Four co-workers raise some very interesting questions over lunch regarding Creationism and Evolution. This short Asimmov short story may leave you wondering.

Where do jokes come from? Using a mighty computer called "Multivavac", Noel Meyerhof, a Grand Master, asks two questions of Multivac after feeding it all the jokes he knows to find where they came from. Would you believe extraterresterials?

The tale takes place on one of Jupiter's moons, Ganymede, where a home sick Olaf Johnson shares the legend of Santa Claus with the "Ossies" (local inhabitants) who are employed by the same company he works for. The Ossies' embrace the story whole-heartedly and declare a shut-down in production unless "Sante" pays them a visit. Will Olaf be able to re-create this Earth legend in outer space? Will Olaf keep his job after Commander Pelham (his boss) learns what he has done? Listen and find out!

"Youth" is a surprisingly complex short tale, with a deep core of thought-provoking reasoning. What is our motivation? Where is our growth? What do we consider valuable? These questions and more are brought to light in this story by Isaac Asimov. Youth is one of the rare Asimov stories with alien characters.

"It all began with my month's layoff between galactic service assignments. I reached Marsport for the ususla three-day stopover. Before landing, I received a spacegram from my wife, Hilda, saying she would stay and wait for me on Earth. So I called Flora and set a date. As I stepped out of the Video Booth, the first whiff of catastrophe nudged itself up to me. Rog Crinton said, 'Red Emergency Alert - come with me. Jack Hawk is dead. The galactic drug menace and his killer is on his way here.'"

This classic science fiction masterwork by Isaac Asimov weaves stories about robots, humanity, and the deep questions of existence into a novel of shocking intelligence and heart.

This first volume of Favorite Science Fiction Stories features "the best of the best" from the Golden Age of science fiction. It includes 21 stories by, among others, Andre Norton, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Robert Silverberg, Stanley G. Weinbaum, Philip K. Dick, Edmond Hamilton, Jack Williamson, Alan Edward Nourse, Fritz Leiber, Frederik Pohl, Fredric Brown, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., and others.

A research spaceship from Earth lands on Saybrook's Planet to investigate a report by an earlier colony ship. The colony ship's captain, Saybrook, had reported that the planet's abundant plant and animal life was all part of a single organism with a unified consciousness. That organism was able to induce pregnancy in all the colony ship's female animals, and all the offspring born had green patches of fur instead of eyes, a sign that they were part of the planetary organism.

As the people of Earth develop atomic power, they are recorded as having achieved maturity by the Galactic keeper of records. But when the keeper learns that they have not yet penetrated space, and that they test their atomic weapons on the planetary surface, he strikes them from the record, commenting that Earth people are 'Silly Asses'.

Isaac Asimov has never laid claim to the title of “Mr. Science Fiction,” but he personifies science fiction in many ways. For one thing, he has grown up with the field, improving as he went; for another, he is actually a teacher of science by profession. But most significant, perhaps, is the scope of his vision, ranging (like that of science fiction itself) from the infinitely vast - as in many of his novels - to the poignantly small - as in this story… Narrated by John W. Michaels.

Stranger in a Strange Land is the epic saga of an earthling, Valentine Michael Smith, born and educated on Mars, who arrives on our planet with “psi” powers—telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, telekinesis, teleportation, pyrolysis, and the ability to take control of the minds of others—and complete innocence regarding the mores of man. After his tutelage under a surrogate father figure, Valentine begins his transformation into a kind of messiah.

A collection of 20 classic short stories by Isaac Asimov, author of the Foundation series, featuring the definitive and only in-print version of “Nightfall”.

From early work like "Rescue Party" and "The Lion of Comarre", through classic stories including "The Star", "Earthlight", "The Nine Billion Names of God", and "The Sentinel" (kernel of the later novel and movie 2001: A Space Odyssey), all the way to later work like "A Meeting with Medusa" and "The Hammer of God", this comprehensive short story collection encapsulates one of the great science fiction careers of all time.

Unfinished Tales is a collection of narratives ranging in time from the Elder Days of Middle-earth to the end of the War of the Ring and provides those who have read The Lord of the Rings with a whole collection of background and new stories from the 20th century’s most acclaimed popular author.

There are tales of Middle-earth from times long before The Lord of the Rings. The story told in this book is set in the great country that lay beyond the Grey Havens in the West: lands where Treebeard once walked, but which were drowned in the great cataclysm that ended the First Age of the World.

Timothy and Jonah, wealthy entrepreneurs with a spoiled son, hide sins from their past—one involving a death on a cruise, the other a crime in Bali. Nathan and Samantha, the hot ex-nanny turned trophy wife, grapple with infertility and a shocking paternity secret. Bartosz and Angelika (he’s a chef, she’s a former sex worker) carry debts to the other couples they don’t even realize they owe. Over fourteen days, the couples bond—but their pasts are too deeply intertwined to stay hidden. The sly concierge, Putu, knows more than he lets on.

Annie has always had high hopes for her future. But the reality of her life just isn’t measuring up. She loves her fiancé, Greg–doesn’t she? She’s going to get her degree and open her own business–won’t she? Then, a strange old woman shows up outside her house, and she seems to know a lot about Annie. An awful lot. Annie could tell the old woman to get lost. Yet there’s something about her Annie just can’t shake. And what she learns could change her life forever–but is it the life she envisioned?

It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.

The 13 chapters of The Art of War, each devoted to one aspect of warfare, were compiled by the high-ranking Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun-Tzu. In spite of its battlefield specificity, The Art of War has found new life in the modern age, with leaders in fields as wide and far-reaching as world politics, human psychology, and corporate strategy finding valuable insight in its timeworn words.

Lucas knows the perfect night entails just three things: video games, wine, and pad thai. Peanuts are a must! Other people? Not so much. Why complicate things when he’s happy alone? Then one day the apartment board, a vexing trio of authority, rings his doorbell. And Lucas’s solitude takes a startling hike. They demand to see his frying pan. Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of removing the errant object, as Lucas suggests, they insist on finding the guilty party. But their plan backfires. Colossally.