Isaac Asimov (Isaac Asimov, birth name Isaac Yudovich Ozimov; January 2, 1920, Petrovichi, RSFSR - April 6, 1992, New York, USA) - American science fiction writer, popularizer of science, biochemist.

The author of about 500 books, mostly fiction (primarily in the genre of science fiction, but also in other genres: fantasy, detective, humor) and popular science (in various fields - from astronomy and genetics to history and literary criticism). Multiple Hugo and Nebula Prize Winner. Some terms from his works - robotics (robotics, robotics), positronic (positronic), psychohistory (psychohistory, the science of the behavior of large groups of people) - have become firmly established in English and other languages. In the Anglo-American literary tradition, Asimov, along with Arthur Clarke and Robert Heinlein, are referred to as the “Big Three” science fiction writers.

In one of his addresses to readers, Asimov formulated the humanistic role of science fiction in the modern world as follows: “History has reached the point where humanity is no longer allowed to be at enmity. People on Earth should be Friends. I have always tried to emphasize this in my works ... I do not think that you can force all people to love each other, but I would like to destroy the hatred between people. And I seriously believe that science fiction is one of the links that help connect humanity. The problems that we raise in science fiction become urgent problems of all mankind ... Science fiction writer, science fiction reader, science fiction itself serves humanity "

Science Fiction Predictors - Isaac Asimov

Azimov was born (according to documents) on January 2, 1920 in the town of Petrovichi, Klimovichi district, Mogilev province, RSFSR (since 1929 - Shumyachsky district of Smolensk region) into a Jewish family. His parents, Anna Rachel Isaakovna Berman (Anna Rachel Berman-Asimov, 1895-1973) and Yuda Aronovich Asimov (Judah Asimov, 1896-1969), were millers by profession. It was named after the late maternal grandfather, Isaac Berman (1850-1901). Contrary to Isaac Asimov's later assertions that the original family name was "Ozimov", all relatives remaining in the USSR bear the surname "Azimov".

As a child, Asimov spoke Yiddish and English. From fiction in the early years, he grew up mainly on the stories of Sholem Aleichem. In 1923, his parents took him to the United States (“in a suitcase,” as he himself put it), where they settled in Brooklyn and a few years later opened a candy store.

At the age of 5, Isaac Asimov went to school in the Brooklyn district of Bedford - Stuyvesant. He was supposed to go to school at the age of 6, but his mother corrected his birthday on September 7, 1919, in order to send him to school a year earlier. After graduating from the tenth grade in 1935, 15-year-old Asimov entered Seth Low Junior College, but this college closed a year later. Azimov entered the Faculty of Chemistry at Columbia University in New York, where he received a B.S. degree in 1939 and an M. Sc. Degree in chemistry in 1941 and entered graduate school. However, in 1942 he left for Philadelphia to work as a chemist at the Philadelphia shipyard for the army. Another science fiction writer Robert Heinlein also worked with him there.

Asimov began to write at the age of 11. He began writing a book about the adventures of boys living in a small town. He wrote 8 chapters and then abandoned the book. But at the same time, an interesting incident occurred. After writing 2 chapters, Isaac retold them to his friend. He demanded a continuation. When Isaac explained that this was all he had written so far, his friend asked for a book where Isaac had read the story. From that moment, Isaac realized that he had a gift for writing, and began to take his literary career seriously.

In 1941, the story “Nightfall” was published about a planet orbiting in a system of six stars, where night falls once every 2049 years. The story gained immense fame (according to Bewildering Stories, it was one of the most famous stories ever published). In 1968, The Coming of Night was declared the best science fiction story ever written by the American Science Fiction Association. The story got into anthologies more than 20 times, was filmed twice, and Azimov himself later called it "a watershed in my professional career." Until then, little-known science fiction writer, who published about 10 stories (and about the same number were rejected), became a famous writer. Interestingly, Azimov himself did not consider "The Coming of the Night" to be his favorite story.

On May 10, 1939, Asimov began writing the first of his robot stories, the short story "Robbie". In 1941, Asimov wrote the story "Liar" (English Liar!) About a robot that could read minds. In this story, the famous Three Laws of Robotics begin to appear. Asimov attributed the authorship of these laws to John W. Campbell, who formulated them in a conversation with Asimov on December 23, 1940. Campbell, however, said that the idea belonged to Asimov, he only gave it a formulation. In the same story, Azimov invented the word "robotics" (robotics, the science of robots), which entered the English language. In translations of Asimov into Russian, robotics is also translated as "robotics", "robotics".

