Minor SPOILER included in review, turn back now or....
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I really didn't think Mr. Tiedemann could continue to please after the two parts of this story (Mirage and Chimera) proved to be so entertaining.....but I was wrong, Aurora was an excellent conclusion to this trilogy. I only dinged it one star (the first two got 5 stars) because a character I really liked and hoped to see again dies...oh well.

I whole-heartedly recommend this series!! Worth every penny!

Tiedemann brings Asimov's robot universe to life in unexpected ways. The complex twists and turns of the story keep your attention riveted.

Once you pick up this book, or any other of Tiedemann's work, you can't put it down until you reach the end. I's like getting a box of chocolates, you can't have just a little bite, you want the whole thing.

This book, in particular, delves into subjects and themes that are both cutting-edge and timeless. His characters seem real, with real problems and attitudes. Even his robots are imaginative and have personalities that capture the imagination and leave you wanting more.

I'd highly recommend this book to anyone that loves great SF.

Okay, if you have any personal integrity whatsoever you've already read Mirage and Chimera, the previous Tiedemann titles in this Asimov's Robot Mystery series. They were both great reads, but this is the one that (being a SFWA member) I'm giving a Nebula recommendation to. (And I usually don't do that for so-called "sharecropper" novels.) Why? Because this novel goes way beyond the mystery/action level of the previous books, and brings the background into play in very interesting ways. Without discussing the plot, I'll only say that it also brings the Asimov "universe" up to date with the concerns of modern SF readers. Questions like "Where's the nanotech?" and "What about AI's?" and "What happened to the Spacers?" are dealt with, or ominously foreshadowed. Most importantly, the questions raised by the existence of Bogard are not swept under the rug or reduced to a mere plot point to be conveniently tied up later. Bogard raises fundamental questions about the Three Laws, and robotics in general, and Tiedemann faces up to them and lets them play out. Good stuff.

For me, the best thing about picking up almost any 'non-fiction' book by Isaac Asimov is the fore-knowledge that you aren't going to be affronted by a barrage of technical "facts and figures," simply thrown out of nowhere at the reader (like 'name-dropping'), for the purpose of advancing, in a self-serving way, the author's own 'pet theories' on a given subject. With Asimov, you KNOW he will walk you through everything, from start through finish, in chronological sequence and with historical context thrown in (free of charge, always), in order to build his case for something in a methodical, well-ordered, and logical manner. I've sometimes thought the 'Good Doctor' was himself surprised at some of the conclusions he 'found himself arriving at', on certain subjects, simply because the 'weight of the evidence' and his own 'chain of reasoning' from it, simply LED him there, compelling him to adopt that viewpoint, not unlike the outcome of a rigorous mathematical formula... Then again...I suppose that goes for everyone! But for rational reasons! (There IS a distinction!) 'Extraterrestrial Civilizations' is a brave and fascinating book. Brave, in its scope, for a book originally published 20 years ago, before we had our present-day scientific confirmation that other stars do, in fact, HAVE planets (which was assumed by the majority of the scientific community, but not known, 20 years ago - no 'Hubble Telescope' existed back then, when Asimov wrote this book). Our recent findings, however, both vindicate and bolster two (and ONLY two) of Isaac's most crucial case-assumptions in this book, along with other scientist's conjectures-, early on in his 'chain of reasoning'). The book is Fascinating, in that the theories Asimov both summarizes and expounds still represent the 'cutting edge' of the best scientific thought there is on this subject today. We have, as yet, progressed no further. Cover-to-cover, and detailed step-by-step, this book builds up an argument based upon the well-known and meticulous Asimovian 'chain of reasoning'. It incorporates (though significantly modifies it, since Asimov doesn't seem to accept the narrowed parameters) the 'Drake Equation', which is a 'sign of the times' (1979 times 'best science'). It's too bad the subsequent 'conclusion' is given away on the soft-cover jacket (at least on the Avon Books edition, which I have), because the book itself reads and unfolds like the best of detective stories, with the facts presented (which progressively fall into place), and, chapter by chapter, the 'clues' and suppositions mount, then pile up, one upon another...ultimately leading to... ? Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in 'exobiology'(You know...the 'science without a subject'...yet). Aspects of almost every related science discipline are considered here (or at least are mentioned in passing), along with inherent implications/applications. A 'complete' work ('in progress'), until someone else comes along and 'updates' us, or suggests something different or more 'progressive'. So far, everyone's still waiting....

