Book Description
From the world's greatest science writer, a history of the world from the Big Bang to 1945, told in irresistible short takes and highlighted by a timeline. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

I'm giving a book five stars for once!
Amazing book. I hardly ever give a book five stars.This is a great "timeline" book, in words, of history that goes well as a tertiary source when reading other books on history.I have the hardcover which is as big as a dictionary and sturdy too.Highly recommended.

Too bad he didn't survive to write more
I have more I. Asimov books than any other.Although I constantly weed through my books and give many to the library, I will never give up my books written by Isaac Asimov.Chronology of the World, like every other Asimov book, is extremely well written.It is also obvious that he did a lot of research.

Absolutley Incredible writing from a master
I normally read books quickly (I read every day and devour books) however I have taken well over two months to read this masterpiece.

Every time I read it I find myself looking back, forward and at the index, re-reading bits and pieces, to pick up threads that are mentioned throughout the book.

The book takes the format of grouping by years, the periods decreasing as time advances. Various countries, areas, groupings are written about with the historical, scientific, artistic, geographical, etc features of the period mentioned in varying degrees of detail. Thus you get a bit of cross talk but it is anything but repetitive.

When the period in question is finished you end up with a fairly easy to understand patchwork of what was happening in the world in the various areas during the period in question.

The good doctor's writing is easy and "chatty", anything but dull or condescending, and as I said earlier, leaves you looking here and there for other bits and pieces that have sprung to mind.

I love history and this is a book I would recommend to ANYONE who wants to start studying in that area. It would be a wonderful stepping stone to help anyone specialise in areas.

I can't recommend it highly enough. If you need sleep - don't buy it.

Highly recommended
Isaac Asimov is probably my favorite writer of non-fiction, and this might just be his best work. Although it covers almost every important event from the Big Bang to the end of World War II, it somehow manages to be far from dry or boring. In fact, much of it reads like a novel - so much so that the book is hard to put down.

Some have complained that Asimov's chronology emphasizes Western events, that it is mainly concerned with military and political history, or that it has no maps. The last of these is the only justified criticism, in my opinion (I found myself referring to an atlas of world history many times while reading this book). Asimov does mention other parts of the world, though not in as much detail. But that can be justified in two ways. First, this is a book for English speakers, and they are more likely to be interested in those events that are connected to their part of the world. Second, the history of the West has in fact had a greater influence on the world as a whole - at least so far - so it is reasonable to spend more time on it.

Essentially the same thing can be said regarding the emphasis on military and political history. As a matter of fact, though, this book probably contains more on such things as the history of science and of literature than most comparable volumes.

Essential
Asimov's Chronology of the World is a superb reference work. Although not really (and not meant to be) a coherent narrative, it is highly readable and absolutely essential to any historical research. It is useful as a reference tool in almost any historical context; if you're not sure when something happened, or exactly what happened, consult the Chronology. If it was a major happening, it's almost certain to be there, and realtively easy to find.

Asimov does sacrifice depth for breadth in this work; many more minor events are not covered. Also, if you plan to read this work cover to cover (I did, and it was very well worth the effort--doing so gives a broad perspective on history very difficult to find elsewhere), you need a good historical atlas on hand to understand how events unfold.

The only complaint I have with this work is that Asimov did not live long enough to write the sequel, chronologizing the events from 1945-2000. If anyone has found a good book to fill this gap, please let me know!

In sum, Asimov's Chronology is the essential one-volume reference to world history. No home library should be without it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great history of microbiology for kids!!
I am a nerd, so take this in nerd context, please.

My mom bought me this book when I was a kid (she's a doctor).I loved it.I still love it, and when I need a brief refresher on the history of how we discovered microorganisms, I refer back to it.I ended up growing up to be a physician myself--the kind who works with germs (a pathologist), and I think I owe a little of my career satisfaction to this little book.