In the collection of stories "I, Robot", which brought the writer worldwide fame, Asimov dispels widespread fears associated with the creation of artificial intelligent beings. Before Asimov, in most robot stories, they rebelled or killed their creators. Asimov's robots are not mechanical villains plotting to destroy the human race, but helpers of people, often wiser and more humane than their masters. Since the early 1940s, science fiction robots have obeyed the Three Laws of Robotics, although traditionally no science fiction writer, except Asimov, cites these laws explicitly.

In 1942, Asimov began a series of novels, Foundation. Initially, "Foundation" and stories about robots belonged to different worlds, and only in 1980, Asimov decided to unite them.

Since 1958, Asimov began to write much less fiction and much more popular science literature. Since 1980, he resumed writing science fiction with a sequel to the Foundation series.

Asimov's three favorite stories were The Last Question, The Bicentennial Man, and The Ugly Little Boy, in that order. Favorite novel was The Gods Themselves.

In February 1942, on Valentine's Day, Asimov met on a "blind date" with Gerthrude Blugerman. They got married on July 26. From this marriage was born a son David (David) (1951) and daughter Robyn Joan (Robyn Joan) (1955).

From October 1945 to July 1946 Azimov served in the army. Then he returned to New York and continued his education. In 1948 he completed his graduate school, received his PhD (Doctor) degree in biochemistry, and entered the postdoctorate as a biochemist. In 1949, he took a job as a professor at the Boston University School of Medicine, where he became assistant professor in December 1951 and associate professor in 1955. In 1958, the university stopped paying him a salary, but formally left him in his previous position. By this time, Azimov's income as a writer had already exceeded his university salary. In 1979 he was awarded the title of full professor.

In the 1960s, Azimov was under investigation by the FBI for possible links with the Communists. The reason was the denunciation of Azimov's respectful review of Russia as the first country to build a nuclear power plant. Suspicion was finally removed from the writer in 1967.

In 1970, Azimov parted with his wife and almost immediately became friends with Janet Opal Jeppson, whom he met at a banquet on May 1, 1959. (Before that, they met in 1956, when he gave her an autograph. Asimov did not remember that meeting, and Jeppson found him then an unpleasant person.) The divorce came into force on November 16, 1973, and on November 30, Asimov and Jeppson were married. There were no children from this marriage.

He died on April 6, 1992 from heart and kidney failure on the background of HIV infection (which led to AIDS), which he contracted during heart surgery in 1983. According to the will, the body was cremated, and the ashes were scattered.

Isaac Asimov's biography

The most famous fantastic works of Asimov:

The collection of stories "I, Robot" ("I, Robot"), in which Asimov developed a code of ethics for robots. It was he who wrote the Three Laws of Robotics;
A series of 3 novels about the galactic empire: Pebble in the Sky, The Stars, Like Dust and The Currents of Space;
A series of novels "Foundation" ("Foundation", also this word was translated as "Foundation", "Foundation", "Establishment" and "Academy") about the collapse of the galactic empire and the birth of a new social order;
The novel "The Gods Themselves" ("The Gods Themselves"), the central theme of which is that rationalism without morality leads to evil;
The novel "The End of Eternity", which describes Eternity (an organization that controls time travel and changes human history) and its downfall;
A cycle about the adventures of space ranger Lucky Starr (see Lucky Starr series);
The story "The Bicentennial Man" ("Bicentennial Man"), based on which the film of the same name was filmed in 1999.

The series "Detective Elijah Bailey and Robot Daniel Olivo" is a famous cycle of four novels and one story about the adventures of an earthling detective and his partner - a robot cosmonite: "Mother Earth", "Steel Caves", "Naked Sun", "Mirror reflection ”,“ Robots of the Dawn ”,“ Robots and the Empire ”.

Almost all the cycles of the writer, as well as individual works, form the "History of the Future".

Many of Azimov's works were filmed, the most famous films being "Bicentennial Man" and "I, Robot".

Isaac Asimov, a short biography of the American science fiction writer, is presented in this article.

Isaac Asimov short biography

Isaac Asimov (real name Isaac Ozimov) was born January 2, 1920 years in Russia, in Petrovichi - a place located very close to Smolensk. In 1923, his parents took him to the United States ("in a suitcase," as he himself put it), where they settled in Brooklyn and a few years later opened a candy store.

After receiving secondary education, Azimov, at the request of his parents, tried to become a physician. It turned out to be beyond his powers: at the sight of blood he felt bad. Isaac then attempted to enter Columbia University's most prestigious college, but did not get past the interview, writing in his autobiography that he was talkative, unbalanced and did not know how to make a good impression on people. He was admitted to Seth Lowe Junior College in Brooklyn. A year later, this college was closed and Asimov ended up at Columbia University - however, as a simple listener, and not a student of an elite college. On July 25, 1945, Isaac Asimov married Gertrude Blugerman, with whom he raised two children.

