I, Asimov

A Memoir

By: Isaac Asimov

Narrated by: Jon Lindstrom

Arguably the greatest science fiction writer who ever lived, Isaac Asimov also possessed one of the most brilliant and original minds of our time. His accessible style and far-reaching interests in subjects ranging from science to humor to history earned him the nickname "the Great Explainer". I. Asimov is his personal story - vivid, open, and honest - as only Asimov himself could tell it.

Here is the story of the paradoxical genius who wrote of travel to the stars yet refused to fly in airplanes; who imagined alien universes and vast galactic civilizations while staying home to write; who compulsively authored more than 470 books yet still found the time to share his ideas with some of the great minds of our century. Here are his wide-ranging thoughts and sharp-eyed observations on everything from religion to politics, love and divorce, friendship and Hollywood, fame and mortality. Here, too, is a riveting behind-the-scenes look at the varied personalities - Campbell, Ellison, Heinlein, Clarke, del Rey, Silverberg, and others - who along with Asimov helped shape science fiction.

As unique and irrepressible as the man himself, I. Asimov is the candid memoir of an incomparable talent who entertained readers and listeners for nearly half a century and whose work will surely endure into the future he so vividly envisioned.

©1979 Isaac Asimov (P)2020 Random House Audio

When i finished I felt like I knew him

The best praise for an autobiography is that, when you’ve finished it, you feel like you know the author. That’s the case here.

Tedious at times but many of the chapters are brilliant.

Excellent narration!

A man who loves to write and teach

I grew up reading Isaac Asimov’s science, history, literature, and science fiction prose. Although often extravagantly illustrated by talented artists, his words carried his entire message all on its own.

Thank you Mr Asimov

You said it all. You are like a father figure to me.
You are someone I aspire to be like.

Fabulous auto-biobraphy

ypu do not have to read his other 2 auto-bographies to enjoybthis one. I did not and enjoyed this one immensely. I only knew Him from his books and now I feel I really know the man

Great insight into the mind of a remarkable writer and person.

I enjoyed the narrator greatly, I think he really nailed it. Also, I very much enjoy the content of the book itself.

ear-opening book about my childhood favori author

I like the section he explains why he is not a zionist and why nations shouldn't build upon cultures or religions. To my surprise he said he was not a good scientist nor a chess player or any table-top game player!

Asimov as a dynamic personality was beyond impressive and the book was well worth listening to.

I liked hearing about Asimov’s childhood and formative years; very interesting how he learned to recognize his faults, as well as his own brilliance, and how to navigate in the world and get along with people. I admired him overall, but I was extremely put off by his vitriolic, shallow, small-minded comments about so-called conservatives whom he loved to hate with an irrational passion. The chapter on Al Capp was especially revealing as to how even a brilliant man can form opinions early in life that are allowed to remain unexamined for years until they become sheer prejudice with little basis in actual fact. It was offensive to hear him rant about non-progressives while offering little if any concrete evidence to support his assertions. That said, his work ethic was truly amazing. Odd, that I listened to this whole thing and I’ve never read any of his other works and have no plans to do so.

One of the greats of SF

I've always considered Asimov to be my first introduction to serious SF. It was interesting to get his perspective on how writing field developed in conjunction with his own life. He's not shy about tooting his own horn so that's a bit redundant. He also has a penchant for providing a lot of very specific dates which seems to be superfluous. The performance felt almost like Asimov were reading it.

Human

As prolific as he is many of us readers think of Asimov as transcendent in many ways. Somehow superhuman. Turns out he sees himself that way as well. There are so many things to like about this guy and so many things about him that I find distasteful. I can't decide if I would have liked to have known him or not. The thing is we are all that way. That is what makes us human. What I admire most about Isaac Asimov after listening to his memoir is that he knew all of this. As much as he thought of himself, and he tells us time and time again how much he admired himself, he knew he had faults and didn't try to hide that fact. I don't agree with a lot of his opinions but I respect that they were his opinions. I freely admit to not having read much more than his science fiction, which is a small part of his contribution to literature, but I'm grateful for his stories as I have enjoyed them immensely.

As for this book,..It's as well written and fun to listen to as his Sci-Fi and the reader did a fantastic job.

Inspiring and deeply interesting

Enormous talented Sapiens driven in life by his love to the craft of writing, knowledge and possibilities. And yet, still a man of integrity, fragility and affection.
A tale of over 70 year that depicts the publishing and book industry on hard science, and science fiction among others.

The narrative is captivating. As I have never hear Asimov’s actual voice, the narrator became him and in turn became a real treat.

Listening is enjoyable and a lesson on the various ways of life. Very inspiring. Loved it.