Why is it my favorite? For one thing I got the idea all at once and didn't have to fiddle with it; and I wrote it in white-heat and scarcely had to change a word. This sort of thing endears any story to any writer.

Then, too, it has had the strangest effect on my readers. Frequently someone writes to ask me if I can give them the name of a story, which they think I may have written, and tell them where to find it. They don't remember the title but when they describe the story it is invariably "The Last Question". This has reached the point where I recently received a long-distance phone call from a desperate man who began, 'Dr. Asimov, there's a story I think you wrote, whose title I can't remember' at which point I interrupted to tell him it was "The Last Question" and when I described the plot it proved to be indeed the story he was after. I left him convinced I could read minds at a distance of a thousand miles.

Popular science

Coined terms

Other writing

Literary themes

Awards

• 1957Thomas Alva Edison Foundation Award, for Building Blocks of the Universe
• 1960Howard W. Blakeslee Award from the American Heart Association for The Living River
• 1962Boston University's Publication Merit Award
• 1963special Hugo Award for "adding science to science fiction" for essays published in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
• 1965James T. Grady Award of the American Chemical Society (now called the James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry)
• 1966Best All-time Novel Series Hugo Award for the Foundation series
• 1967Westinghouse Science Writing Award
• 1972Nebula Award for Best Novel for The Gods Themselves
• 1973Hugo Award for Best Novel for The Gods Themselves
• 1973Locus award for Best Science Fiction Novel for The Gods Themselves
• 1977Hugo Award for Best Novelette for The Bicentennial Man
• 1977Nebula Award for Best Novelette for The Bicentennial Man
• 1981An asteroid, 5020 Asimov, was named in his honor
• 1983Hugo Award for Best Novel for Foundation's Edge
• 1983Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel for Foundation's Edge
• 1987Nebula Grand Master award, a lifetime achievement award
• 1992Hugo Award for Best Novelette for Gold
• 1995Hugo Award for Best Nonfiction for I. Asimov: A Memoir
• 1996A 1946 Retro-Hugo for Best Novel of 1945 was given at the 1996 WorldCon to The Mule, the 7th Foundation story published in Astounding Science Fiction
• 1997Posthumous induction into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame
• 2009A crater on the planet Mars, Asimov, was named in his honor

• 14 honorary doctorate degrees from various universities

Except for two stories..."Liar!" and "Evidence"...they are not stories in which character plays a significant part. Virtually all plot develops in conversation with little if any action. Nor is there a great deal of local color or description of any kind. The dialogue is, at best, functional and the style is, at best, transparent ... The robot stories...and, as a matter of fact, almost all Asimov fiction...play themselves on a relatively bare stage.

I made up my mind long ago to follow one cardinal rule in all my writing...to be clear. I have given up all thought of writing poetically or symbolically or experimentally, or in any of the other modes that might (if I were good enough) get me a Pulitzer prize. I would write merely clearly and in this way establish a warm relationship between myself and my readers, and the professional critics...Well, they can do whatever they wish.

His words do not easily lend themselves to traditional literary criticism because he has the habit of centering his fiction on plot and clearly stating to his reader, in rather direct terms, what is happening in his stories and why it is happening. In fact, most of the dialogue in an Asimov story, and particularly in the Foundation trilogy, is devoted to such exposition. Stories that clearly state what they mean in unambiguous language are the most difficult for a scholar to deal with because there is little to be interpreted.

In 1940, Asimov's humans were stripped-down masculine portraits of Americans from 1940, and they still are. His robots were tin cans with speedlines like an old Studebaker, and still are; the Robot tales depended on an increasingly unworkable distinction between movable and unmovable artificial intelligences, and still do. In the Asimov universe, because it was conceived a long time ago, and because its author abhors confusion, there are no computers whose impact is worth noting, no social complexities, no genetic engineering, aliens, arcologies, multiverses, clones, sin or sex; his heroes (in this case R. Daneel Olivaw, whom we first met as the robot protagonist of The Caves of Steel and its sequels) feel no pressure of information, raw or cooked, as the simplest of us do today; they suffer no deformation from the winds of the Asimov future, because it is so deeply and strikingly orderly.