From October 1945 to July 1946 Azimov served in the army. Then he returned to New York and continued his education. In 1948 he completed his postgraduate studies, received his PhD (doctor) degree in biochemistry, and entered the postdoctoral school as a biochemist. In 1949, he got a job as a professor at the School of Medicine at Boston University, where in December 1951 he became an assistant, and in 1955 - an assistant professor. In 1979 he was awarded the title of professor.

In the 1960s, Azimov was under investigation by the FBI for possible links with the Communists. Suspicions were removed from the writer in 1967.

In 1970, Azimov broke up with his wife and almost immediately became friends with Janet Opal Jeppson.

April 6, 1992 the writer died of heart and kidney failure due to HIV infection (leading to AIDS), which he contracted during heart surgery in 1983.

Isaac Asimov is a great science fiction writer whose fictional worlds have fascinated more than one generation of readers. This talented man has written more than half a thousand books and stories, trying himself in different genres: from favorite science fiction to detective stories and fantasy. However, few people know that in the creative biography of Azimov there was a place not only for literary activity, but also for science.

Childhood and youth

The future writer was born in Belarus, in a place called Petrovichi, not far from Mogilev, on January 2, 1920. Azimov's parents, Yuda Aronovich and Hana-Rakhil Isaakovna, worked as millers. The boy was named after his late grandfather on his mother's side. Isaac himself would later claim that the Azimovs' surname was originally written as Ozimovs. Jewish roots were highly revered in Isaac's family. According to his own recollections, his parents did not speak to him in Russian, Yiddish became the first language for Azimov, and stories were his first literature.

In 1923, the Asimovs immigrated to the United States and settled in Brooklyn, where they soon opened their own candy store. The future writer went to school at the age of five. According to the rules, children were accepted from six, however, Isaac's parents forwarded the date of birth of their son to 1919, so that the boy went to school a year earlier. In 1935, Azimov graduated from the tenth grade and began to study at the college, which, unfortunately, was closed a year later. After that, Isaac went to New York, where he entered Columbia University, choosing the Faculty of Chemistry.

In 1939, Azimov was awarded a bachelor's degree, and two years later the young man became a master of chemistry. Isaac immediately continued his studies in graduate school, but a year later changed plans and moved to Philadelphia, where he worked as a chemist in a military shipyard. 1945 and 1946 Isaac gave up serving in the army, after which he returned to New York and continued to study. Azimov graduated from his postgraduate studies in 1948, but did not stop there and submitted documents for the so-called postdoctorate to the Department of Biochemistry. At the same time, Azimov began teaching at Boston University, where he ended up working for many years.

Books

The craving for writing woke up early in Isaac Asimov. The first attempt to write a book was at the age of 11: Isaac described the adventures of boys from a small town. At first, the creative enthusiasm did not last long, and Azimov abandoned the unfinished book. However, some time later I decided to give the first chapters to my friend to read. Imagine Isaac's surprise when he enthusiastically demanded to continue. Perhaps, at this moment, Azimov realized the power of the writing talent bestowed on him, and began to take this gift more seriously.

The first story of Isaac Asimov, "Captured by Vesta" was published in 1939, but did not bring the writer much fame. But the next short work entitled "The Coming of Night", published in 1941, made a splash among fans of the fantastic genre. It was a story about a planet on which night comes once every 2049 years. In 1968, the story was even called the best ever published in this genre. "The Coming of Night" will subsequently be repeatedly included in numerous anthologies and collections, and will also survive two attempts at adaptation (unfortunately, unsuccessful). The writer himself will call this story a "watershed" in his literary career. It is interesting that, at the same time, "The Coming of Night" did not become Azimov's favorite story in his own work.

After that, Isaac Asimov's stories will be long-awaited for fans. In May 1939, Isaac Asimov began writing the first robot story called Robbie. A year later, the story "Liar" appears - a story about a robot that could read people's minds. In this work, Asimov will describe for the first time the so-called three laws of robotics. According to the writer, these laws were first formulated by the writer John Campbell, although he, in turn, insisted on the authorship of Asimov.

The laws sound as follows:

1. A robot cannot harm a person or, by its inaction, allow a person to be harmed.
2. A robot must obey all orders given by a human, except when these orders are contrary to the First Law.
3. The robot must take care of its safety to the extent that it does not contradict the First or Second Laws.

