What Isaac Asimov wrote. Isaac Asimov: fantastic worlds in his books. The works of Isaac Asimov and their film adaptations. Cosmic currents


Biography

Isaac Asimov is an American science fiction writer, science popularizer, and biochemist. 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 the most different areas- from astronomy and genetics to history and literary criticism). Multiple Hugo and Nebula Award 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 C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein, is considered one of the “Big Three” science fiction writers.

In one of the addresses to readers Asimov formulated the humanistic role of science fiction in the following way: modern world: “History has reached a point where humanity is no longer allowed to be at odds. People on Earth must be friends. I have always tried to emphasize this in my works... I don’t think it is possible to make all people love each other, but I would like to destroy hatred between people. And I quite seriously believe that Science fiction there is one of the links that helps connect humanity. The problems we raise in fiction become pressing problems of all humanity... The science fiction writer, the science fiction reader, science fiction itself serve humanity.”

Azimov was born (according to documents) on January 2, 1920 in the town of Petrovichi, Klimovichi district, Mogilev province, RSFSR (since 1929 - Shumyachsky district, Smolensk region) into a Jewish family. His parents, Anna Rachel Berman-Asimov (1895-1973) and Yuda Aronovich Azimov (Judah Asimov, 1896-1969), were millers by profession. They named him in honor of his late maternal grandfather, Isaac Berman (1850-1901). Contrary to Isaac Asimov's later claims 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 to early years he grew up mainly on the stories of Sholom 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 Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. (He was supposed to start school at age 6, but his mother changed his birthday to September 7, 1919, in order to send him to school a year earlier.) After finishing tenth grade in 1935, the 15-year-old Asimov entered Seth Low Junior College, but a year later this college closed. Asimov entered the chemistry department of Columbia University in New York, where he received a bachelor's degree (B.S.) in 1939, and a master's degree (M.Sc.) in chemistry in 1941 and entered graduate school. However, in 1942 he went to Philadelphia to work as a chemist at the Philadelphia Shipyard for the Army. Another science fiction writer, Robert Heinlein, worked there with him.

In February 1942, on Valentine's Day, Asimov met on a "blind date" with Gertrude Blugerman. On July 26 they got married. From this marriage was born a son, David (1951), and a daughter, 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 studies, received a PhD (Doctor of Science) degree in biochemistry, and entered a postdoctoral fellowship as a biochemist. In 1949, he became a teacher at Boston University School of Medicine, where he became an assistant professor in December 1951 and an associate professor in 1955. In 1958, the university stopped paying him a salary, but formally kept him in his previous position. By this point, Asimov's income as a writer already exceeded his university salary. In 1979 he was awarded the title of full professor.

In the 1960s, Asimov was under investigation by the FBI for possible ties to communists. The reason was a denunciation of Azimov’s respectful review of Russia as the first country to build a nuclear power plant. Suspicions were finally cleared against the writer in 1967.

In 1970, Asimov separated from his wife and almost immediately became involved with Janet Opal Jeppson, whom he met at a banquet on May 1, 1959. (They had previously met in 1956, when he gave her an autograph. Asimov did not remember that meeting, and Jeppson considered him an unpleasant person at the time.) The divorce became effective 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 due to HIV infection (leading to AIDS), which he contracted during heart surgery in 1983. The fact that Asimov suffered from HIV became known only 10 years later from a biography written by Janet Opal Jeppson. According to the will, the body was cremated and the ashes were scattered.

Literary activity

Asimov began writing 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 an interesting incident happened. Having written 2 chapters, Isaac retold them to his friend. He demanded a continuation. When Isaac explained that this was all he had written for now, his friend asked him to give him the book where Isaac had read the story. From that moment on, Isaac realized that he had a gift for writing and began to take his literary work 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 achieved enormous fame (according to Bewildering Stories, it was one of the most famous stories ever published). In 1968, the Science Fiction Writers Association of America declared Nightfall to be the best science fiction story ever written. The story was included in anthologies more than 20 times, was filmed twice, and Asimov himself later called it “a watershed in my professional career.” A hitherto little-known science fiction writer, who published about 10 stories (and about the same number were rejected), became famous writer. Interestingly, Asimov himself did not consider “Nightfall” to be his favorite story.

On May 10, 1939, Asimov began writing the first of his robot stories, the story "Robbie." In 1941, Asimov wrote the story “Liar!” about a robot who could read minds. The famous Three Laws of Robotics begin to appear in this story. 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 the formulation. In the same story, Asimov coined the word “robotics” (robotics, the science of robots), which was included in English language. In Asimov's translations into Russian, robotics is also translated as “robotics”, “robotics”.

