| ▲ | srean 18 hours ago |
| I might be unusual in the sense that in my teens I absolutely adored Asimov as a writer of non-fiction rather than as a sci-fi author. For the current generation, I never miss a chance to mention Gamow's non-fiction. It's unfortunate that works of great non-fiction writers evaporate away from our cultural consciousness after their death. It makes me sad that there will be a generation, or maybe it's already upon us, one that has not delighted in Martin Gardner. |
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| ▲ | akashshah87 17 hours ago | parent | next [-] |
| >> I might be unusual in the sense that in my teens I absolutely adored Asimov as a writer of non-fiction rather than as a sci-fi author. That's because he was only the second-best sci-fi writer but the best science writer in the world at the time [Clarke-Asimov Treaty of Park Avenue|https://sfandfantasy.co.uk/php/the-big-3.php] |
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| ▲ | srean 16 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | Ha! I did not know about this. Arthur C Clarke was indeed my favourite at that time (even now). Asimov, however, killed it with his two goosebump-good shorts, Nightfall and Last Question. | | |
| ▲ | pavel_lishin 16 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | I don't remember reading any Clarke short stories, though I do remember a few books favorably - but Asimov's stories were incredible, and stick with me to this day. I should get a few more of his short story collections for the kiddo, I think I have a few of his non-fiction ones on a bookshelf somewhere. | | | |
| ▲ | zem 11 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | brilliant stories both, but my two favourite asimov shorts are "profession" (I really, really love the trope that a regimented society depends on outcasts and outsiders for any sort of innovation) and "the martian way" (one of his more minor shorts, but it captures the joy and optimism of golden age solar system exploration fiction like nothing else I've read) |
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| ▲ | lo_zamoyski 14 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | If Lem was there, he would likely have agreed to dedicate his books to "the best third-rate scifi writers", given his generally critical view of American/Western scifi as naive, "commercial trash", and shallow entertainment. | | |
| ▲ | srean 14 hours ago | parent [-] | | Too bad that I wouldn't be able to read Lem in the original. It's not an easy language to learn, is what I hear. |
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| ▲ | the__alchemist 16 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Sagan's books are still very popular, long after his time. |
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| ▲ | veqq 17 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Which of Gamow's do you recommend? Physics Foundation and Frontiers looks nice. |
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| ▲ | zem 11 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| martin gardner stood head and shoulders above everyone else for me, but asimov did indeed have some great works of non-fiction. |
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| ▲ | mmooss 12 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| > It's unfortunate that works of great non-fiction writers evaporate away from our cultural consciousness after their death. That's a bit of an overstatement? There's Confucius, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, ... Darwin, Newton, Einstein, ... Jefferson, Decartes, .... (you get the idea). It is a competitive field; what's sufficient to win attention in the current generation is often not enough for future generations, which have their own contemporary writers. |
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| ▲ | asimoff 17 hours ago | parent | prev [-] |
| > I absolutely adored Asimov as a writer of non-fiction rather than as a sci-fi author. I am the same, though frustratingly he still somehow managed to weave his casual misogyny into even his non-fiction works. |
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| ▲ | fn-mote 11 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | This would be a much more appreciated comment if it included even one example. I’m willing to believe it, but I didn’t notice any in the time I was reading his fiction. | | |
| ▲ | carbarjartar 11 hours ago | parent [-] | | One example off the top of my head... In The Building Blocks Of The Universe's section on Calcium: > Another way of getting round the problem of hard
water is to manufacture compounds that behave like soap
but don't form insoluble compounds with calcium. Many
types of such detergents have been put on the market in
the last ten years, and hard water is far less of a problem
for the housewife than it used to be. Reads like '90s era comedy, ala "women be cleaning, amirite?", without even the lazy backdoor of "its just a joke". |
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| ▲ | sam_lowry_ 15 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | Says an account created just to post this horseshit. | | |
| ▲ | asimoff 15 hours ago | parent [-] | | Clearly you and I have different definitions of "horseshit". Is this your immature way of asking for an example of what I am addressing in my comment? |
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| ▲ | falcor84 17 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | I don't know if it says good or bad things about me, but I never noticed that. But maybe it's just because I started reading his works long after their initial release. In particular, I was quite surprised to later learn that "Asimov's New Guide to Science" was originally published as "The Intelligent Man's Guide to Science". |
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