At the same time, the word "robotics" appeared, which later entered the dictionaries of the English language. Interestingly, according to the tradition that developed among science fiction writers, before Asimov, works about robots told about the uprising of artificial intelligence and about riots directed against people. And after the release of the first stories of Isaac Asimov, robots in literature will begin to obey the same three laws, becoming more friendly.

In 1942, the writer began a series of science fiction novels "Foundation". Isaac Asimov originally envisioned this episode as a stand-alone series, but in 1980, Foundation will be merged with the already written stories about robots. In another version of the translation into Russian, this series will be given the name "Academy".

Since 1958, Isaac Asimov will pay more attention to the popular science genre, but in 1980 he will return to science fiction and continue the Foundation cycle. Perhaps the most notable stories of Isaac Asimov, in addition to "Foundation", were the works "I am a Robot", "The End of Eternity", "They Will Not Come", "The Gods Themselves" and "Empire". The writer himself singled out the stories "The Last Question", "Bicentennial Man" and "Ugly Boy", considering them the most successful.

Personal life

In 1942, Isaac Asimov met his first true love. The fact that it took place on Valentine's Day also made this acquaintance romantic. Gertrude Blugerman became the chosen one of the writer. The lovers got married. This marriage gave the writer a daughter, Robin Joan, and a son, David. In 1970, the couple divorced.

Isaac Asimov did not remain alone for long: in the same year, the writer became friends with Janet Opal Jeppson, who worked as a psychiatrist. Asimov met this woman in 1959. In 1973, the couple signed. Azimov has no children from this marriage.

Death

The writer passed away on April 6, 1992. The cause of death of Isaac Asimov, doctors will call heart and kidney failure, complicated by HIV infection, which the writer was accidentally infected in 1983 during heart surgery.

The death of Isaac Asimov shocked fans, who inherited only the books of the great writer.

Bibliography

• 1949-1985 - Detective Elijah Bailey and Robot Daniel Olivo
• 1950 - "I, Robot"
• 1950 - Pebble in the Sky
• 1951 - Stars Like Dust
• 1951 - "Foundation"
• 1952 - "Space Currents"
• 1955 - "The End of Eternity"
• 1957 - Naked Sun
• 1958 - Lucky Starr and the Rings of Saturn
• 1966 - Fantastic Journey
• 1972 - The Gods Themselves
• 1976 - Bicentennial Man

Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) is a true legend in the "golden age" of American fiction. He devoted almost his entire life to literature: over four hundred books, including special studies and popular science works, came from his pen. The point, of course, is not in quantity, there are more prolific science fiction writers among them. But, unlike most of his colleagues, Asimov did not follow the hackneyed cliché - he gushed with original ideas, each of which was capable of spawning a whole direction in science fiction.

And it's all about him

No matter how trite it sounds, Azimov's biography already looks like a fascinating novel. He was born in Soviet Russia, in the town of Petrovichi near Smolensk. This fateful event took place on January 2, 1920, and already in 1923 the Ozimov family (this was the original surname of his parents) emigrated to the United States. Azimov's literary career began sixteen years later, with the story "Lost at Vesta", published in the magazine "Amazing Stories". Since then, publications have rained down one after another, and soon Isaac became one of the most active figures in the American fandom, a regular at forums and conventions, the soul of society, charming and courteous. Literature did not interfere with his scientific career. Yesterday's emigrant, he managed to brilliantly graduate from high school, then - the Faculty of Chemistry at Columbia University, quickly get a degree and by 1979 become a professor at his alma mater.

Michael Whelan, a master of fantastic painting, has illustrated many of Asimov's books. These works adorn our article.

However, the main achievements of Isaac Asimov undoubtedly lie in the field of literature. Here, however, not without a certain amount of luck. The very first person from the world of science fiction, with whom the young Isaac personally met, was John Wood Campbell. The legendary editor of Astouding SF magazine played an invaluable role in the formation of American fiction in the "golden age", personally fostering a whole generation of brilliant writers - from Robert Heinlein to Henry Kuttner and Catherine Moore. Campbell not only had an amazing nose for talent, but he literally bombarded his favorites with a whole barrage of ideas, many of which were embodied in the stories and stories of those whom we today call the classics of SF. Of course, John Campbell could not pass by Asimov, although only the ninth of the stories offered by Isaac was published on the pages of his magazine. Like many fellows in the shop, the writer remained forever grateful to Campbell - the man thanks to whom American science fiction made a giant evolutionary leap in just a few years.