In the collection of short stories I, Robot, which brought the writer worldwide fame, Asimov dispels widespread fears associated with the creation of artificial intelligent beings. Before Asimov, most stories about robots involved them rebelling or killing their creators. Asimov's robots are not mechanical villains plotting to destroy the human race, but assistants to people, often smarter and more humane than their owners. Since the early 1940s, robots in science fiction have been subject to the Three Laws of Robotics, although traditionally no science fiction writer except Asimov explicitly cites these laws.

In 1942, Asimov began the Foundation series of novels. Initially, "Foundation" and the robot stories were classified as 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. From 1980 he resumed writing science fiction with the continuation of the Foundation series.

Asimov's three favorite stories were " Last question"(English) The Last Question), "The Bicentennial Man" and "The Ugly Little Boy", in that order. My favorite novel was The Gods Themselves.

Publicistic activity

Most of the books written by Asimov are popular science, and in a variety of fields: chemistry, astronomy, religious studies, and a number of others. In his publications, Asimov shared the position of scientific skepticism and criticized pseudoscience and superstition. In the 1970s he was one of the founders of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry - non-profit organization, counteracting pseudoscience.

Main awards

Hugo Award

1963 for popular science articles;
1966 for the episode "Foundation" (as "Best SF episode of all time");
1973 for the novel “The Gods Themselves”;

1983 for the novel from the “Foundation” series “Edge of the Foundation”;
1994 for the autobiography “A. Asimov: Memoirs"

Nebula Award

1972 for the novel “The Gods Themselves”;
1976 for the story “The Bicentennial Man”;

Locus Magazine Award

1977 for the story “The Bicentennial Man”;
1981 (not thin lit.);
1983

The most famous science fiction works

A collection of short stories, I, Robot, in which Asimov developed a code of ethics for robots. It was he who wrote the Three Laws of Robotics;
Cycle 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;
Novel “The Gods Themselves” (“The Gods Themselves”), central theme which - rationalism without morality leads to evil;
The novel "The End of Eternity" ("End of Eternity"), which describes Eternity (an organization that controls time travel and makes changes human history) and its collapse;
A series about the adventures of space ranger Lucky Starr (see Lucky Starr series).
The story “The Bicentennial Man”, based on which a film of the same name was made in 1999.
Episode "Detective Elijah Bailey and Robot Daniel Olivo" - famous cycle from four novels and one story about the adventures of an earthling detective and his partner, a cosmonite robot: “Mother Earth”, “Steel Caves”, “The Naked Sun”, “Mirror Reflection”, “Robots of the Dawn”, “Robots and the Empire”.

Almost all of the writer’s cycles, as well as individual works, form the “History of the Future”.

Many of Asimov's works have been filmed, most famous films- “Bicentennial Man” and “I, Robot.”

The most famous journalistic works

"Asimov's Guide to Science"
two-volume “Asimov’s Guide to the Bible” (“Asimov’s Guide to the Bible”),

American biochemist and science fiction writer Isaac Asimov (Isaac Yudovich Ozimov / Isaac Asimov) was born on January 2, 1920 in the village of Petrovichi, Shumyachsky district, Smolensk region.

In 1923, his family moved to the United States. In 1928, Asimov received American citizenship.

At the age of five he went to school, where he amazed everyone with his abilities: he skipped classes and graduated primary school at 11 years old, and the main school course at 15 years old.

Asimov then entered Seth Low Junior College in Brooklyn, but the college closed after a year. Asimov became a student at the Department of Chemistry at Columbia University in New York, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1939 and a master's degree in chemistry in 1941.

In 1942-1945 he worked as a chemist at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard's Naval Air.

In 1945-1946, Azimov served in the army. Then he returned to New York and continued his education.

In 1948 he graduated from graduate school and received a doctorate in chemistry.

In 1949, he took a teaching position at Boston University School of Medicine, where he became an assistant professor in December 1951 and an associate professor in 1955. In 1979 he was awarded the title of full professor.

His main works of a scientific nature include the textbook “Biochemistry and Metabolism in Humans” (1952, 1957), “Life and Energy” (1962), “ Biographical Encyclopedia science and technology" (1964), a book on evolutionary theory "Sources of Life" (1960), "The Human Body" (1963), "The Universe" (1966).

Azimov wrote popular science books about the achievements of science and technology, revealing and popularizing problems of chemistry, physics, biology, astronomy, history, among them “Blood - the River of Life” (1961), “The World of Carbon” (1978), “The World of Nitrogen” (1981), etc. He also wrote “A Guide to Science for Intellectuals” (1960).