This book hits the highlights of the history of how man discovered "germs" of all kinds--protists, bacteria, viruses, etc.It covers all the main topics (spontaneous generation, animalcules, vaccination, etc.) and the important historical figures (Leeuwenhoek, Redi, Jenner, Pasteur, etc.).There's a nice, brief, concise chapter for each person/topic.The drawings are nice, too, although they are all B&W (when I was a kid I preferred nice color illustrations; most kids do).

This is a cute little book.If you are a nerd, or would like your child to be one, this is a gem of a book.It really does hit the high points, and I still refer back to it from time to time.I think that my career path was influenced by this book, and I am happy to say that I enjoy great job satisfaction.Maybe this book will bring early career suggestions to your child, too. ... Read more

Book Description
The Foundation novels of Isaac Asimov are one of the great masterworks of science fiction.Unsurpassed for their unique blend of nonstop action, daring ideas, and extensive world-building, they chronicle the struggle of a courageous group of men and women to preserve humanity’s light against an inexorable tide of darkness and violence.

Led by its founding father, the great psychohistorian Hari Seldon, and taking advantage of its superior science and technology, the Foundation has survived the greed and barbarism of its neighboring warrior-planets.Yet now it must face the Empire—still the mightiest force in the Galaxy even in its death throes.When an ambitious general determined to restore the Empire’s glory turns the vast Imperial fleet toward the Foundation, the only hope for the small planet of scholars and scientists lies in the prophecies of Hari Seldon.

But not even Hari Seldon could have predicted the birth of the extraordinary creature called The Mule—a mutant intelligence with a power greater than a dozen battle fleets…a power that can turn the strongest-willed human into an obedient slave.


From the Paperback edition.Download Description

Get the entire Foundation Series for $13.47.

The Foundation novels of Isaac Asimov are one of the great masterworks of science fiction. Unsurpassed for their unique blend of nonstop action, daring ideas, and extensive world-building, they chronicle the struggle of a courageous group of men and women to preserve humanity's light against an inexorable tide of darkness and violence.

Led by its founding father, the great psychohistorian Hari Seldon, and taking advantage of its superior science and technology, the Foundation has survived the greed and barbarism of its neighboring warrior-planets. Yet now it must face the Empire—still the mightiest force in the Galaxy even in its death throes. When an ambitious general determined to restore the Empire's glory turns the vast Imperial fleet toward the Foundation, the only hope for the small planet of scholars and scientists lies in the prophecies of Hari Seldon.

But not even Hari Seldon could have predicted the birth of the extraordinary creature called The Mule—a mutant intelligence with a power greater than a dozen battle fleets... a power that can turn the strongest-willed human into an obedient slave.

Customer Reviews (78)

A classic tale of sci fi
"Foundation and Empire," the second in a trilogy of classic science fiction novels by Isaac Asimov, is a must read for historians of science fiction.For those who like science fiction itself, this volume is also valuable.Asimov can madden, especially in his early novels, but his imagination is wonderful.His strength is conceptualizing systems (whether empires or cultures) and he often plays with big ideas.

I first read the trilogy while in college, and was fascinated.This triggered a long-lasting interest in the fiction of Isaac Asimov (and some of his non-fiction works, as well).

Those familiar with this trilogy know that the key character is psychohistorian Hari Seldon, who believes that one can predict the behavior of large masses of people via mathematical equations and, thus, predict how events will develop in the future.

This book is a bridge between the novel "Foundation" and the third in the series, "Second Foundation." And, of course, later in his career, Asimov returned to the Foundation well--with more interesting and literary results.Indeed, in one of the great tour de forces in science fiction, he ends up linking two classic series--the robot works and the Foundation series. But I'm getting way ahead of myself.

This novel focuses on two instances--one, the rise of a youthful and talented military leader who goes after the Foundation.And, just as Hari Seldon's mathematical equations predicted, he failed.The logic for this is classic Asimov, and is why he was so entertaining to read, even though his characters have little life in these works and even though his writing style is, at best, functional in these works (he improved with time).