A lot of articles and books have been written about the work of Isaac Asimov, including the two-volume memoirs of the writer himself. A single listing of his literary awards would take several pages in small print. On account of Asimov, five "Hugo" (1963, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1983) and two "Nebula" (1972, 1976) - the most authoritative awards in world science fiction. However, it is much more important that his numerous books are still translated and republished all over the world - including works created more than half a century ago.

I am a robot

The first thing that comes to mind when the name of Isaac Asimov sounds is the image of a robot in world fiction. No, of course, it was not Azimov who invented the robots. This word comes from the Czech language, it was first used by Karel Čapek in his famous play "R.U.R." The very image of an artificial person, alive, but devoid of a soul, came to us from the stories about the Golem and the monster of Frankenstein. However, it was Azimov who proposed an ideal way to once and for all secure humanity from the very possibility of a "riot of machines". If in the science fiction of the 1920s the mad android was one of the main enemies of mankind (along with beetle-eyed monsters and maniac scientists), then with the arrival of "Saint Isaac" the robot from a crafty slave turned into an irreplaceable assistant and faithful confidante of man. And all it took was to introduce the Three Laws, hardwired, so to speak, into the BIOS of the positronic brain of every intelligent machine!

I think it will not be superfluous to once again recall these Laws. According to the First, a robot cannot harm a person or, by its inaction, allow harm to be done to a person. According to the Second, he must obey all orders that a person gives, except when these orders are contrary to the First Law. And finally, according to the Third, the robot must take care of its safety to the extent that this does not contradict the First and Second Laws. The positronic brain is physically incapable of violating any of these principles - it is on them that its structure is based.

Isaac Asimov's first story about robots appeared in 1940 in the pages of a science fiction magazine. The story was called "Strange Buddy", or "Robbie", and told about the fate of an unusual robot - touching and very human. This work was followed by the second, third, fourth ... And already in 1950, Isaac Asimov's cycle of stories "I, a Robot" came out as a separate book, which determined the development of the theme of intelligent machines for many years to come.

Founding and founders

"If only you knew from what rubbish poetry grows without knowing shame ..." - wrote Anna Akhmatova. Isaac Asimov's interest in robots was for quite mundane reasons. For all his merits, John Wood Campbell, who for a long time remained the main publisher of Asimov, was distinguished by his radical views and believed that from any conflict with aliens, a representative of the "higher" human race must certainly emerge victorious. These frameworks were too narrow for Isaac, moreover, they contradicted his beliefs. And the writer found a brilliant way out: from now on, in the works that he offered Campbell, there were no aliens at all, which means there was no corresponding conflict. However, this does not mean that Azimov completely abandoned the space theme. On the contrary, the works, the action of which took place on distant planets, came out from under his pen one after another. Only now these worlds were inhabited not by "little green men", but by the same people, the descendants of earthly settlers.

The most famous Azimov cycle, which began during this period, was "Foundation" (also known in Russian translations as "Foundation" and "Academy"). Influenced by Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, the novels portray some of the most impressive future history of 20th century science fiction. The first Empire of the human race fell under its own weight. Science and arts wither, the army is falling apart, the provinces declare themselves independent states, the connection between them is lost - in a word, new Dark Ages are coming. Of course, the optimist Azimov does not lose faith in progress: sooner or later the world will become one again and the standards of the Second Empire will rise over all worlds. But is it possible to calculate how the situation will develop and reduce the Dark Ages to a minimum? The great mathematician Hari Saldon, the inventor of the science of psychohistory, the creator of the Foundation, a community that is to become the embryo of the Second Empire of mankind, takes on this task.

The paintings of the death and disintegration of the greatest Empire, talentedly drawn by the writer, are impressive. But the main find of Asimov in this cycle is, of course, psychohistory itself. “Without trying to predetermine the actions of individuals, she formulated certain mathematical laws by which human society developed,” the hero of the novel explains her essence. For thousands of years, the creation of such a science has remained the dream of those in power. Today, oracles and fortune-tellers, pythias and augurs, tarot cards and coffee grounds have been replaced by the eldest child of Progress - the omnipotent Science. Whatever is used to predict the approximate direction of development of society - at least a few months ahead, until the next elections ... Alas, sociologists and political scientists have not learned to predict the future with confidence ...
As for the "Foundation", the fate of this cycle has developed quite happily. In 1966, at the 24th Worldcon, Foundation won the Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction Series of All Time. During the voting, Asimov's novels bypassed both the most popular "History of the Future" by Robert Heinlein, and "The Lord of the Rings" by John R. R. Tolkien, whose name has already thundered in the English-speaking world.

