This is another book in Isaac Asimov's excellent "New Library of the Universe" series that serves as a supplementary text for the introduction of astronomy for young children. This volume is filled with beautiful photographs of stars and discusses the life and ultimate fate of different types of stars. The book is an update and revision by Francis Reddy of Isaac Asimov's "The Birth and Death of Stars" (1988). Asimov had passed away in 1992.

This is an excellent book for children describing some of the latest known facts about the Sun and serves as an introduction and suplementary text for young children. This book is a part of Isaac Asimov's Library of the Universe he started for children in the late 1980's that is supposed to be updated on a regular basis. However, Dr. Asimov died in 1992 and others are trying to continue the work. The book has since been updated in Asimov's New Library of the Universe and retitled "The Sun and Its Secrets" by Asimov and Francis Reddy.

This is an excellent book for young children describing some of the latest known facts about the Sun and serving as a short introduction and supplementary text for youth interested in astronomy. This book is a part of Isaac Asimov's New Library of the Universe he started for children in the late 1980's that is supposed to be updated on a regular basis. However, Dr. Asimov died in 1992 and others are trying to continue the work and updating the various volumes. This particular book is a revision of "The Sun," published in 1988.

This book, edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg, and Charles G. Waugh, features a pleasant collection of novellas (13) from some pretty well-respected, "veteran" writers of Sci-Fi.

There are two separate tales from the "Thieves' World." There is a vampire story. A novella about a prophetic dream that may or may not lead to hidden treasure. Then there is the sad tale of an obnoxious adventurer who learns that powerful magic can indeed be wielded by "savages," and a fun "Conan the Cimmerian" tale in which the intrepid muscleman once again runs into the unflappable Valeria. There is a chilling tale of high magic as wizards and priests fight to control the weather. "The 1970 Nebula Award for Best Novella" is here too: the tale of two thieves in a fantastic society causing trouble over their thievery. There is an "Elric of Melnibone" "novella" here (actually a few chapter excerpts from the second Elric book). There is a tale of a blind woman who takes on a quest to obtain secret knowledge. The antics of Romulus and Remus told from a Faun's point of view. A far-into-the-future world where a Boy Comes of Age, and to end it all, a brave knight rescues a princess and fights a cataclysmic battle between good and evil.

While all are definitely in the "Fantasy" genre, each tale is different enough that you shouldn't get too bored. This book might make a good gift for those friends who think all Fantasy consists of endless volumes of martial Elves and warrior Halflings who hold committees about magic rings and godstones, while the Knight Hero sets out to rescue the damsel-in-distress. And it's a fine book for fantasy buffs anywhere. The stories (Many excerpts from what later became novels) were written from 1936 - 1981.

The contributors are: Poul Andersen, Suzy McKee Charnas, Avram Davidson, Sir H. Rider Haggard, Robert E. Howard, John Jakes, Fritz Leiber, Michael Moorcock, Janet Morris, Andre Norton, Thomas Burnett Swann, Jack Vance, Roger Zelazny.

These tales were a refreshing change from what has become "mainstream" Fantasy.

Recommended. Look for it in a used book shop.

A wonderful book filled with thousands of tidbits of knowledge. The essays span many different topics, all in Asimov's best form

Asimov presents these aspects of phyiscs in bite-size pieces that anyone can digest. He uses everyday examples and only one or two simple equations to add emphasis. He explains where the math comes from and uses small diagrams to add a visual context. Some of the things he talks about are slightly out of date, but the history of the science is still interesting and enlightening. In general, the book is a bit of a snoozer, even for the hard-core science geek, but definitely worth reading for anyone who wants to understand these aspects of physics better.

There are basically two types of mysteries, those that are long and involved, requiring a full novel in order to prepare and complete the tale and those that are completed in a few pages. This volume is a collection of short stories that Asimov wrote for Gallery magazine. The setting is the library of an aristocratic club where a small set of members gather to momentarily restore their roles of gentlemen in a society where their time has passed. The “hero”, an arrogant, yet effective gent named Griswold, has a tale to tell about every topic that comes up.
The mysteries are not profound or deep, but they are challenging enough so that you will find it difficult to solve them. They truly fit the criteria of such stories, where the solution is difficult to grasp but easy to understand once it is given. I am not a big fan of mysteries, but I liked this collection because the solutions are puzzles to be interpreted rather than psychological quirks to be untangled. If you are a fan of puzzles, then you will most certainly like these.

In his usual witty, blunt and almost arrogant style, Asimov ponders such things as math, physics and the stuff of life. This little book provides an interesting overview of several sciences while attempting to challenge your mind to think logically and clearly (a hallmark of much of Asimov's writing). I love my copy and have earmarked several pages for re-reading. Warning, if you don't love science as a process, this book may not be for you.

This is another small, thin volume in the "Ask Isaac Asimov" series for young children (six to eight years old or younger). Here we have a simple discussion for young children of melanin and skin pigmentation and why it may have arisen.

In this collection there are twenty-one short stories that run the gamut from humorous to profound. Included with the stories are small introductions by Isaac Asimov. Two of the stories, Belief and Ideas Die Hard, were written in the 1950's. The former is a charming story about a physicist who finds he can levitate. The latter is a good but self admitted out of date story about travel to the moon. The other nineteen stories were written in the late seventies and early eighties. They cover a variety of topics including alien traders, computer illiteracy, the creation of the universe, the last shuttle leaving earth, a clothes designer and much more. It's unreasonable to expect that you'll like every story in any collection of short stories. However, The Winds of Change has more hits than misses. I think fans of Asimov would enjoy this book.