This book was written about 20 years ago. Asimov's scientific rigour and marvelouly clear divulgative prose guides us to what we know of the possible existence of extraterrestrial civilizations. Had he written this book today, he would have been less optimistic, perhaps, but most of his reasoning wouldn't have changed. For an updated equivalent of this book,read
Stephen Webb's Fifty solutions to Fermi's Paradox.

This book is one of the earliest books to fully address this subject. Unfortunately, it so hard to get, I personally asked Dr. Asimov, (before he died) if even HE knew where I could get another copy of it and he did not. In fact he autographed my hard-cover copy. I'll sell my copy, but the price will be high.

Asimov goes thru a sequential (historical) development of the field, explaining how biologists arrived at each new discovery. What were they looking for, and (more important), why? How did this field look in the first century? In the fifteenth? In the nineteenth? In this context, I think it's easier to understand the crucial experiments, why they were done, and their effect on the field. For someone who has had a basic (high school) biology course, this allows the reader to fit his or her understanding into a logical framework, and often makes it easier to understand what the discovery actually meant. Even for someone with no background in biology at all, this book provides a synopsis that's relatively painless to read and digest (up to the 1960s). But its real value lies in making the development of the field much clearer, explaining what we knew and when (and most importantly, how, with attendant ambiguities) we knew it. As good as his Short History of Chemistry.

Most introductory biology books throw a large collection of facts in your face without really giving you any explanation of how they came to be. What makes this so hard is that the heart of biology is about details. One way of putting this is -- nomenclature (taxonomies) is to biology, as mathematics is to physics. Unfortunately, for the a "non-specialist", getting a quick introduction to the different fields of biology is difficult. Asimov slowly introduces the concepts of biology by explaining the development of this science through history. He subtly introduces the different fields of biology along with some of the famous discoveries and experiments. The difference is that he doesn't get bogged down in the details. A biologist would probably find this disappointing. However, for someone who wants to sort through the massive amounts of information on biology, this book is great. This book requires almost no prerequisite knowledge. If you read this book along with an introductory book on Biology, it will give an excellent view of some of the fundamental concepts of Biology. I don't know if a biologist would like this book, but I did. I think this book is perfect for a freshman biology (or pre-med) student or prehaps an intelligent reader (like a computer scientist who is interested in neural computation, but wants to get past the algorithms) who would like a gentle introduction into this field.

Well, you want to see a review, let`s find out. First. As always, the author is strongly informed about the subject. Second. U want to learn, or just to have a good time, so if u don't, ... Here I am; trying to give u positive vibes about this; PLEASE read this book if you're interesed in the origin of terms, technics, and human desire to know more about this fabulous science.....BIOLOGY. Enjoy

I found this at a thrift store in an old ratty paperback edition and, as an Asimov lover, I had to have it. The 25 cents I paid were well worth it. A detalied but not lengthy murder mystery that Asimov approaches like no other. It doesn't have anything to do with robots, which is ok. Asimov's whistful sense of the future and knowledge of science, the cliffhanger, and suspense show true in this find. An excellent read and magnified by the fact by the unique view of Asimov as the diverse writer he was. By far not his best work, but in his 'experiment' into the murder mystery genre, Asimov hits a home run.

