERY
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unique. I must say of the collection of stories in this Anthology, Nightfall was by far the best and most memorable. Show Less
LibraryThing member Karlstar
This is an older collection of Asimov's short stories. There are better collections, including Complete Robot and the Complete Stories. This is still well worth reading for Asimov fans, though if you have read the aforementioned books, you won't find much you haven't already read.
LibraryThing member IllanoyGal
This copy is the original Science Fiction Book Club edition. Printed in 1969 by Doubleday & company, Garden City, New York. The pages are somewhat yellowed as would be expected in a book that is 40 years old and was not printed on archival paper. i still have the original paper cover which is a
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little frayed around the edges but still intact. The stories, of course, are great reading even after all these years. Show Less
LibraryThing member indigo7
The short story Nightfall, deemed by some as the best science fiction story ever penned, was the reason I tracked down this book. But I didn't really see what all the brouhaha was about--the story was good but a little silly (about a planet that always has sunshine and suddenly goes into total
This was the original edition from 1969 of 20 collected short stories, musty and yellowed with corners mysteriously ripped off, which added to the mystique. Many times the stories reminded me of old B&W movies with the double-standard culture references.
That Mr. Asimov was a master writer is always evident; his style is highly imaginative with an elegant, easy intelligence flowing through.
Each story is prefaced with an introduction by the author, putting it in its proper place. This was my favorite part of the book and really made it more than just a collection. You are able to learn about the author, how he felt about writing, and why he wrote these stories. He confesses more than once to being compulsive about writing, but does so with a delightful sense of humor--always a sign of real smartness!
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darkness and all the people go mad but we don't know why); I've read other stories I liked much more.This was the original edition from 1969 of 20 collected short stories, musty and yellowed with corners mysteriously ripped off, which added to the mystique. Many times the stories reminded me of old B&W movies with the double-standard culture references.
That Mr. Asimov was a master writer is always evident; his style is highly imaginative with an elegant, easy intelligence flowing through.
Each story is prefaced with an introduction by the author, putting it in its proper place. This was my favorite part of the book and really made it more than just a collection. You are able to learn about the author, how he felt about writing, and why he wrote these stories. He confesses more than once to being compulsive about writing, but does so with a delightful sense of humor--always a sign of real smartness!
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LibraryThing member Borg-mx5
This is a book club edition. My favorite sci-fi author of all time, and in my favorite format, the short story. Nightfall is ne of the best stories ever, and the others in this edition are not far behind.
LibraryThing member antslayer
A planet with so many suns that complete darkness is very frightning. Scientist has reason to belive that the civilation ends in flames every 2000 years.
LibraryThing member DavidMKelly
"Nightfall and Other Stories" contains twenty of Asimov's short-stories published in a variety of magazines between 1941 and 1967 (though most are from the 50s).
Some of these are a little dated now but nevertheless display Asimov's very readable writing style and are accompanied by autobiographical
The eponymous "Nightfall" stands out as the most significant of the stories but "Jostess", "Breeds there a man", "It's such a beautiful day" and "Segregationist" are all very good two.
Asimov makes it so easy to read his writing though that you'll enjoy them all
Some of these are a little dated now but nevertheless display Asimov's very readable writing style and are accompanied by autobiographical
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comments or sometimes how the story originated. These provide a fascinating insight into Asimov's personality and life as a writer.The eponymous "Nightfall" stands out as the most significant of the stories but "Jostess", "Breeds there a man", "It's such a beautiful day" and "Segregationist" are all very good two.
Asimov makes it so easy to read his writing though that you'll enjoy them all
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LibraryThing member melydia
A collection of Asimov's short stories from the 1950s and '60s. I like Asimov's style, so I wasn't surprised to find I enjoyed most of these. The language is a bit dated, of course, and I don't think "space" as a generic exclamation will ever enter the lexicon, but I found the tales generally
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pleasant reads. The introductions to each story were the real stars, though. I loved reading about Asimov's aversion to the outdoors and his reaction to a rejection letter. He comes across as someone who genuinely loves the genre and would have been fun to talk to. If you like old school SF, Asimov is your man, and this isn't a bad collection to start with. Show Less
LibraryThing member pgiunta
Twenty stories comprise this collection of what Asimov himself considered his finest work up to 1969. These tales had been originally published in such periodicals as Astounding Science Fiction, Galaxy Science Fiction, Playboy, Star Science Fiction Stories, Scientific American, and more.
My
An advanced civilization panics when five of their suns have set and the sixth is about to be eclipsed, casting their part of the world into "Nightfall" for the first time in generations. Arguably one of Asimov's best stories of all time.
To the chagrin of her police officer husband Drake, biologist Rose Smollett volunteers to play "Hostess" to an alien scientist from Hawkins' Planet. It isn't long before Drake discovers that the alien has ulterior motives, one that could ignite an interstellar war.
When a physicist named Ralson threatens to commit suicide, he is placed under psychiatric care by the Atomic Energy Commission with the caveat that any therapy must be quick. Ralson has the uncanny ability to rapidly solve almost any scientific problem and the A.E.C. thinks that he can create a force field to repel atomic energy. Of course, they want it done yesterday in "Breeds There a Man...?"
