I, Asimov Audiobook By Isaac Asimov cover art

I, Asimov

A Memoir

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I, Asimov

By: Isaac Asimov
Narrated by: Jon Lindstrom
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About this listen

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
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What listeners say about I, Asimov

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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!

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    3 out of 5 stars

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.

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Thank you Mr Asimov

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

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1 person found this helpful

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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

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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.

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    4 out of 5 stars

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!

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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.

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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.

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This great book is now an unabridged release!

While this is technically the Third in Dr. Asimov's autobiography series after "In Memory Yet Green (covering 1920-54)" and "In Joy Still Felt (covering 1954-78)", this isn't actually the Third volume as it was originally intended. That book would have been written many years later and called "The Scenes of Life (covering 1978-????)", but with his health being uncertain he began writing this Third volume which became "I, Asimov". Instead of continuing from where the Second book left off in 1978, "I, Asimov" covers all of Dr. Asimov's life, making it a standalone autobiography. One reason for Starting From Scratch was the difficulty for readers of the Third book being able to purchase the (by then) out-of-print first two volumes. Another was the extended length of first two books at 700+ and 800+ pages each, so this all-in-one Third book was trimmed down to just 600 pages - or 550 for the hardcover. A later book was released in 2002 - "It's Been a Good Life" - which like "I, Asimov" is a standalone novel but refined to a mere 300 pages. When deciding which of these four books to narrate, the first two books might have been considered Too Long, the last Too Short, but this Third book would be Just Right. As to the audio release itself. the narration for the autobiography is spot on. Obviously it's for Serious Fans since at 24+ hours it's not exactly a quick listen, but it's certainly worth it. If you enjoyed reading the detailed commentaries he included with some of his short story collections, then you'll enjoy this narration!
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Some Specs: As listed, the complete title is 24 hours and 13 minutes with 170 individual "chapters". If one is downloading from Audible, it can be downloaded as one file (1.3 gigs / 24hrs 13 mins) or in three parts (457 megs/8hrs 15 mins; 452 megs/8hrs 11 mins; 430 megs / 7hrs 47 mins).

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Additional Info for (Audible) Asimov fans: While Audible has YET to release/narrate the 4th book in the Robot Novels ("Robots and Empire" - hint hint!!), there are many Much Older releases which are Unavailable unless one is fortunate enough to own them on legacy cassette or LP. However there is ONE Asimov title here on Audible that is a true gem. Released previously under different names with different lengths, here on Audible this collection goes by it's 1975 name "Science Fiction Favorites" ( B002V8LG52 ). This collection of short stories is unique as they are all narrated by Dr. Asimov himself. Additionally, this release includes some of his famous story commentaries, which even alone would make this something worth listening to.

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Asimov, a review.

This is a memoir, so rating it feels a little odd for me. I enjoyed the book. Up until this point, I have only read his short stories. It was interesting to read a longer piece by him. If you like history, or if you want a collection of other golden age science fiction authors (Isaac was one, but he also did so much more), there are plenty of name drops in this book.

I went half and half on the book. Sometimes reading it, and sometimes listening to the audiobook. Both had their own experiences, and I enjoyed both. To speak on the audiobook for the moment, the narrator did a good job keeping a calm and collected voice throughout the book, but show a certain elevated emotion at certain points. It was really well done.

Bottom line, I enjoyed this. If someone doesn’t like nonfiction, this would probably be too much for them. But if they wanted to know about Asimov, this would be a good place to start.

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