While dated with only hints of sex and no violence, this book is still a good read forty years after it was written. It begins with a graduate student possessing a nasty personality being killed by the inadvertent sniffing of cyanide during a research experiment. Given that the student was meticulous in his work and showed no suicidal tendencies, murder is immediately suspected. As a former and currently part-time academic, I found the description of academic politics and the push for rank advancement to be the most interesting part of the book. It seems clear that Asimov is describing some of his experiences in the academic world.
The main character is a competent instructor of chemistry whose only goal is to rise to the rank of associate professor, an aspiration that he has held for eleven years. It was his doctoral student who died and in an attempt to salvage his career, he embarks on a quest to determine what happened. Most of his actions are those that would normally happen during the course of his professional activity. The only difference is that now he is the logical suspect in what was obviously a murder.
Included in the story is a dictatorial professor nicknamed Cap who is retired, but is legendary as a dictator who demanded that students work long hours, even during holidays. One wonders if this is also a description of someone Asimov encountered as a student.
I lent my copy of this book to a chemistry professor friend of mine and he enjoyed it as well. His comment is an excellent way to end this review. “It was nice to read a story that combines a well-designed mystery with the nastiness and pettiness of academic politics. I t brought back memories of my time as a graduate student.”

A young student has died of inhaling lethal chemicals in his lab. When the police come they are faced with a question: was it an accident or was it cold-blooded murder. The possibility of an accident by such a meticulous young man seems highly unlikely to all questioned. The detective is then led into an intricate net possibilities, logical conclusions and most importantly - human emotions. You'll never be able to put this book down!

I remember reading this anthology as a child, and I remember wishing that i was different like one of the children in the book... it's a great escape for kids, i suggest it to anyone with a young reader

I read this book as a child, and it occured to me recently what an intriguing book it is. I spent a long time trying to track it down, and finally found it! It is a marvellous, eclectic collection of stories, including an excellent offering from Ray Bradbury.

mutants are "freaks of nature" that have special and unique characteristics or powers that "normal" people don't. As you read, you ask yourself if its a gift or some kinda punishment. There is one story about a boy who is born with wings, I would say is one of the best short story I have ever read. Buy this book!

Like other readers I thoroughly enjoyed the foundation trilogy, but had the same feeling that I experienced when reading Sherlock Holmes for the first time i.e. that his deductive conclusions were questionable to say the least.. Examples of this are...... 1. why would the population of Anacreon treat nuclear technology with awe and subsequent religeos reverance whilst retaining space travel and advanced weapons..? 2. physchohistory is supposed to only deal with planetary masses but without the actions of mallow and hardin would the result have been the same , particulally as they appeared to have been the only ones to see the solution. ?. our own world's history is litterd with individuals who have altered the destiny of world history ,napoleon, hitler alexander etc. Despite these faults it still a ripping read! not so the sequels /prequels. Asimov should have left his masterpiece alone. thank god conan doyle cannot ruin sherlock holmes !!

....reminiscent of detective stories but in a futuristic age, the Foundation books occur during the breakup of the Galactic Empire and involve crisis after crisis, most of them planned for by the dead hand of Hari Seldon...positivistic and slanted toward Newtonian scientific values, but very entertaining.

If you like Asimov, you'll love Buy Jupiter and other stories. An eclectic mix of his short stories, they range from short-shorts (1-2 pages) to some longer pieces. Given Asimov's prolifity, the quality can be a bit uneven, but his introductory commentary for each story more than makes up for it. If you love puns, you'll especially like Shah Guido G.

This is the fifth book I ever read, at the age of ten-and-a-half. This introduced me to the world of science and research, of figuring things out for yourself and holding your own opinions. From the very first story the wonder and awe it inspired in a small unwordly Catholic school boy has never been forgotten. It is classic Asimov, and it's great to see it reprinted. While the stories range from the interesting to the fantastic, the autobiographical commentary either side each one is timeless. If in any way, shape or form you like sf or Asimov (in any of his guises) you'll love this book.

The universe is a very strange place and to me, the most bizarre objects are black holes. They are things where the gravitational attraction is so strong that not even light can move fast enough to get away. While the complete definition of black holes requires a great deal of sophisticated mathematics, the fundamental principles are easy to understand. No one is better at explaining science and in this thorough, non-mathematical explanation of how black holes can exist, Asimov is at his best.

He starts with the basics of escape velocity and then increases the size of the objects until they are large enough to be black. The steps follow in logical order and all are well explained. If you are interested in the physics of black holes, Asimov will teach you.