Asimov gained worldwide popularity thanks to his science fiction novels and stories. He is considered one of the greatest science fiction writers of the second half of the 20th century. His science fiction works have been translated into many languages.

His famous works are the novel “The Gods Themselves” (1972), the collection of short stories from different years “I am a Robot”, the novel “The End of Eternity” (1955), the collection “The Path of the Martians” (1955), the novels “Foundation and Empire” (1952) , "The Edge of the Foundation" (1982), "The Foundation and the Earth" (1986) "Forward to the Foundation" (was published in 1993, after the death of the writer).

In 1979, the autobiographical book “The Memory is Still Fresh” was published, followed by a sequel, “Unlost Joy.” In 1993, the third volume of his autobiography (posthumous) was published under the title “A. Azimov”.

In total, he published more than 400 books, both fiction and scientific and popular science.

Isaac Asimov also worked in periodicals. The magazine Fantasy and Science Fiction (now Asimov's Science Fiction and Fantasy) published monthly his popular articles about the latest achievements science for more than 30 years. For several years he wrote a weekly science column for the Los Angeles Times Syndycate.

Isaac Asimov is the recipient of many awards, both scientific and in the field of literature: the Thomas Alva Edison Foundation Award (1957), the Howard Blakeslee Award of the Association of American Cardiologists (1960), the James Grady Award of the American Chemical Society (1965), the Westinghouse Prize for the Popularization of Science American Association for the Advancement of Science (1967), winner of six Hugo Awards (1963, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1983, 1995), two Nebula Awards (1973, 1977).

In 1983, Isaac Asimov underwent heart surgery, during which he was infected with HIV through donor blood. The diagnosis came to light several years later. Against the background of AIDS, heart and kidney failure developed.

Isaac Asimov was married twice. In 1945-1970 his wife was Gertrud Blagerman. From this marriage a son and daughter were born. Asimov's second wife was Janet Opill Jepson, a psychiatrist.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

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Isaac Asimov (English Isaac Asimov, birth name - Isaac Asimov; January 2, 1920 - April 6, 1992) - American science fiction writer of Jewish origin, science popularizer, biochemist by profession. 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 winner of the Hugo and Nebula awards. 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 C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein, is considered one of the “Big Three” science fiction writers.

Azimov was born (according to documents) on January 2, 1920 in the town of Petrovichi, Mstislavsky district, Smolensk province (now Shumyachsky district, Smolensk region of Russia) into a Jewish family. His parents, Hana Rachel Isaakovna Berman (Anna Rachel Berman-Asimov, 1895-1973) and Yudl Aronovich Azimov (Judah Asimov, 1896-1969), were millers by profession. They named him in honor of his late maternal grandfather, Isaac Berman (1850-1901). Contrary to Isaac Asimov's later claims that the original family surname was "Ozimov", all remaining relatives in the USSR bear the surname "Azimov".

The first rule of dieting: if it tastes good, it's bad for you.

Asimov Isaac

As Asimov himself points out in his autobiographies (“In Memory Yet Green,” “It’s Been A Good Life”), his native and only language in childhood was Yiddish; They didn’t speak Russian in his family. In his early years, in fiction, he grew up mainly on the stories of Sholom 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. (He was supposed to start school at age 6, but his mother changed his birthday to September 7, 1919, in order to send him to school a year earlier.) After finishing tenth grade in 1935, the 15-year-old Asimov entered Seth Low Junior College , but a year later this college closed. Asimov entered the chemistry department at Columbia University in New York, where he received a bachelor's degree (B. S.) in 1939, and a master's degree (M. Sc.) in chemistry in 1941 and entered graduate school. However, in 1942 he went to Philadelphia to work as a chemist at the Philadelphia Shipyard for the Army. Another science fiction writer, Robert Heinlein, worked there with him.

In February 1942, on Valentine's Day, Asimov met on a “blind date” with Gertrude Blugerman. On July 26 they got married. From this marriage was born a son, David (English: David) (1951) and a daughter, Robyn Joan (English: 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 graduate school, received a PhD, and entered a postdoctoral fellowship as a biochemist. In 1949, he took a teaching position at Boston University School of Medicine, where he became an assistant professor in December 1951 and an associate professor in 1955. In 1958, the university stopped paying him a salary, but formally kept him in his previous position. By this point, Asimov's income as a writer already exceeded his university salary. In 1979 he was awarded the title of full professor.

Years of life: from 01/02/1920 to 04/06/1992

Legendary American science fiction writer, one of the geniuses of the 20th century. 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 a variety of areas - from astronomy and genetics to history and literary criticism).

