Although I don't agree that every story analyzed in this book is great, I did find the commentary to be helpful. It has been said many times over that if you want to write good fiction, you need to read good fiction. However, this won't work if you don't analyze what you read as well. This book walks you through the process, providing sage advice from and excellent writer (Asimov) and world-class editor (Greenberg).

This is a noteworthy book for science fiction fans. The Time Travel team from Mojave Center goes back in time to Soviet Russia during World War II to find another component of MC governor.The action is paced well, and the story line is good. Definetely recommended for anyone who enjoys science fiction and history.

Some of these stories are dreadful. You will read them and wonder about the standards of the magazines they appeared in. After a little thought, you will wonder all the more because many of them really aren't so dreadful as all that. "Ring Around the Sun" had a hard time being published despite that fact that it was probably a lot better than most of its competition - and no worse than a lot of stuff finding its way into magazines today. We don't live in a golden age now, either. The bad stories of today are merely bad in a different way.

But the real story is the story of how Asimov came to be a science fiction writer, with samples of his work thrown in at the relevant moments. It was a departure for him. He'd published short story collections before this: but, for some reason, he thought, "Why not publish a collection of EVERY SURVIVING story from 1938 to 1949, and make an autobiography out of it?" Unfortunately it leaves out those stories which were otherwise in print at the time the book was published - a serious omission, I think. The book surely ought to have included "Nightfall", for historical reasons, at least.

But despite what I said about the fiction being dreadful, despite the fact that he left out all stories that he'd previously decided were worth reprinting, some nice pieces remain. "Author! Author!" is Asimov's funniest work and this is the only place you're likely to find it. "The Red Queen's Race" and "Mother Earth" are also very good.

This book had more of an impact on science fiction than most people realise. Its immediate effect must have been to make editors swear. I'll bet that when it was published, "Analog", "Galaxy", "Fantasy and Science Fiction" and "If" were innundated with hundreds of extra manuscripts from young writers who had fallen in love with the era Asimov described.

With a hot collection of writers, Election Day 2084 is an innovative preview of future politics. While some stories are well-loved classics in their own rite (Hail to the Chief), others were refreshingly new. I especially enjoyed the tight scripting of On the Campaign Trial... a telling slice of present, or future, life in the fast lane

"Gold" is an interesting piece of fiction. Clearly turning autobiographical at times, Isaac Asimov tells the story of an author determined to see one of his more famous works turned into something greater -- a "compu-drama", the brand-new visual medium of the future. It's an engaging story that uses its science fiction trappings to tell a tale about authors, stories, and the place the both of them hold in history. It is this theme along with the ways that different characters interpret the same piece of fiction that give this work its bite.

The fictional author would appear to be based, at least somewhat, on Asimov himself. The biggest clue to this is the book that the writer is looking to have produced bears a striking resemblance to one of Isaac Asimov's more celebrated novels. In fact, "resemblance" probably isn't going far enough -- for all intents and purposes, the book being discussed in "Gold" categorically is one of Asimov's more famous stories, at least, in most important respects (there is one section that is hinted to be different, but it seems clear that the bulk of the stories are identical in theme, plot, and characters). Readers who have already read that book will no doubt enjoy picking up some of the references. I had personally greatly enjoyed that book, and I found it quite interesting to get another interpretation of some of the more abstract concepts presented there. Not to say that Asimov explains them away; he merely presents an interpretation of the facts in a way that would be natural to someone trying to produce something so intangible in a visual context.

"Gold" isn't the best piece of fiction that Asimov wrote during his long and celebrated career, but it should definitely be considered worth reading. The science fiction portions are engaging, but that is really just the backdrop to a more fundamental story. The fictional author's comments on his own work were particularly interesting, especially as one attempts to figure out when he was talking from his own character, and when he was voicing the thoughts of Asimov contemplating his own place in literary history. As I wrote this review, my mind went over the events and I found myself appreciating the story even more. That is always a good sign, and "Gold" is definitely a story worth thinking about.

I read this book (and all of Asimov's autobiographies) when they were first printed and have read each one at least twice. If you like Asimov's "gentle reader" writing style, reading his autobiographies will be fun for you, more so if you want a view into a busy, obsessed writer's life and the forces that shaped him.

These books are frank (especially "I, Asimov"), interesting, and very often amusing.

"In Memory Yet Green" and "In Joy Still Felt" are large tomes, totalling about 1550pp together.

For a biography of Asimov, you can't do better than these. As he mentioned in his biographies, there's not much in the way of action or big events in these books. It's a long trip through all the words, but the trip is enjoyable.

Asimov states well the historical probabilities of Genesis, but simplifies it beyond the area of possability.

The J and P documents are well stated there, but if that were the whole story between Genesis 1 and 2 creation stories, then why did one of the accounts become apocraphal (much like the Keys of Enoch.)?

Other than that, Asimov did a superb job in laying out Genesis as it was, a beautiful myth.

My first Issac Asimov book i read was puzzles of the black widows and after that I read the rest of the series and was hooked on Asimov's works. I like his style of writing and his different times his storys are set. The title Isaac Asimov Presents the Best Crime Stories of the 19th Century is a bit misleading as many of the stories are written by different authors. I still loved the book and recommend it to everyone.

If you are looking for a collection of tales about Christmas, even in the far future where its meaning is lost in the past, well, this is the book. But, if you are looking for stories of hard science fiction about very imaginative futures, you should look for another book. Paulo Sunao, from BRAZIL

Something to please everyone here. I enjoyed some stories more than others as you will. Some really enjoyable and thoughtful writing here.