The Best of Isaac Asimov (1973) is a collection of twelve science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 short stories

Short Stories

Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...

 by Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...

. It begins with a short introduction (six pages in the Doubleday hardcover edition) giving various details on the stories, such as how they came to be written, or what significance merits their inclusion in a "best of" collection, as well as some of Dr. Asimov's thoughts on a best of collection itself. The stories included are two of his early works, two of his late works (post-1960), and eight from the 1950s, which he refers to as his "golden decade" in the introduction. Except for the last story in the book, Mirror Image, none of the stories are related to his Robot

Isaac Asimov's Robot Series

Isaac Asimov's Robot Series is a series of short stories and novels by Isaac Asimov featuring positronic robots.- Short stories :Most of Asimov's robot short stories are set in the first age of positronic robotics and space exploration...

 and Foundation series, and only a few (The Last Question

The Last Question

"The Last Question" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It first appeared in the November 1956 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and was reprinted in the collections Nine Tomorrows , The Best of Isaac Asimov , Robot Dreams , the retrospective Opus 100 , and in Isaac Asimov: The...

, The Dead Past

The Dead Past

"The Dead Past" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, first published in the April 1956 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. It was later collected in Earth Is Room Enough and The Best of Isaac Asimov , and adapted into an episode of the science-fiction television series Out of the...

, and Anniversary) mention the Multivac

Multivac

Multivac is the name of a fictional supercomputer in many stories by Isaac Asimov. According to his autobiography In Memory Yet Green, Asimov coined the name in imitation of UNIVAC, an early mainframe computer...

 computer.

Contents

• Introduction
• "Marooned Off Vesta
  Marooned Off Vesta
  Marooned Off Vesta is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It was the third story written by Asimov, and the first to be published. Written in July 1938 when Asimov was 18, it was rejected by Astounding Science Fiction in August, then accepted in October by Amazing Stories, appearing in...
  
  " (1939)
• "Nightfall" (1941)
• "C-Chute
  C-Chute
  "C-Chute" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the October 1951 issue of Galaxy Magazine and later appeared in Asimov's collections Nightfall and Other Stories and The Best of Isaac Asimov ....
  
  " (1951)
• "The Martian Way
  The Martian Way
  The Martian Way is a science fiction novella by Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1952 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction and reprinted in the collections The Martian Way and Other Stories , The Best of Isaac Asimov , and Robot Dreams...
  
  " (1952)
• "The Deep" (1952)
• "The Fun They Had
  The Fun They Had
  "The Fun They Had" is a science fiction story written by Isaac Asimov. It first appeared in a children's newspaper in 1951 and was reprinted in the February 1954 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, as well as the collections Earth Is Room Enough , 50 Short Science Fiction Tales ,...
  
  " (1954)
• "The Last Question
  The Last Question
  "The Last Question" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It first appeared in the November 1956 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and was reprinted in the collections Nine Tomorrows , The Best of Isaac Asimov , Robot Dreams , the retrospective Opus 100 , and in Isaac Asimov: The...
  
  " (1956)
• "The Dead Past
  The Dead Past
  "The Dead Past" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, first published in the April 1956 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. It was later collected in Earth Is Room Enough and The Best of Isaac Asimov , and adapted into an episode of the science-fiction television series Out of the...
  
  " (1956)
• "The Dying Night
  The Dying Night
  The Dying Night is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. The story first appeared in the July 1956 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and was reprinted in the collections Nine Tomorrows , Asimov's Mysteries , and The Best of Isaac Asimov...
  
  " (1956)
• "Anniversary" (1959)
• "The Billiard Ball
  The Billiard Ball
  "The Billiard Ball" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, written in September 1966 and first published in the March 1967 issue of If. It appeared in Asimov's 1968 collection Asimov's Mysteries, in his 1973 collection The Best of Isaac Asimov in his 1986 Collection Robot Dreams and in...
  
  " (1967)
• "Mirror Image" (1972)

Details

• 1st edition (Doubleday): ISBN 0-385-05078-X