It has been pointed out that most science fiction writers since the 1950s have been affected by Asimov, either modeling their style on his or deliberately avoiding anything like his style.

Science fiction

"Greater Foundation" series

• The Robot series:
• The Caves of Steel (1954), ISBN 0-553-29340-0 (first Elijah Baley SF-crime novel)
• The Naked Sun (1957), ISBN 0-553-29339-7 (second Elijah Baley SF-crime novel)
• The Robots of Dawn (1983), ISBN 0-553-29949-2 (third Elijah Baley SF-crime novel)
• Robots and Empire (1985) ISBN 978-0-586-06200-5 (sequel to the Elijah Baley trilogy)

• Galactic Empire novels:
• Pebble in the Sky (1950), ISBN 0-553-29342-7
• The Stars, Like Dust (1951), ISBN 0-553-29343-5
• The Currents of Space (1952), ISBN 0-553-29341-9

• Original Foundation trilogy:
• Foundation (1951), ISBN 0-553-29335-4
• Foundation and Empire (1952), ISBN 0-553-29337-0, Published with the title 'The Man Who Upset the Universe' as a 35c Ace paperback, D-125, in about 1952.
• Second Foundation (1953), ISBN 0-553-29336-2

• Extended Foundation series:
• Foundation's Edge (1982), ISBN 0-553-29338-9
• Foundation and Earth (1986), ISBN 0-553-58757-9 (last of the Foundation series)
• Prelude to Foundation (1988), ISBN 0-553-27839-8 (occurs before "Foundation")
• Forward the Foundation (1993), ISBN 0-553-40488-1 (occurs after "Prelude to Foundation" and before "Foundation")

• Further Extended Foundation series ... Second Foundation trilogy:
• [With approval of the Estate of Isaac Asimov]:
• Foundation's Fear (1997), ISBN 0-06-105243-4 hardcover (by Gregory Benford)
• Foundation and Chaos (1998), ISBN 0-06-105242-6 hardcover (by Greg Bear)
• Foundation's Triumph (1999), ISBN 0-06-105241-8 hardcover (by David Brin)

Lucky Starr series (as Paul French)

• David Starr, Space Ranger (1952)
• Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids (1953)
• Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus (1954)
• Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of Mercury (1956)
• Lucky Starr and the Moons of Jupiter (1957)
• Lucky Starr and the Rings of Saturn (1958)

Norby Chronicles (with Janet Asimov)

• Norby, the Mixed-Up Robot (1983)
• Norby's Other Secret (1984)
• Norby and the Lost Princess (1985)
• Norby and the Invaders (1985)
• Norby and the Queen's Necklace (1986)
• Norby Finds a Villain (1987)
• Norby Down to Earth (1988)
• Norby and Yobo's Great Adventure (1989)
• Norby and the Oldest Dragon (1990)
• Norby and the Court Jester (1991)

Novels not part of a series

• The End of Eternity (1955) *
• Fantastic Voyage (1966) (a novelization of the movie)
• The Gods Themselves (1972)
• Destination Brain (1987) (not a sequel to Fantastic Voyage, but a similar, independent story)
• Nemesis (1989) *
• Nightfall (1990), with Robert Silverberg
• The Ugly Little Boy (1992), with Robert Silverberg (aka: Child of Time)
• The Positronic Man (1993) *, with Robert Silverberg

Short story collections

• I, Robot (1950), ISBN 0-553-29438-5
• The Martian Way and Other Stories (1955), ISBN 0-837-60463-X
• Earth Is Room Enough (1957), ISBN 0-449-24125-4
• Nine Tomorrows (1959), ISBN 0-449-24084-3
• The Rest of the Robots (1964), ISBN 0-385-09041-2
• Through a Glass, Clearly (1967), ISBN 0-860-25124-1
• Nightfall and Other Stories (1969), ISBN 0-449-01969-1
• The Early Asimov (1972), ISBN 0-449-02850-X
• The Best of Isaac Asimov (1973), ISBN 0-722-11256-4
• Buy Jupiter and Other Stories (1975), ISBN 0-385-05077-1
• The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories (1976), ISBN 0-575-02240-X
• The Complete Robot (1982)
• The Winds of Change and Other Stories (1983), ISBN 0-385-18099-3
• The Alternate Asimovs (1986), ISBN 0-385-19784-5
• The Best Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov (1986)
• Robot Dreams (1986), ISBN 0-441-73154-6
• Azazel (1988)
• Robot Visions (1990) ISBN 0-451-45064-7
• Gold (1995), ISBN 0-553-28339-1
• Magic (1996), ISBN 0-002-24622-8