Steel caves

Fantastic detective is a very special genre. It combines features of the traditional detective novel and fiction, and therefore is often criticized from both sides. Connoisseurs of the detective genre are annoyed by fantastic assumptions, fans of science fiction are constrained by a rigid structure inevitable for a detective. However, writers stubbornly return to this direction, again and again forcing cohorts of elusive criminals and ingenious detectives to get down to business. And one of the generally recognized classics of a fantastic detective story is again considered to be the unsurpassed and many-sided Isaac Asimov.

The novels "Steel Caves", "The Naked Sun" and "Robots of the Morning Dawn" about the police officer Elijah Bailey and his partner R. Daniel Olivo - in a sense, a continuation of the cycle "I, Robot". The detective itself is akin to a tangled chess game, while Asimov added an additional unknown to this equation - robots. One of them, a balanced and reserved detective Daniel Olivo, becomes the protagonist of all the novels of the trilogy. Other robots invariably come under suspicion or become key witnesses in cases to be unraveled by a couple of investigators. The move, it should be noted, is the most ingenious. The behavior of thinking machines is rigidly defined by the Three Laws - and yet robots are constantly involved in fatal crimes. Moreover, the difficult foreign policy situation requires finding the culprit in record time ...

The list of Asimov's fantastic detectives is not limited to the trilogy. However, it was she who entered the annals, became a constant role model. And not only in the USA and England, but also in Russia. For the first time "Steel Caves" was published in Russian in 1969, in one of the volumes of Detlit's "Library of Adventures", with a foreword by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky - and immediately three hundred thousand copies. Not every modern best-selling author can boast of such success. And, in general, deservedly so: although over the past years hundreds of writers have tried their hand in the field of fantastic detective, the works of Asimov still remain an ideal example of the genre.

The beginning of eternity

Another direction in which the American writer left a distinct mark is chrono-opera, literature about time travel. The time machine has been a topic on duty for SF since time immemorial. In modern science fiction there are an astronomical number of variations on this theme, including many classics: "And the thunder struck ..." by Ray Bradbury, "Time Patrol" by Paul Anderson, "May the darkness not fall" by Sprague De Camp ... But "The End of Eternity" by Isaac Azimova occupies one of the most honorable places in this row. Just as easily a poet can be guessed from Bradbury's texts, it is just as easy to identify a natural scientist in the author of The End of Eternity. Meticulously and ruthlessly logically examining the situation with time travel, Azimov designed an organization that would inevitably arise in a world where going to the past or the future is no more difficult than going to his aunt in Saratov.

Eternity is a kind of totalitarian state that exists outside the mainstream of time and uses a time machine to correct history. Its main goal is to keep the society unchanged, to insure the inhabitants against global disasters and shocks. And at the same time, while maintaining the status quo, Eternity deprived humanity of the future, in fact, froze the progress of civilization for millennia. Alas, it is the global shocks, wars and catastrophes that make society move forward. Complete rest leads civilization to decay and death ...

Not all writers share Isaac Asimov's skepticism. For more than half a century, Eternity has been reborn again and again in the novels of other authors, under new names: Time Patrol (by Paul Anderson), Sand Center (in Keith Laumer's "Dinosaur Coast"), and so on and so forth. Most of these organizations, however, do not so much correct the history of mankind as monitor its integrity. Too great is the fear of the anarchy that will prevail in a time crowded with visa-free travelers. If one butterfly, crushed in the past, reverberates in the present with a change in the political system in America, how is it capable of distorting the history of another Yankee who came to the court of King Arthur with a machine gun at the ready? .. It was this fear that Isaac Asimov felt earlier than others - and brilliantly beat in his novel ...

Classics and contemporaries

Project of the monument to Asimov (by Michael Whelan)

Undoubtedly, the contribution of Isaac Asimov to the collection of ideas and plots of science fiction is not limited to this. He invented a planet whose inhabitants see stars only once every several millennia and was the first to send his heroes to the microcosm, he suggested that the Neanderthals possessed telepathy and in an ironic manner described the development of computing systems, he spoke about the threat of nuclear wars and contacts with the inhabitants of a parallel world ...

Today, several thousand science fiction novels are published annually in the United States and England, and a good third of these works can be attributed to SF. But in order to understand what "science fiction writers" prefer to write about, it is not at all necessary to read all these books. If you are interested in what ideas Western fiction writers are actively developing nowadays, re-read Azimov's collected works. I assure you: all the diversity of modern SF is reflected in his works, like an ocean in a drop of water.