Asimov handily explains the workings of the Universe to his point in time (roughly 1986). He organizes the book logically, beginning with basic concepts such as mass and the simple structures of matter, and finishing with the complete cycle of stellar evolution. He explains the birth and death of stars and includes exciting descriptions of the many different forms that stars can take: yellow suns, blue giants, red giants, white dwarves, novas, supernovas, neutron stars, pulsars, and finally black holes. The Collapsing Universe inspired and helped with several of my college compositions and is truly a model of unbeatable descriptions of science writing. A must for anyone interested in studying astronomy for the first time.

Briefly, Asimov wrote Black Widower short stories for _Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine_ for years, rounding out each batch to a dozen with a few previously unpublished episodes for each new Widower collection. The Widowers are a stag club who meet once a month at the Milano restaurant: Avalon (patent attorney), Drake (research chemist), Gonzalo (painter), Halsted (teacher), Rubin (author), and Trumbull (intelligence analyst). They rotate the office of host; each month's host brings a guest for an evening of dinner, conversation, and grilling, and each eventually produces a problem of some kind for the Widowers to try to solve. (Problem-solving isn't the point of the club; Avalon, for one, grumbles about how the grilling always seems to degenerate into sleuthing, lately.) The seventh Widower - Henry, the waiter - always produces the solution after the other six have batted the problem around awhile.

"The Cross of Lorraine" - Host: Rubin. Guest: the Amazing Larri, a stage magician with a sideline in exposing psychic fraudsters. (However, Larri's discourse on psychics is only the prologue to his problem; for a story concentrating on psychics, see _Tales of the Black Widowers_). Larri wants to make a lady reappear: Gwendolyn, whom he met on a long bus ride. But a young French fellow-passenger could offer only one clue as to her destination. [Implausible for an 8-year-old to have spotted the main clue without being able to give clearer directions.]

"A Case of Income Tax Fraud" (a.k.a. "The Family Man") The evening's guest initially casts a pall over the banquet by revealing that he's employed by the IRS. (The griller, learning this, says that "you can have no friends here, or possibly anywhere.") His recollection for the evening is of a fraudster who managed, apparently quite innocently, to mislead him about his identity by giving the impression of being a family man when speaking of holidays. What went wrong? [This one's a stretch.]

"The Sports Page" This evening's guest is haunted by a mysterious dying clue left by a US agent that apparently, if properly unraveled, could have averted the Bay of Pigs fiasco. Naturally, the dying spy came up with a clue in his last moments that experts couldn't crack even years later, but Henry can.

"Second Best" An old soldier's problem is that he has never been able to grant the last request of a dying comrade on a battlefield; the only clue to the dead man's name is a reference to the 'second-best' vote-getter among the US presidents. [Dying-clue stories are inherently problematic; the more obscure the clue, the more tortured the rationale, and this one's *bad*. Asimov appears to have had a presidential-trivia bug, having used a similar clue in _Puzzles of the Black Widowers_.]

"The Missing Item" As with _Banquets of the BW_'s "Neither Brute Nor Human", someone dear to the guest has become involved with a cult: in this case, his wife wants to join the Tri-Lucifer cult, who claim that the anointed will one day live in a Martian paradise. He's trying to find a logical flaw in Tri-Lucifer dogma to persuade her that they're fakes, since being faced with logical inconsistency in doctrine has always persuaded her in the past to turn aside from unusual belief systems. [This one turns up in SF collections, and it's pretty good.]

"The Next Day" - Host: Drake, who's writing a book on recombinant DNA. Guest: Stephen Bentham, an editor at Southby Publications, despite Rubin's authorial objections to socializing with editors. Stephen's problem, however, is another author entirely: an unknown with tremendous potential, who not only resisted editing of his manuscript, but now claims that Stephen drove him away with vicious sarcasm. What happened after their last conversation?

"A Matter of Irrelevance" (a.k.a. "Irrelevance!") Guest: Dan Burry, high school principal, who's trying to interpret a mysterious paper a student apparently involved in a burglary ring was carrying, to convince the kid to cooperate with the law. [*Way* too involved for real-life thieving.]