Then, there is the case of the Mule, where Seldon's equations failed in prediction.And that itself is fascinating, as explained in this novel.Thus, the comparison of the correct prediction and the failed prediction add some real heft to Asimov's tale of the rise of the Foundation as the Empire slowly descends to its end.

For those who have never read Asimov, the Foundation trilogy is a good place to get a sense of his talents, of seeing big pictures. His writing style is not great, but the images of this future that he developed are compelling. I still enjoy going back to the Foundation series, the Robot series, and their fusion as Asimov's vision evolved.

Not Free SF Reader
The second book in the foundation trilogy is again a story combination, but this two two novella length works.

Foundation and Empire : The General - Isaac Asimov
Foundation and Empire : The Mule - Isaac Asimov


War and Trantor.

3 out of 5


Mutant wild card means psychohistorical predictions up the proverbial faecal watercouse in a flimsy metal vehicle without a steering implement.

4.5 out of 5

An AWESOME sequel!!
If for whatever reason you were disappointed in Foundation, don't miss this book, it's so much better, more interesting, adventurous, and enteraining that you would really be missing out. This edition has battles, intrigue, humor, heroines, and just a real fun adventure.

Wonderful book from a wonderful author
Asimov's Foundation books are well-crafted, masterfully imagined, and peopled with fascinating characters. Spanning some several thousand years, and multiple generations of characters (often more than one per book), the author does a fantastic job keeping each set unique and captivating. The stories follow the progression of Psychohistory, a technique for predicting the future behavior of masses of people, and the people set up to use its information to further the birth of a greater galactic empire. Space battles, intrigue, mutants, telepathy and mind control, as well as personal triumphs and failures run throughout all the novels. They are, in my opinion, among the best crafted series in the sci-fi genre ever produced.

Just not my kind of book - Others liked it.
It isn't my kind of book but, I thought, I would give it a try. We read it in our book club. Some of the readers liked it, most of them didn't. I didn't. But, the author did have great insight to the future in the 1950 - 1960's ... Read more

Product Description
The Isaac Asimov Collection Edition. Decorative imitation leather blue Hardcover with gold imprinted spine. Originally available from Doubleday by subscription only. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The ending of Isaac Asimov's original classic Foundation Trilogy
By the time you get to "Second Foundation," which despite its title is the final volume in the original Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov, there is no real need to keep on with the effort to persuade you to keep on reading. Instead it would be more beneficial to look at the original trilogy as a whole and consider why it stands out as one of the greatest in the realm of Science Fiction & Fantasy.

Simply compare the Foundation Trilogy with the two other, admittedly more popular, trilogies: "The Lord of the Rings" and (the original) "Star Wars." In the former it is established that the One Ring has to be destroyed and from that point on Tolkien's story is devoted to getting that accomplished and trying to return peace to Middle Earth. In the latter it becomes clear at the end of the first film (of the original trilogy) that the story will end when Luke Skywalker kills Darth Vader at the end of the third film, which means that Darth will have to defeat Luke at the end of the second. That is indeed what happens, although George Lucas did throw a big twist into the picture.

In comparison the genius of the Foundation Trilogy is that the three volumes are so different. "Foundation" establishes the theory and practice of psychohistory, as Hari Seldon's master plan for reducing the inevitable barbarism of the time between galactic empires to a single millennium. But then "Foundation and Empire" finds the plan disrupted by the threat of the genetic mutant the Mule, and the careful progression of the first novel is replaced by a crisis that is an unforeseen Seldon Crisis. However, with "Second Foundation" there is a new agenda, as both the Foundation and the Mule search for the location of the titular entity. The purpose of the hidden Second Foundation is to protect the first, but the members of the original Foundation do not like the idea of its existence any more than does the Mule. Consequently, the race is on to discover the truth.

What Asimov has created is a classic example of a dialectic, more so in terms of claim, challenge, and correction rather than thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. Not only does it represent the dialectic, the Foundation Trilogy embodies it as well, because that is the principle behind how the Seldon Plan works and adjusts to changes both small and large as the universe plays outs its history. It does not have the great depth and richness of Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings," or the style and flair of Lucas's "Star Wars." But then Asimov always represented striped down narratives, where the characters would have intense discussions about scientific principles, which usually boiled down to his belief that science could solve any and all human problems.