Mysteries

Novels

• The Death Dealers (1958), republished as A Whiff of Death
• Murder at the ABA (1976), also published as Authorized Murder

Short story collections

Black Widowers series

• Tales of the Black Widowers (1974)
• More Tales of the Black Widowers (1976)
• Casebook of the Black Widowers (1980)
• Banquets of the Black Widowers (1984)
• Puzzles of the Black Widowers (1990)
• The Return of the Black Widowers (2003)

Other mysteries

• Asimov's Mysteries (1968)
• The Key Word and Other Mysteries (1977)
• The Union Club Mysteries (1983)
• The Disappearing Man and Other Mysteries (1985)
• The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov (1986)

Nonfiction

Popular science

1. Fact and Fancy (1962)
2. View from a Height (1963)
3. Adding a Dimension (1964)
4. Of Time, Space, & Other Things (1965)
5. From Earth to Heaven (1966)
6. Science, Numbers and I (1968)
7. The Solar System and Back (1970)
8. The Stars in Their Courses (1971)
9. The Left Hand of the Electron (1972)
10. The Tragedy of the Moon (1973)
11. Of Matters Great & Small (1975)
12. The Planet that Wasn't (1976)
13. Quasar, Quasar, Burning Bright (1977)
14. Road to Infinity (1979)
15. The Sun Shines Bright (1981)
16. Counting the Eons (1983)
17. X Stands for Unknown (1984)
18. The Subatomic Monster (1985)
19. Far as Human Eye Could See (1987)
20. The Relativity of Wrong (1988)
21. Out of the Everywhere (1990)
22. The Secret of the Universe (1990)

• The Chemicals of Life (1954)
• Inside the Atom (1956)
• Only a Trillion (1957)
• The World of Carbon (1958)
• The World of Nitrogen (1958)
• Words of Science and the History Behind Them (1959)
• The Clock We Live On (1959)
• Asimov on Numbers (1959)
• The Wellsprings of Life (1960)
• Life and Energy (1962)
• Its Structure and Operation (1963)
• The Human Brain (1964)
• The Intelligent Man's Guide to Science (1965)
• The title varied with each of the four editions, the last being Asimov's New Guide to Science (1984)
• Planets for Man (with Stephen H. Dole)
• From Flat Earth to Quasar (1966)
• The Neutrino (1966)
• Is Anyone There? (1967), ISBN 0385084013 - where he used the term Spome
• Photosynthesis (1968)
• Our World in Space (1974)
• Please Explain (1975)
• Asimov On Astronomy (1975)
• Asimov On Physics (1976)
• The Collapsing Universe (1977), ISBN 0-671-81738-8
• Extraterrestrial Civilizations (1979)
• Visions of the Universe with coauthor Kazuaki Iwasaki (1981)
• Exploring the Earth and the Cosmos (1982)
• Understanding Physics (1988) [1966]
• Vol. I, Motion, Sound, and Heat
• Vol. II, Light, Magnetism, and Electricity
• Vol. III, The Electron, Proton, and Neutron
• Asimov's Chronology of Science and Discovery (1989), second edition adds content thru 1993
• Asimov's Chronology of the World (1991)
• Isaac Asimov's Guide to Earth and Space (1991)
• Journey Across the Subatomic Cosmos (1991)
• Quasars, Pulsars and Black Holes (1992)
• The Sun (2003), revised by Richard Hantula
• Jupiter (2004), revised by Richard Hantula
• The Earth (2004), revised by Richard Hantula
• Venus (2004), revised by Richard Hantula

