I had forgotten how good a writer Asimov was -- and even 50 years after some of these stories, they're still great yarns. Includes some of the greatest sci fi stories ever written. ( )

The first of a two part collection of Asimov stories. Not exclusively sci-fi, they cover fiction as well. A good collection, though The Complete Robot is still the definitive collection of Asimov Sci-fi stories. ( )

Includes the short story 'Jokester' about where jokes derive. Excellent set of short stories from pre-1960. Very prescient on use of computer and privacy concerns.

I have not read much science fiction in the past so I do not regard myself as much of a science fiction reader but I had received this book as a surprise gift. For that reason, it took me quite a while to get round to start reading it. There are 25 short stories of science fiction in this volume. Some of the stories are very short (a few pages) whereas the longest is just over 50 pages. All of them were written during the 1950s and, naturally, there are some dated elements to the writing style and descriptions. However, I found the concepts and themes of these stories quite thought-provoking and I can appreciate why the author was (and still is) so highly regarded.

I enjoyed reading most of the stories; they are quite varied. My favourites include: Gimmicks Three (a demon's conundrum), Satisfaction Guaranteed (similar theme to the movie, A.I.), Franchise (an election where one person is chosen to vote for a whole nation), Profession (education/careers in the future), The Dying Night (a futuristic "who dunnit?"), Gentle Vultures (alien abduction with a nuclear war theme). ( )

Reviewed Jan - April 1999

Fun book to read, some stories are only two pages long and some like "The Ugly Little Boy," "Profession," and "C-Chute" are much longer. Stories like, "The Fun they Had," and "It's Such a Beautiful Day" the kids really enjoyed when I read aloud to them. Even Butch had to listen in. Several stories I re-told on long drives which left the kids saying, "Can't you remember anymore?" Many of these stories I had already read in his other complications, but I enjoyed re-reading them again. Asimov is always entertaining! ( )