Because the Foundation Trilogy is a landmark in the history of science fiction it now enjoys a significance that goes beyond its merit as a story. Eventually Asimov would connect this series with both his Empire and his Robot novels, but it is still important to remember the Foundation Trilogy on its own terms. Even with "Second Foundation," there is something intrinsically enjoyable in the way that Asimov offers plausible solution after plausible solution before revealing the solution that was true. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An excellent anthology!
This book is a collection of nine short stories written by some of the finest science-fiction authors ever. The stories are: Chalice of Death by Robert Silverberg, Orphan of the Void by Lloyd Biggle, Jr., Down to the Worlds of Men by Alexei Panshin, Ministry of Disturbance by H. Beam Piper, Blind Alley by Isaac Asimov, A Planet Named Shayol by Cordwainer Smith, Diabologic by Eric Frank Russell, Fighting Philosopher by E. B. Cole, and Honorable Enemies by Poul Anderson.

All of the stories are excellent read, which I say with no exaggeration. In Particular, Ministry of Disturbance and Blind Alley are among of the best short stories I have ever read. However, the gem in the crown is Diabologic. This story is outrageously funny, and a fascinating read. This is an excellent anthology! ... Read more

Book Description
* Mp3 CD Format *. On the beautiful Outer World planet of Solaria, a handful of human colonists lead a hermit-like existence, their every need attended to by their faithful robot servants. To this strange and provocative planet comes Detective Elijah Baley and the robot R. Daneel Olivaw, to solve an incredible murder. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (56)

A tremendous disappointment
I recently read CAVES OF STEEL and after being seriously disappointed in it I had hopes that THE NAKED SUN would represent an improvement.In fact, it did represent a somewhat tighter story and the protagonist Elijah Baley acted a lot less stupidly than he had in the first novel, but all in all I found the book to be even less satisfactory than the first.

The problems with this book are numerous.One of the more serious difficulties is that Asimov took what was the most interesting part of the CAVES OF STEEL -- the cooperation between Baley and his robot partner Daneel Olivaw and largely ignored it.Daneel plays a relatively minor role in the book, Baley, who is all in all a pretty dull bird, taking center stage.As in the first novel, Baley isn't much of a detective.His literary predecessors are not the Continental OP, Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe, and Lew Archer, but Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.For some bizarre reason Asimov made the decision to follow the example of detective writers whose sleuths operated more by instinct and love to employ the technique of assembling all the key suspects before making his climatic announcement as to whodunit.As detective fiction, it is just horrible.Worst of all, Asimov violates one of the canons of such fiction:he withholds key facts, making it impossible for the reader to solve the crime ahead of time.

In addition to failing in developing his characters and engaging in a literarily inferior form of detective fiction, Asimov's book is flawed by absolutely absurd assumptions about possible forms of human existence.Now, in fairness to Asimov, he wrote at a time when the insane theories of B. F. Skinner (who attempted to raise his own daughter in a box) still held current.So in fact Asimov might just be judged a victim of his time.But even before the publication of THE NAKED SUN Harry Harlow (in a series of rather monstrous experiments involving rhesus monkeys and "monster mothers") proved how profoundly primates yearned for human contact.Asimov imagines what is not merely a different form of human culture, but one that is impossible, since it cuts so deeply at what is most fundamental to human nature, namely that we are deeply social creatures for whom physical and social interaction is crucial.Asimov tries his best to make conceivable a world on which people avoid being physically present to other people, but it simply is too silly.Sure, we could suspend our disbelief, but only at the cost of suspending all critical interaction with the text.

Added on top of all this is the fact that Asimov is simply not a very good writer.His prose is drab at best and in writing about characters he tends to default to extremely trite expressions.Someone says something to Baley and his reaction is to clinch his fists.It not only isn't very gifted writing, it reinforces a sense of superficiality running through the book.