Annotations

• Asimov's Annotated "Don Juan"
• Asimov's Annotated "Paradise Lost"
• Asimov's Annotated "Gilbert and Sullivan"
• Asimov's The Annotated "Gulliver's Travels"
• Familiar Poems, Annotated

Guides

• Asimov's Guide to the Bible, vols I and II (1981), ISBN 0-517-34582-X
• Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare, vols I and II (1970), ISBN 0-517-26825-6

Autobiography

• In Memory Yet Green, (1979, Doubleday)
• In Joy Still Felt, (1980, Doubleday)
• I. Asimov: A Memoir, (1994, Doubleday)

Other Nonfiction

• Opus 100 (1969), ISBN 0-395-07351-0
• Isaac Asimov's Treasury of Humor (1971)
• The Sensuous Dirty Old Man (1971), ISBN 0-451-07199-9
• Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (1972), ISBN 0-385-17771-2
• Lecherous Limericks (1976), ISBN 0-449-22841-X
• More Lecherous Limericks (1976), ISBN 0-802-77102-5
• Still More Lecherous Limericks (1977), ISBN 0-802-77106-8
• Opus 200 (1979), ISBN 0-395-27625-X
• Our Federal Union (1975), ISBN 0-395-2283-3
• Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts (1979), ISBN 0-517-36111-6
• A Grossery of Limericks, with John Ciardi (1981), ISBN 0-393-33112-1
• The Roving Mind (1983) (collection of essays). New edition published by Prometheus Books, 1997, ISBN 1-573-92181-5
• Opus 300 (1984), ISBN 0-395-36108-7
• Limericks, Two Gross, with John Ciardi (1985), ISBN 0-393-04530-7
• Asimov Laughs Again (1992)

Selected Books by Dewey Decimal Category

• Hallucination Orbit: Psychology In Science Fiction, (000)
• Asimov's Guide to the Bible, (200)
• Why are the Rain Forests Vanishing?, (300)
• Words from History, (400)
• Realm of Numbers, (500)
• The Human Body: Its Structure and Operation, (600)
• Visions of the Universe, (700)
• The Do-It-Yourself Bestseller: A Workbook, (800)
• The Greeks: A Great Adventure, (900)

• Stranieri in America 1988
• Oltre New York 1986
• Voyage to the Outer Planets and Beyond 1986
• NBC TV, 1982 "Speaking Freely" interviewed by Edwin Newman 1982
• Target... Earth? 1980
• The Dick Cavett Show 1970
• The Nature of Things 1969
• "ABC News" coverage of Apollo 11, 1969, with Fred Pohl, interviewed by Rod Serling
• "To Tell The Truth", CBS, approximately 1968, playing the "real" Isaac Asimov.
• ARTS Network talk show hosted by Studs Terkel and Calvin Trillin, approximately 1982. Other guests included Harlan Ellison and James Gunn.
• "David Frost" interview program, August 1969. This is the show in which Frost asked Asimov if he had ever tried to find God and, after some initial evasion, Asimov answered, "God is much more intelligent than I...let him try to find me."
• Bill Moyers interview 1988

• Asimov, Isaac. In Memory Yet Green (1979, ISBN 0-380-75432-0).

In Joy Still Felt (1980, ISBN 0-380-53025-2).

I. Asimov: A Memoir (1994). ISBN 0-385-41701-2 (hc), ISBN 0-553-56997-X (pb).

Yours, Isaac Asimov (1996), edited by Stanley Asimov. ISBN 0-385-47624-8.

It's Been a Good Life (2002), edited by Janet Asimov. ISBN 1-57392-968-9.

• Goldman, Stephen H., "Isaac Asimov", in Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 8, Cowart and Wymer eds., (Gale Research, 1981), pp. 15—29.
• Gunn, James. "On Variations on a Robot", IASFM, July 1980, pp. 56—81.

Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction (1982). ISBN 0-19-503060-5.

The Science of Science-Fiction Writing (2000). ISBN 1-57886-011-3.