Isaac Asimov (real name Isaac Ozimov) was born on January 2, 1920 in Russia, in Petrovichi, a town located very close to Smolensk. His parents, Judah and Anna, immigrated to the States in 1923, bringing Isaac and his younger sister with them. The family settled in Brooklyn, where the father bought a candy store in 1926. The family devoted quite little time to religious education, and Isaac became an atheist early on - something he never hid or imposed on anyone. In 1928, Asimov's father achieved naturalization, which meant that Isaac also became a US citizen. After receiving secondary education, Azimov, at the request of his parents, tried to become a doctor. This turned out to be beyond his strength: the sight of blood made him feel sick. Then Isaac made an attempt to enter the most prestigious college of Columbia University, but did not make it 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 accepted into Seth Low Junior College in Brooklyn. A year later, this college closed and Asimov ended up at Columbia University - however, as a simple student, and not a student at an elite college. On July 25, 1945, Isaac Asimov married Gertrude Bluegerman, whom he had met several months earlier.

Among the most famous works writer - novels "Caves of Steel" (1954), "The End of Eternity" (1955), "The Naked Sun" (1957), "The Gods Themselves" (1972), the grand cycle "Foundation" (or "Academy", 1963-1986) , as well as a series of stories in which the famous three laws of robotics were formulated for the first time.

It is claimed that Isaac Asimov came up with the idea for the Foundation series (Academy) while sitting on the subway when his eye accidentally fell on a picture of a Roman legionnaire with a background of starships. Allegedly, it was after this that Asimov decided to describe the galactic empire from the point of view of history, economics, psychology and sociology.

According to rumors, the novel Foundation (Academy) made a huge impression on Osama bin Laden and even influenced his decision to create the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda. Bin Laden likened himself to Hari Seldon, who controls the society of the future through pre-planned crises. Moreover, the title of the novel when translated into Arabic sounds like Al Qaida and, thus, could be the reason for the origin of the name of bin Laden's organization.

And no later January 2

In one of his addresses to readers, Asimov formulated the humanistic role of science fiction in the modern world as follows: “History has reached a point where humanity is no longer allowed to be at enmity. People on Earth must be friends. I have always tried to emphasize this in my works... I don’t think it is possible to make all people love each other, but I would like to destroy hatred between people. And I quite seriously believe that science fiction is one of the links that helps unite humanity. The problems that we raise in science fiction become pressing problems of all humanity... The science fiction writer, the reader of science fiction, science fiction itself serve humanity.”

Biography

Azimov was born (according to documents) on January 2, 1920 in the town of Petrovichi, Smolensk province, RSFSR (now Russkovskoye rural settlement, Shumyachsky district, Smolensk region) into a Jewish family. His parents, Anna Rachel Isaakovna Berman (Anna Rachel Berman-Asimov, -) and Yuda Aronovich Azimov (Judah Asimov, -), were millers. They named him in honor of his late maternal grandfather, Isaac Berman (-). Contrary to Isaac Asimov's later claims that the original family surname was "Ozimov", all remaining relatives in the USSR bear the surname "Azimov".

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

At age 5, Isaac Asimov went to school in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn (he was supposed to start school at age 6, but his mother changed his birthday to September 7, 1919, in order to send him to school a year earlier). After finishing tenth grade in 1935, fifteen-year-old Asimov entered Seth Low Junior College, but the college closed a year later. Asimov entered the chemistry department of Columbia University in New York, where he received a bachelor's degree (B.S.) in 1939, and a master's degree (M.Sc.) 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, worked there with him.

In 1970, Asimov separated from his wife and almost immediately got together with Janet Opal Jeppson (English) Russian, whom he met at a banquet on May 1, 1959. (They had previously met in 1956, when he gave her an autograph. Asimov did not remember that meeting, and Jeppson considered him an unpleasant person at the time.) The divorce became effective on November 16, 1973, and on November 30, Asimov and Jeppson were married. There were no children from this marriage.

Main awards

Bibliography

The most famous science fiction works

  • The collection of short 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;
  • Cycle about the galactic empire: “Pebble in the Sky” (“Pebble in the sky”), “The Stars, Like Dust” (“Stars like dust”) and “The Currents of Space” (“Cosmic currents”);
  • 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” (“The End of Eternity”), which describes Eternity (an organization that controls time travel and changes human history) and its collapse;
  • A series about the adventures of a space ranger Lucky Starr.
  • The story “The Bicentennial Man” (“Bicentennial Man”), based on which a film of the same name was made in 1999.
  • The series “Detective Elijah Bailey and the 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”, “Caves of Steel”, “The Naked Sun”, “Mirror reflection", "Robots of the Dawn", "Robots and Empire", "Murder at ABC".

Almost all of the writer’s cycles, as well as individual works, form the “History of the Future.”