I've now in the past month read the first three novels I've ever read by Isaac Asimov.So far I'm baffled.I know that he is extremely famous and that he was a pioneer in many ways, but while I've found enormous pleasure in many early SF writers like Henry Kuttner, C. L. Moore, Robert Heinlein, Hal Clement, Poul Anderson, Frederick Pohl, and a host of others, I honestly have found virtually nothing of value in Asimov's books.I'm not giving up yet.I'm currently trying to work through all the major books dealing with robots, cyborgs, and other forms of artificial people.I will next finish THE ROBOTS OF DAWN and ROBOTS AND EMPIRE, in addition to finishing the last couple of stories in I, ROBOT.Perhaps my opinion of Asimov will change.But I can state with some confidence that CAVES OF STEEL and THE NAKED SUN are simply not very good books.

JS on Asimov
I have always liked Isaac Asimov but I thought The Naked Sun excelled all other Asimov that I have read (except, perhaps, the Foundation trilogy.

Strong follow-up to Caves of Steel
The Naked Sun by, Isaac Asimov, is a direct sequel to Caves of Steel (Robot City).Once again we see detective Elijah Baley called upon to solve a murder involving a "Spacer" (a human from an Earth colony on another planet) only this time he has to leave Earth to perform the investigation.He is reunited with his robotic partner, R. Daneel Olivaw although the relationship seems a bit more contentious this time around.The two meet on the planet Solaria where a leading citizen has been murdered with a good old-fashioned blunt instrument.Baley must overcome his fear of open spaces, resistance from the locals to meeting face-to-face, and the seeming impossibility of satisfying all the facts of the case before he can shed light on the mystery.

More than just a mystery, Naked Sun is also a social commentary of sorts.I can't say I found this aspect of the novel nearly as compelling as the mystery.Without giving too much away, the people of Solaria live in nearly complete isolation and loathe being in the personal presence of anyone, including a spouse or their own child.While this is plausible in a purely academic way given the scenario that Asimov put it place, it ignores many basic human instincts such as sex drive that are incredibly powerful and highly unlikely to be sublimated so completely.Still, as long you take it with a grain of salt, it is still interesting to read about this other culture.

The murder mystery in the book was very well done for the most part.It moves along well, introduces a number of interesting characters, and is suitably puzzling to both Baley and the reader as it unfolds.The ending wasn't quite as tidy as it could have been but I'll say no more about that for fear of spoiling the story for new readers.

The Naked Sun is not a perfect novel.The ending was just a bit off and the sociology is more than questionable.But these are quibbles, not crippling flaws.I would certainly recommend this book, though you should read Caves of Steel (and possibly I, Robot) first.If you've read Caves of Steel, and enjoyed it, odds are you'll find a lot to like in this sequel.

Classic Asimov
It's always fun to hear a great mystery, and in the future with a great off-world scenario made it even better.

Robots, The Future, and Murder
This book is great for those of you looking to escape this sometimes dull planet and time. If you have a passion for science fiction mystery or just science fiction in general this book is for you. Those of you who have seen the movies like I,ROBOT, Blade Runner, or Metropolis will find yourselves wrapped up in this enticing view of not only our planets future but also the future of life in this galaxy. The obviousness of this whodunnit is very subtle throughout the story and you will find yourself smacking your forehead when you realize what actually happened in the end. ... Read more

Book Description
Here are more than 700 of Isaac Asimov's favorite jokes, cleverest limericks and funniest stories. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Not funny, but perhaps ironic?
First, recount a completely unfunny joke, then explain that you tell it better than anyone else, then explain what it is that is supposed to make the joke funny.Irony, or what?

Less jokes, more anecdotes
Despite what the title suggest, this book is not a collection of jokes as "treasury" was. In this book the anecdotes are the main course. For those who know Asimov's bio in detail, some of these stories are already known; but a different take is always interesting. Those who dislike the way the old doctor talks about himself, probably should avoid this book.

