The Best of Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov offers in this collection twelve of the best stories he has written over the past thirty-five years. Ingenuity of plot and style is a regular feature in these fascinating, often provocative tales of space and time. "Marooned Off Vesta," for instance, the first fiction Asimov ever published, is a prime example of the versatility of his imagination. It tells of three men in a spaceship only three hundred miles from Vesta - with no way to reach it.

His well-known "Nightfall" probes the reactions of a planet to the darkness of night which falls only once in two thousand years.

Asimov gives his solution to the dissipation of energy of the Universe in "The Last Question" - a solution so disturbing that readers will never forget this unique story. "The Dying Night" is a science fiction-mystery tale with that delightful armchair detective, Wendell Urth; three scientists; and murder.

And there is a long-awaited reunion between R. Daneel Olivaw and Lije Baley in "Mirror-Image," concerning two robots who lie about their masters.

Here is a tempting sampler for those who have not yet experienced Isaac Asimov, and the pièce de résistance for his many devoted followers.

Contents:

• Marooned Off Vesta
• Nightfall
• C-Chute
• The Martian Way
• The Deep
• The Fun They Had
• The Last Question
• The Dead Past
• The Dying Night
• Anniversary
• The Billiard Ball
• Mirror Image