"None So Blind" Mysterious death of a spy - and nobody could identify the killer.

"The Backward Look" - Guest: Milton Petersborough, stuck trying to create a murder-motive in the SF mystery he's writing on a bet. (He mentions that Asimov's career began with a similar bet.) But how could two photographs of an eclipse differ dramatically enough to motivate one photographer to murder the other? [My, but that *is* weak, isn't it? For a story about a story, "Earthset and Evening Star" in _More Tales of the Black Widowers_ seems a better bet.]

"What Time Is It?" - Host: Drake. Guest: Barry Levine, trial lawyer, who realizes the important of little things: the fate of his current client, charged with murder, hangs on a 20-minute discrepancy between two witnesses over when he left the scene.

"Middle Name" - Host: Gonzalo. Guest: handsome Lionel Washburn, rejected by a militant feminist for another man. She added insult to injury, claiming Washburn lost *a battle of wits* against his rival. The challenge was to produce a 1-syllable middle name that every schoolchild knows but doesn't know. Incidentally, James Drake is called on to recount the original reason for the stag rule of the club: the tale of his failed marriage to a woman his friends couldn't stand.

"To the Barest" - one of the few stories mentioning the club's founder, Ralph Ottur, and, sadly, the last: Ottur's representative at this evening's banquet bears tidings of his death. Ottur loved puzzles, and wants the Widowers to play one final time. He has left a legacy to whichever Widower meets the specification, "to the barest" - and to guarantee that the Widowers play, it all goes to the neo-Nazis if their solution doesn't satisfy Ottur's executor.

Since Isaac Asimov wrote in so many areas, his mysteries are often overlooked. While part of this is due to them being overshadowed by his science fiction and popular science series, another significant contribution is that they are not generally very deep. Most of his mysteries are the short, puzzle type of problem with little or no psychological intrigue. Furthermore, he scrupulously avoids the staples of blood, gore, sex, harsh language and violence. When you have been bombarded with such things, his writings seem rather tame. Which also makes them refreshing. Like viewing an old comedy tape where the comedian relies on timing, delivery and the incongruous events of the human existence rather than shock or chewing up another, these stories are a welcome relief.
The setting is a monthly gathering of an all male club where a guest is also present. That guest comes with a problem and it is presented to the Black Widowers for solution. After the group members are suitably stumped, the smartest person in the room, the quiet efficient waiter named Henry, comes up with the "obvious" solution. The difficulty of the puzzles is just about right, in that the solution is clear if you think about it in the right way.
I consider the tales of the Black Widowers to be the best series of mysteries that Asimov produced. They are entertaining, clearly written and give your brain cells a bit of exercise. If you like mysteries that are more puzzle than a deep conflict, then you will enjoy these tales.

Isaac Asimov, better known for his science fiction series as well as for his non-fiction treatises on innumerable subjects, has crafted captivating short mystery stories. In the vein of "Minute Mysteries", the stories of the Black Widowers combines interesting character development as the stories conglomerate. Set in the atmosphere of a social gathering of professional gentlemen of varied fields, the story lines unfold as the members of "The Black Widowers" grill the guest of the month in unraveling a mystery they can attempt to solve. Never of earth shattering import, the mysteries are intriguing and challenging. They are also solvable by anyone with a modicum of knowledge on any number of subjects. Truly a treat you can give yourself, a few short minutes at a time.

Although I haven't read this book since 1977, I remember it well. Its exciting, informative, and gets you thinking.

What a great book! I failed organic chemistry because I was told to memorize things rather than understand them, and I couldn't do it. This book explains organic molecules in both an interesting and informative way. Everyday chemicals, from coal to caffeine, are described. I would recommend it to anyone who wants an introduction to organic chemistry, but especially anyone who NEEDS to understand the fundamentals of both organic- and biochemistry.

This book brings the world of organic chemistry alive. The study of SN2 reactions can sometimes get a little stale. This book gives your education a direction. Even though it is out of print this book is worth searching to find a copy. It should be required reading for anyone taking college level chemistry courses.