The master gives us a few more chuckles
Not counting his volumes of limericks, this is Isaac Asimov's second jokebook, following Isaac Asimov's Treasury of Humor. Like that first book, however, this is much more than simply a collection of jokes. Asimov discusses, in his usual prolific style, the nature of jokes and joketelling, what makes some things funny and others fall flat, and why he prefers some jokes to others. Although he intentionally steers away from topical humor, some of the jokes are still outdated simply because of the evolution of language and culture, but the book is still a great read and a full of laughs. It's a lot of fun.

More corn then Oklahoma, shows the heart of the man
This book is more helpful then some of my fellow reviews suggest, as it reflects greatly on who Asimov the man actually was.

He was an unrepentant sexist, as many men of his generation were. He was arrogant, asmany successful men are. He was self centred, as most of us are.

However,through this book you can see the pain of the failure of his first marriageand his love for his second wife and daughter. You can see many of thepeople he liked.

Sure some of it is unfunny, some of it is just plaincrude and some of it is rambling. I liked it and return to it every coupleof years.

One reason I did like it was it showed how autobiographicalmuch of Asimov's other writings were. If you cross check some of theFoundation series, you can see a reflection in Issac's own life at the timeof writing. This makes this volume a worthy addition for any Issac-ophile.

Not only unfunny but embarassing
Isaac Asimov was one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time, but this book showed that there was a limit to even his talents.Most of the "jokes" are (a) not his; (b) not funny; (c) corny; and (d)sexually boring and/or gross.I was astonished that this was published inthe 90's.It was so dated, I thought (before I checked the copyrightnotice) that it was published in the '70's and was supposed to be"shocking."

Put this down and reread the Foundation series! ... Read more

Book Description
* Mp3 CD Format *. A puzzling case of roboticide sends New York Detective Elijah Baley on an intense search for a murderer. But can anything prepare a simple Earthman for the psychological complexities of a world where a beautiful woman can easily have fallen in love with an all-too-human robot? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (60)

Not My Favorite Robot Book But...
This is more for the Asimov lovers rather than a separate good read. If you were into any of his other books or enjoyed the others in the Robot Series, then I recommend this. If you are new to Asimov, I recommend Caves of Steel first

Tedious and Flat... Wish I had those 400+ pages back...
I had to write a review somewhere after reading this book. After reading the Caves of Steel, I thought it would be an enjoyable read.However, it was not.This was the most tedious, long-winded, horribly written piece of snot that I have ever laid my eyes on.Asimov spends way too much time saying the exact same thing over and over as if the reader were completely illiterate. The plot is horribly stupid, and non of the interactions seem 'real' at all. save your time and reread the Foundation series... This book sucked.

Disappointing conclusion to the trilogy
Robots of Dawn is the third entry in the Robot series and was written quite a few years after the second volume saw print.The story follows Elijah Bailey once again as he tries to solve a murder but this time it is not a human who has been killed but a robot.The leading suspect is a character from the first novel, the leading roboticist on the planet Aurora.Bailey travels off world and goes through his usual routine of interviewing the interested parties and accusing most of them of committing the crime in the process.His old robot partner, R Daneel Olivaw, aids Bailey in his investigation.

Perhaps due to the long delay in writing Robots of Dawn, there are some rather glaring errors in story continuity from the prior novel, The Naked Sun.Early in the story, Olivaw tells Bailey that no robot could impersonate a human on the Spacer worlds and get away with it for even a moment.They have a lengthy conversation on this point and the point is considered proven by the time they are done.Yet, in The Naked Sun, Olivaw himself impersonated a human on the Spacer world of Solaris and no one even suspected him. Bailey witnessed this, yet both characters seem to have forgotten the entire affair.

Robots of Dawn is by far the longest of the Robot novel in the series and does not benefit from the extra pages.Bailey's interviews often drag out as he puts forward exceedingly unlikely theories and forces the suspects to deny and disprove them.This has the unfortunate side effect of making Bailey seem almost stupid as he constantly asserts false solutions to the case.When he finally does come up with a solution, it is very unsatisfying.It actually feels like Asimov had written himself into a corner and didn't know how to get out so he threw together a half-baked solution and called it a day.I expected better from such an accomplished writer.