A merchant ship from Earth is captured by an alien enemy known as the Kloro. While the humans aboard are antagonistic toward one another, one man named Mullen rises above by volunteering for a dangerous mission. If he is successful, the other passengers will be able to retake the ship. Mullen must suit up and walk the exterior hull of the craft in magnetic boots, but to get there, he'll have to be ejected from the corpse chute, otherwise known as the "C-Chute."
Jeff Stock and Dick Altmayer have been friends for decades, during which Jeff has risen through the military ranks and Dick, a conscientious objector, has been arrested multiple times for draft dodging, terrorism, and treason. Yet, in the end, it's possible that both men are heroes "In A Good Cause—".
After discussing what might have happened if they'd each made different choices in life, a married couple named Norman and Livvy encounter a eccentric old man on a train who presents them with a mirror that allows then to ask "What If—" and see the results play out. Will Norman and Livvy's love survive this test?
A con-man named Gellhorn visits a mechanic named Jake who restores old automatic cars and allows them to roam free on his farm. Gellhorn tries to make an offer that Jake cannot refuse—take parts from Jake's restores and use them to refurbish old vehicles to sell at new car prices. After Jake turns him away, Gellhorn returns with muscle, but they are no match for "Sally", Matthew, and the rest of the cars with minds of their own...
"It's Such a Beautiful Day" when young Richard decides to walk to school after the teleportation "Door" in his home malfunctions. The problem is that in this perfect utopia, no one ever walks outside when you can simply use the Door system to teleport anywhere in the world. When Richard begins to form a habit of strolling outdoors at every opportunity, a psychiatrist is called in, but in the end, who ends up being the true counselor?
An elderly sociologist travels to the human asteroid colony of Elsevere to study their caste society. Upon arrival, he suspects something is wrong and is proven correct upon learning that the head of sanitation, who lives well and is highly compensated, is nevertheless treated like a second class citizen. No one else on Elsevere will even speak to Ragusnik or his family. As a result, Ragusnik has stopped work and in the end, it's up to Lamorak to be the "Strikebreaker."
My
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favorites include:An advanced civilization panics when five of their suns have set and the sixth is about to be eclipsed, casting their part of the world into "Nightfall" for the first time in generations. Arguably one of Asimov's best stories of all time.
To the chagrin of her police officer husband Drake, biologist Rose Smollett volunteers to play "Hostess" to an alien scientist from Hawkins' Planet. It isn't long before Drake discovers that the alien has ulterior motives, one that could ignite an interstellar war.
When a physicist named Ralson threatens to commit suicide, he is placed under psychiatric care by the Atomic Energy Commission with the caveat that any therapy must be quick. Ralson has the uncanny ability to rapidly solve almost any scientific problem and the A.E.C. thinks that he can create a force field to repel atomic energy. Of course, they want it done yesterday in "Breeds There a Man...?"
A merchant ship from Earth is captured by an alien enemy known as the Kloro. While the humans aboard are antagonistic toward one another, one man named Mullen rises above by volunteering for a dangerous mission. If he is successful, the other passengers will be able to retake the ship. Mullen must suit up and walk the exterior hull of the craft in magnetic boots, but to get there, he'll have to be ejected from the corpse chute, otherwise known as the "C-Chute."
Jeff Stock and Dick Altmayer have been friends for decades, during which Jeff has risen through the military ranks and Dick, a conscientious objector, has been arrested multiple times for draft dodging, terrorism, and treason. Yet, in the end, it's possible that both men are heroes "In A Good Cause—".
After discussing what might have happened if they'd each made different choices in life, a married couple named Norman and Livvy encounter a eccentric old man on a train who presents them with a mirror that allows then to ask "What If—" and see the results play out. Will Norman and Livvy's love survive this test?
A con-man named Gellhorn visits a mechanic named Jake who restores old automatic cars and allows them to roam free on his farm. Gellhorn tries to make an offer that Jake cannot refuse—take parts from Jake's restores and use them to refurbish old vehicles to sell at new car prices. After Jake turns him away, Gellhorn returns with muscle, but they are no match for "Sally", Matthew, and the rest of the cars with minds of their own...
"It's Such a Beautiful Day" when young Richard decides to walk to school after the teleportation "Door" in his home malfunctions. The problem is that in this perfect utopia, no one ever walks outside when you can simply use the Door system to teleport anywhere in the world. When Richard begins to form a habit of strolling outdoors at every opportunity, a psychiatrist is called in, but in the end, who ends up being the true counselor?
An elderly sociologist travels to the human asteroid colony of Elsevere to study their caste society. Upon arrival, he suspects something is wrong and is proven correct upon learning that the head of sanitation, who lives well and is highly compensated, is nevertheless treated like a second class citizen. No one else on Elsevere will even speak to Ragusnik or his family. As a result, Ragusnik has stopped work and in the end, it's up to Lamorak to be the "Strikebreaker."
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Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1969
Physical description
212 p.; 18 cm
ISBN
8421751085 / 9788421751084