Country: USA
Born: 1920-01-02
Died: 1992-04-06

When Isaac Asimov was born, he was surprised to find that he was born on the territory of Soviet Russia in the town of Petrovichi near Smolensk. He tried to correct this mistake, and three years later, in 1923, his parents moved to New York Brooklyn (USA), where they opened a candy store and healed happily, having enough income to finance their son's education. Isaac became a US citizen in 1928.
It's scary to think what would have happened if Isaac had stayed in the homeland of their ancestors! Of course, it is possible that he would have taken the place of Ivan Efremov in our fantastic literature, but this is unlikely. Rather, things would have turned out much more grim. He graduated as a biochemist, graduating from the chemistry department of Columbia University in 1939, and taught biochemistry at Boston University School of Medicine. Since 1979 he has been a professor at the same university. Professional interests have never been forgotten by him: he is the author of many scientific and popular science books on biochemistry. But this is not what made him famous throughout the world.
In the year he graduated from university (1939), he made his debut in Amazing Stories with the story "Captured by Vesta." A brilliant scientific mind was combined in Asimov with dreaminess, and therefore he could not be either a pure scientist or a pure writer. He began writing science fiction. And he especially succeeded in books in which it was possible to theorize, to build intricate logical chains that presuppose many hypotheses, but only one correct solution. These are fantastic detectives. In the best books of Asimov, one way or another, there is a detective beginning, and his favorite characters - Elijah Bailey and R. Daniel Olivo - are detectives by profession. But even the novels, which cannot be called one hundred percent detectives, are devoted to the disclosure of secrets, the collection of information and brilliant logical calculations of unusually intelligent and endowed with the right intuition of heroes.
The action of the Azimov books takes place in the future. This future has stretched for many millennia. Here are the adventures of "Lucky" David Starr in the first decades of the exploration of the Solar System, and the settlement of distant planets, starting with the Tau Ceti system, and the formation of the mighty Galactic Empire, and its disintegration, and the work of a handful of scientists, united under the name of the Academy, to create a new one. the best Galactic Empire, and the growth of the human mind into the universal mind of Galaxia. Asimov essentially created his own Universe, extended in space and time, with its own coordinates, history and morality. And like any creator of the world, he showed a clear desire for epicity. Most likely, he did not plan in advance to turn his fantastic detective "Steel Caves" into an epic cycle. But then a sequel appeared - "Robots of the Morning Dawn" - it is already becoming clear that the chain of separate crimes and accidents, which are investigated by Elijah Bailey and R. Daniel Olivo, is connected with the fate of humanity.
And yet, even then, Asimov was hardly going to connect the plot of the cycle of "Steel Caves" with the trilogy "Academy". It happened by itself, as it always happens with the epic. It is known, after all, that at first the novels about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table were not connected with each other, much less with the story of Tristan and Isolde. But over time, they merged into something in common. So it is with Azimov's novels.
And if an epic cycle is being created, then it cannot but have a central epic hero. And such a hero appears. It becomes R. Daniel Olivo. Robot Daniel Olivo. In the fifth part of the "Academy" - the novel "Academy and the Earth" - he already takes the place of the Lord God, the creator of the Universe and the arbiter of human destinies.
Asimov's robots are the most amazing thing the writer has ever created. Asimov composed pure science fiction, in which there is no place for magic and mysticism. And yet, not being an engineer by profession, he does not really amaze the reader's imagination with technical innovations. And his only invention is more of a philosophical plan than a technical one. Asimov's robots, the problems of their relationship with people - this is a subject of special interest. One feels that the author thought a lot before writing about this. It is no coincidence that even his science fiction competitors, including those who spoke unflatteringly about his literary talent, recognized his greatness as the author of the Three Laws of Robotics. These laws are also expressed philosophically, and not technically: robots should not harm a person or, by their inaction, allow harm to be done to him; robots must obey human orders, if this does not contradict the first law; robots must preserve their existence, if this does not contradict the first and second laws. Asimov does not explain how this happens, but says that no robot can be created without observing the Three Laws. They are laid in the very basis, in the technical basis of the possibility of building a robot.
But already from these Three Laws a lot of problems follow: for example, the robot will be ordered to jump into the fire. And he will be forced to do this, because the second law is initially stronger than the third. But Azimov's robots - in any case, Daniel and others like him - are essentially people, only artificially created. They have a unique and unrepeatable personality, an individuality that can be destroyed at the whim of any fool. Azimov was an intelligent man. He himself noticed this contradiction and resolved it. And many other problems and contradictions arising in his books were brilliantly resolved by him. One gets the impression that he liked to pose problems and find solutions.
The world of Azimov's novels is a world of a whimsical interweaving of surprise and logic. You will never guess what force is behind this or that event in the Universe, who opposes the heroes in their search for the truth, who helps them. The finals of Azimov's novels are as unexpected as the endings of the stories about "Henry. And nevertheless any surprise here is thoroughly motivated and justified. Asimov has no mistakes and cannot have."
The freedom of the individual and its dependence on higher powers are also intricately intertwined in the Azimov Universe. According to Asimov, many powerful forces operate in the Galaxy, much more powerful than humans. And yet in the end everything is decided by people, specific people, like the brilliant Golan Trevize from the fourth and fifth books of the "Academy". However, what is there in the end is not known. Asim's world is open and ever-changing. Who knows where humanity would have come at Asimov's, had the author lived a little more ...
The reader who has entered someone else's disturbing, huge and full of confrontation Azimov's Universe, gets used to it as to his home. When Golan Trevize visits the long forgotten and deserted planets Aurora and Solaria, where Elijah Bailey and R. Daniel Olivo lived and operated many thousands of years ago, we feel sadness and devastation, as if we are standing on the ashes. This is the deep humanity and emotionality of such a seemingly personally speculative world created by Azimov.
He lived a little by Western standards - only seventy-two years and died on April 6, 1992 at a clinic at New York University. But over the years he wrote not twenty, not fifty, not one hundred and not four hundred, but four hundred and sixty-seven books, both fiction and scientific and popular science. His work has received five Hugo Prizes (1963, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1983), two Nebula Prizes (1972, 1976), as well as many other prizes and awards. One of the most popular American science fiction magazines, Asimov's Science Fiction and Fantasy, is named after Isaac Asimov.
Books:

