I have a special shelf set aside for the nonfiction writings of the late Dr. Isaac Asimov, because I enjoy his work so much. For something like forty years, Asimov wrote monthly science essays for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (F&SF for short). Each essay was focused on a specific topic. Each was clearly and simply written, and based on the best information available then. Periodically, these essays were collected and printed as books. He also wrote a number of other books about science and history.
| F&SF Essay collections | Other essay collections | Full-length science books | Other nonfiction books |
Essay Collections from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction:
For more than thirty years, Asimov wrote a steady stream of monthly science essays for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The essays were on every topic under the sun. Many of them were collected and published in book form over the years.
'X' STANDS FOR UNKNOWN
c.1984, Avon
ISBN: 0-380-69847-1
ADDING A DIMENSION
c.1964, Avon/Discus
ISBN: 0-380-00278-7
ASIMOV ON ASTRONOMY
c.1975, Doubleday
ISBN: 0-385-06881-6
A collection of essays about astronomy: planets, moons, stars, and other galaxies.
ASIMOV ON PHYSICS
c.1976, Avon/Discus
ISBN: 0-380-41848-7
Essays about various aspects of physics. Some of these are badly outdated since they were written in the late 60s and early 70s, but the basic concepts are generally accurate even if a lot of the details are now known to be wrong.
ASIMOV ON SCIENCE
c.1989, Doubleday
ISBN: 0-385-26345-7
A selection of Asimov's best F&SF essays on sciences.
THE EDGE OF TOMORROW
c.1985, Tor
ISBN: 0-812-53122-1
Reprints of both essays and fiction stories from F&SF.
FACT AND FANCY
c.1962, Avon
ISBN: 380-00320-125
FAR AS HUMAN EYE COULD SEE
c.1987, Pinnacle Books
ISBN: 1-55817-107-X
FROM EARTH TO HEAVEN
c.1966, Avon/Discus
ISBN: 380-00338-125
THE LEFT HAND OF THE ELECTRON
c.1972, Dell
ISBN:
LIFE AND TIME
c.1978, Avon
ISBN: 0-380-47944-3
OF MATTERS GREAT AND SMALL
c.1975, Ace
ISBN: 441-52220-195
OF TIME AND SPACE AND OTHER THINGS
c.1965, Avon/Discus
ISBN: 0-380-00325-2
OUT OF THE EVERYWHERE
c.1990, Pinnacle Books
ISBN: 1-55817-601-2
THE PLANET THAT WASN'T
c.1976, Avon/Discus
ISBN: 0-380-01813-6
QUASAR, QUASAR, BURNING BRIGHT
c.1977, Avon/Discus
ISBN: 0-380-44610-3
THE RELATIVITY OF WRONG
c.1988, Pinnacle Books
ISBN: 1-55817-169-X
THE ROAD TO INFINITY
c.1977, Avon/Discus
ISBN: 0-380-54155-6
THE SECRET OF THE UNIVERSE
c.1990, Doubleday
ISBN: 0-385-41693-8
THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND BACK
c.1970, Avon/Discus
ISBN:
A collection of F&SF essays that focus on the solar system and its other planets.
THE STARS IN THEIR COURSES
c.1970, Ace
ISBN:
VIEW FROM A HEIGHT
c.1963, Avon/Discus
ISBN: 0-380-00356-2
Essay collections from other sources
In addition to his long essays for Fantasy & Science Fiction, Asimov wrote many shorter science essays and articles for other magazines. Some of those have also been collected into books.
THE BEGINNING AND THE END
c.1977, Pocket
ISBN: 0-671-82135-0
Science essays from various sources.
SCIENCE PAST - SCIENCE FUTURE
c.1975, Ace
ISBN:
Science essays from various sources.
SCIENCE, NUMBERS, AND I
c.1976, Ace
ISBN:
TODAY AND TOMORROW AND . . .
c.1973, Dell
ISBN:
A collection of short science essays from various sources.
THE TYRANNOSAURUS PRESCRIPTION
c.1989, Prometheus Books
ISBN: 0-87975 -540-7
A collection of a hundred or so of Asimov's short essays, written for markets other than F&SF, and not available in any of his other books.
Full-length books about science
Besides his F&SF essays, Asimov wrote many self-contained books on aspects of science, nature, and history. I have a few of these too:
ATOM: JOURNEY ACROSS THE SUBATOMIC COSMOS
c.1991, Penguin Books
ISBN:
Introduction to modern atomic and subatomic physics. This is recent enough that very little of it has been proven wrong since it was written, so I find it a useful and reliable source on atomic physics.
THE COLLAPSING UNIVERSE
c.1977, Pocket
ISBN: 0-671-81738-8
A general look at astronomy.
THE NEUTRINO: GHOST PARTICLE OF THE ATOM
c.1966, Doubleday
ISBN:
A survey of subatomic physics as of the early 1960s. Asimov makes a slow, methodical survey of the development of atomic physics, from the basic conservation laws, through the discovery of radioactivity and the fact that there was such a thing as subatomic physics, then through quantum mechanics and relativity, and finally to the discovery of the neutrino and its implications for atomic physics. I think this is pretty well written and extremely good for learning the basics of atomic physics, as long as you remember that a bunch of significant things have been changed by discoveries since it was written.
THE UNIVERSE: FROM FLAT EARTH TO QUASAR
c.1966, Avon/Discus
ISBN: 0-380-01596-X
A survey of astronomy and cosmology from its beginnings to the latest discoveries (latest when the book was written, anyway). Much of this book is now outdated, but much of it is still valid.
Asimov's writing extended into other realms besides science and nature, too.
ASIMOV'S GUIDE TO THE BIBLE
c.1981, Wings Books
ISBN: 0-517-34582-X
Asimov's guide and commentaries on the Christian Bible. Covers both the Old and New Testaments.
FRONTIERS II
c.1993, Penguin Books
ISBN: 0-525-93631-9
ISAAC ASIMOV'S BOOK OF SCIENCE AND NATURE QUOTATIONS
c.1988, Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 1-55584-444-8
Exactly what the title says: a collection of quotations about science and/or from scientists and naturalists.
TWENTIETH CENTURY DISCOVERY
c.1976, Ace
ISBN:
Discovery & exploration in the 20th century.
