beamjockey | Entries tagged with asimov

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On Tuesday, in El Paso, Texas, President Barack Obama gave a speech about immigration:

According to the transcript on the Wall Street Journal's site, Mr. Obama said:

This flow of immigrants has helped make this country stronger and more prosperous. We can point to the genius of Einstein, the designs of I. M. Pei, the stories of Isaac Asimov, the entire industries that were forged by Andrew Carnegie.

Not to mention the empty libraries that Andrew Carnegie, with immense foresight, erected to hold the many, many books Isaac Asimov would write.

Anyway, it's nice to see a President dropping the name of one of science fiction's stars. It's almost as if SF had become respectable.

(-:

Happy New Year, everyone!

It just occurred to me that tomorrow is the 90th anniversary of the birth of the late, great Isaac Asimov (1920-1992). He was involved in science fiction fandom in the 1930s, soon after it began.

Eventually, he achieved his ambition to become a writer. And then some.

He authored or edited something over 469 books.

His body of work spanned a phenomenal range of subjects. I have read seventy or so of his books. He became our most celebrated science writer. I can scarcely begin to tell you about his achievements. I will say that on the one occasion I met him, he was as delightful as I had always hoped he might be.

He was a sought-after speaker, and a beloved toastmaster. If you care to enjoy a wonderful 1974 talk about science fiction and the future, listen to this MP3 from The Time Traveler Show, courtesy of the Science Fiction Oral History Association.

Happy birthday, Doctor A, wherever you are.