Essays by Isaac Asimov about himself

Copyright © 1995 by Edward Seiler and Richard Hatcher. All rights reserved.

Portrait of the Writer as a Boy

Subject: personal reminiscences
First Published In: Oct-66, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
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Academe and I

Subject: personal reminiscences
First Published In: May-72, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
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The Cruise and I

Subject: personal reminiscences
First Published In: Jul-73, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
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My Name

Subject: origin of Asimov's name; common misspellings and mispronunciations
First Published In: Mid-Dec-83, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Bypass

Subject: the story of Asimov's triple bypass operation
First Published In: Jul-84, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Superstupidity

Subject: Asimov often did some very stupid things
First Published In: Jul-85, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Persona

Subject: Asimov's traits are his own, not a developed persona
First Published In: Mar-86, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Memory

Subject: Asimov's memory, and how it is still performing well
First Published In: Dec-87, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Eccentricity

Subject: reluctance to travelling has saved Asimov from working with Hollywood
First Published In: Apr-88, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Acrophobia

Subject: Asimov's fear of heights and reluctance to travel
First Published In: Aug-88, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Wrong!

Subject: mistake in equating "deist" with "theist"; reasons for wearing sideburns
First Published In: Sep-89, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Anniversary

Subject: celebration of the 40th anniversary of Pebble in the Sky, despite illness
First Published In: Nov-90, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Gorbachev

Subject: lunch with Mikhail Gorbachev in May 1990
First Published In: Feb-91, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Straight Lines

Subject: Asimov's inability to resist a joke when given a straight line
First Published In: Dec-91, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Coming Home

Subject: Asimov's hospital stay after urological surgery
First Published In: Jul-92, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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How I Lost My Purity and Began Writing for Television

Subject: Asimov's foray into TV writing with the science special "The Unseen World"
First Published In: 2-May-70, TV Guide
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To My Daughter

Subject: a loving tribute to Robyn
First Published In: 1975, The Tyrannasaurus Prescription (collection #37)
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Three cheers for this battle of the sexes... and for Loni, too

Subject: some of Asimov's favorite television shows
First Published In: 22-Oct-83, TV Guide
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Triple Bypass

Original Title: My Triple Bypass
Subject: amusing but poignant details of Isaac's surgery in late 1977
First Published In: 22-Apr-84, Newsday
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Ellis Island : Enter One Immigrant... Sprouting Measles

Subject: the arrival of the Asimov family at Ellis Island in 1923
First Published In: 10-Nov-84, TV Guide
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Mensa and I

Subject: reluctantly, Asimov joined Mensa, the group of intelligent people
First Published In: 1985, Mensa
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Our Shangri-La (w/Janet)

Original Title: Our Shangri-La
Subject: Isaac and Janet vacationing at Mohonk Mountain
First Published In: 1987, Nightfall
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The Tyrannosaurus Prescription (w/Janet)

Original Title: The Tyrannosaurus Prescription
Subject: Isaac and Janet visiting the Manhattan parks and museums
First Published In: 1988, Nightfall
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Ellis Island and I

Subject: Isaac and his family during their first few years in New York
First Published In: 1988, Nightfall
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Out of the Typewriter, Endlessly Writing

Subject: /psyche for being a prolific writer
First Published In: Oct-90, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
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What Makes Isaac Run?

Subject: the reason Asimov writes is because he likes to
First Published In: Dec-80, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Speed

Subject: why Asimov writes so fast and so much
First Published In: Jun-92, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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How to Write 160 Books Without Really Trying

Original Title: How to Write 148 Books Without Really Trying
Subject: how Asimov writes so much
First Published In: Mar-74, Chemtech
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Future? Tense!

Subject: futurology/predictions in science fiction
First Published In: Jun-65, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
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O Keen-eyed Peerer into the Future!

Subject: futurology/predictions in Asimov's SF
First Published In: Oct-74, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
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Quite Personal

Subject: an announcement of Asimov's forthcoming autobiography
First Published In: Feb-79, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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My Autobiography

Subject: why Asimov wrote his autobiography
First Published In: Nov-80, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Science Fiction Anthologies

Subject: Asimov's work in compiling SF anthologies
First Published In: 11-May-81, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Names

Subject: how Asimov picks names for characters
First Published In: Dec-84, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Playboy?

Subject: Asimov never seeks high word rates, but is paid well anyway
First Published In: Aug-89, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Attack!

Subject: Asimov accused of plagiarizing "The Ugly Little Boy" 29 years after writing it
First Published In: Feb-90, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Posthumous

Subject: Asimov's refusal to amass material for posthumous publication
First Published In: Apr-90, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Spokesman

Subject: Asimov's role as unofficial spokeman for the SF field
First Published In: May-90, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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The Perfect Machine

Subject: robots and computers in Asimov's stories
First Published In: Oct-68, Science Journal
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I Am a Signpost

Subject: Asimov's early predictions in his science fiction stories
First Published In: Nov-81, Popular Computing
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Where I Get My Ideas

Subject: Asimov's story ideas came from many sources, but mainly from hard thinking
First Published In: Nov-84, The UNESCO Courier
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My Hollywood Non-Career

Subject: Asimov's negative attitude toward working on screenplays
First Published In: 1987, Change! (collection #26)
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Seven Steps to Grand Master

Subject: key points when Asimov's life turned toward SF fame
First Published In: 1988, Science Fiction Writers of America Bulletin
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Bestseller

Original Title: Best-seller
Subject: Foundation's Edge, Asimov's first best-seller
First Published In: May-83, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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My Projects

Subject: ideas for novels to follow Foundation's Edge
First Published In: Oct-83, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Fantastic Voyage II

Subject: the story behind the writing of Fantastic Voyage II
First Published In: May-88, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Ideas

Subject: the thought processes behind the writing of Nemesis
First Published In: Mar-90, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Nightfall

Subject: the 50th anniversary of "Nightfall", and its novelization
First Published In: Sep-91, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Foundation

Subject: how Asimov's later novels came to be written; his declining health
First Published In: Apr-92, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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There's Nothing Like a Good Foundation

Subject: the benefits and disadvantages of writing a series
First Published In: 1967, Science Fiction Writers of America Bulletin
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The Wendell Urth Series

Subject: the story behind the first Wendell Urth story
First Published In: 1980, The Great Science Fiction Series
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The Story Behind the "Foundation"

Subject: the history of the Foundation stories
First Published In: Dec-82, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Inventing a Universe

Subject: a description of and the reasons for the "Isaac's Universe" series
First Published In: Apr-90, Isaac's Universe, volume one: The Diplomacy Guild
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Unreasonable!

Subject: unreasonable expectations of readers, reviewers, and Asimov
First Published In: Jun-83, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Autographs

Subject: etiquette tips for autograph seekers
First Published In: Dec-83, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Irritations

Subject: school assignments, celebrity auctions, and other irritations
First Published In: Mid-Dec-85, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Sage

Subject: the burden of being regarded as a source of wisdom
First Published In: Feb-89, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Grumbles of My Own

Subject: an unreasonable contract, revised writing, and a claim of hiding Jewishness
First Published In: Sep-90, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Help?

Subject: readers' requests for help, invoking the name of John W. Campbell
First Published In: May-91, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Postcards

Subject: reasons Asimov prefers to answer fan mail with postcards
First Published In: Oct-91, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Whining

Subject: more complaints about fan requests that bother Asimov
First Published In: May-92, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
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Guide to Essays
Authors:
Edward Seiler
ejseiler@earthlink.net

Richard Hatcher (hatch888@airmail.net)