I enjoyed the earlier novels in this series considerably but was disappointed with Robots of Dawn.Asimov waited many years to write it because he didn't feel that he had a strong concept to move forward with.Having read this, I would have to say that he still didn't have a fully developed foundation for this book even when he did finally write it.He definitely needed to put more thought into the mystery, the characters, and how to keep the story interesting.This book was not lousy but it didn't live up to the earlier entries either.I would recommend it for readers who loved the earlier Robot novels and simply must read one more entry.Just don't expect it to be as strong as what you've already seen.

Elijah & Daneel's Last Adventure!
The late Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992) is one of my all-time favorite sci-fi writers. He pertains to the old "hard sci-fi" school that populated the `50s and a successful member of that community by the way.

This story is the third and last step in the long friendship between the earthling New York detective Elijah Baley and the robot detective R. Daneel Olivaw. You don't need to read "The Caves of Steel" or "The Naked Sun" to understand this book; it is almost a stand alone book.

Situated in a far future Earth, Humankind has divided into Spacers who dwell scattered in fifty worlds (and are the rich & advanced society) and Earthlings that remain in the Mother World, inhabiting overcrowded underground cities. Both groups distrust and despise each other.
A roboticide occurs in Aurora an Outer World. Elijah is put in charge of the investigation due to his success in the previous investigations.
Once again he will team with R. Daneel.
Here a new backdrop is constructed by Asimov; a complete alien society is presented to the reader, with its codes, ecology and history.
Bailey still suffers from his agoraphobia but he is in his way to control it.
As usual Asimov built his novel step by step, proposing and discarding suspects of committing the roboticide, conforming bit by bit the final picture and solution of the quest.

One more detail about this novel, the author reassumes writing sci-fi novels after almost fifteen years. The second book he releases is this one, showing a soft spot in Asimov's preferences.

Enjoy Asimov's second disembarkment on sci-fi shores!
Reviewed by Max Yofre.

essential reading for Asimov fans
I don't give it five stars even though it is that good simply because it takes two hundred pages(in my opinion, it doesn't start getting really exciting till Bailey interviews the daughter Vasilia) before things get really intrigueing.

I find Asimov is usually good with the first book of his trilogies, and then maybe the third, maybe the fourth book of a series is really good after some so-so second sequels.Foundation is good, Caves of Steel is good, and I forget which empire novels go in which sequence(it's been awhile for me with those; and besides, I must admit I liked the two that I read; the currents of space is the one I havn't read). Well, Foundation's Edge and Robots of Dawn I found are pretty good.I didn't like the mule in the foundation series because it was more about some magical ability instead of some scientific outcome, but he puts the whole mule thing in a good light in Foundations edge.

I kind of find Robots of Dawn kind of a prelude to "Prelude to Foundation."And, like i've already said, it took two hundred pages for anything interesting to start happening; before then, it is a lot of sex I guess. I thought he did a masterfull job with the whole daughter of the master robotist thing and then he concluded things pretty well even though I grew impatient to get back to doing some real mathematics.I liked how he managed to put the future of the galaxy to the whims of human chance and issues.That was what I was expecting as well, but, I was starting to wonder.

This is definitelly not the first Asimov book to read for those who havn't read one book by him!This is a book you read if you've already read some robot, empire, and foundation books(preferably the first of each series for sure . . . and, yes, there's some others, but like I said, I generally don't like the second of each series except maybe the empire series).

Once again, the second half is worth getting through the first half; it all does have a reason! ... Read more

Product Description
3000 of the most unbelievable unusual funny fascinating interesting entertaining and fantastic facts ... Read more

Product Description
Ominbus of "The Stars, Like Dust," "The Currents of Space," and "Pebble in the Sky." Special publication of the Science Fiction Book Club. ... Read more