No series

The gods themselves

(Science fiction)

End of eternity

(Science fiction)

Fantastic journey

(Heroic Fantasy)

Nemesis

(Heroic Fantasy)

Black flame monks

(Science fiction)

The gods themselves

(Science fiction)

Nine Tomorrow (Compilation)

(Science fiction)

I, Robot (Collection)

(Science fiction)

Robot Dreams [Collection]

(Science fiction)

Path of the Martians

(Space fiction)

Wheel of Time

Three Laws of Robotics

(Heroic Fantasy)

Lucky Starr

David Starr, whose father was the finest member of the Scientific Council, the supreme organization that rules the entire galaxy five thousand years from our time, just graduated from the academy and, thanks to his abilities, became the youngest member of the Council in its history. Tall, strong, with nerves of steel, developed muscles of an athlete and the bright mind of a first-class scientist, he receives his first assignment.

Lucky Star's next assignment in Isaac Asimov's novel Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus was to be carried out with Verzila (alias Bigman) on a completely ocean-covered Venus, where Council member Lou Evans, a friend of Lucky's, was accused of accepting bribes.

But these are only the first two volumes - the beginning of the adventures of Lucky Star, the space ranger ...

1 - David Starr - Space Ranger

(Space fiction)

2 - Lucky Starr and the Asteroid Pirates

(Science fiction)

3 - Lucky Starr and the oceans of Venus

(Science fiction)

4 - Lucky Starr and the great sun of Mercury

(Space fiction)

5 - Lucky Starr and the moons of Jupiter

(Heroic Fantasy)

6 - Lucky Starr and the rings of Saturn

(Space fiction)

Trentorian empire

1 - Stars are like dust

(Heroic Fantasy)

2 - Space currents

(Heroic Fantasy)

3 - Shard of the Universe

(Heroic Fantasy)

Detective Elijah Bailey and Robot Danie

1 - Steel caves

(Heroic Fantasy)

2 - Naked sun

(Heroic Fantasy)

3 - Robots of Dawn

(Heroic Fantasy)

4 - Robots and the Empire

(Heroic Fantasy)

Academy

The cycle "Academy" ("Foundation", "Foundation") tells about the rise and fall of a huge galactic empire, which was ruled by the deterministic laws of "psychohistory".
Gary Seldon's Great Plan foreshadowed the decline of the empire in five hundred years. This is inevitable. This is an inert process involving the entire population of the Galaxy, in which the actions of individual people cannot be compared even with a mosquito bite for an elephant.
Gary Seldon founded the Academy, which according to the Plan was to be the center of the revival of the Empire. At the same time, the period of decline decreased from the predicted thirty millennia to one.
For a long time, Seldon's Plan was unbreakable. From birth, people were instilled with the idea that the history of the future had already been written by the hand of the great genius of psychohistory.
So how could it happen that one person was able to destroy the Plan, subjugating the entire Galaxy in an insignificant time? Even Saldon could not have foreseen it ...