heading 1;heading 2;heading 3;heading 4;The Best
Of
Isaac Asimov

ISAAC ASIMOV
Copyright © 1973

Contents

Introduction
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


Introduction

I must admit the title of this book gives me pause. Who says the enclosed stories are my best'? Do I? Does the editor? Or some critic? Some reader? A general vote among the entire population of the world?
And whoever says it--can it be so? Can the word best' mean anything at all, except to some particular person in some particular mood? Perhaps not--so if we allow the word to stand as an absolute, you, or you, or perhaps you, may be appalled at omissions or inclusions or, never having read me before, may even be impelled to cry out, Good heavens, are those his best?'
So I'll be honest with all of you. What is included here in this book are a dozen stories chosen in such a way as to span a third of a century of writing, with two early samples, two late samples, and eight from the gold decade (for me) of the Fifties. Those presented are as nearly representative as is consistent with the careful selection of good stories (i.e. those the editor and I like), and as nearly the best of my stories as is consistent with making them representative.
I suppose we ought really call the book, The Pretty Good and Pretty Representative Stories of Isaac Asimov', but who would then buy it? So best' it is.
As to the individual stories--
(1) Marooned Off Vesta' was the very first story I ever published, so its inclusion is virtually a necessity. It wasn't the first I ever wrote with the hope of publication. Actually, it was the third. The first was never sold and no longer exists; the second was sold a couple of years after it was written, but is not very good.
Far be it from me to crave indulgence, but I think it is important to understand that at the time I wrote and sold the story (in 1938) I was eighteen years old and had spent all the years I could remember in a city-slum. My vision of strong adventurers bravely facing danger in distant vastnesses was just that--visionary.
(2) Nightfall', written two and a half years later, was the thirty-second story I had written (what else did I have to do in those days except work in my father's candy store and study for my college degrees) and perhaps the fourteenth story published.
Yet within less than three years of the start of my career it turned out that I had written the best of Asimov. At least, Nightfall' has been frequently reprinted, is commonly referred to as a classic', and when some magazine, or fan organization, conducts a vote on short stories, it frequently ends up on the top of the list--not only of my stories but of anybody's. One of its advantages is that it has a unique plot. There was nothing resembling it ever published before (as far as I know) and of course, it is now so well known that nothing like it can be published again. It's nice to have one story like that, anyway.
Yet I was only twenty-one when I wrote it and was still feeling my way. It isn't my favorite. Later on, I'll tell you what my favorite is and you can then judge for yourself.
(3) C-Chute' comes after a ten-year hiatus, as far as the stories included in this book are concerned. I hadn't quit writing of course, don't think that. To be sure, I had slowed down a bit, what with the war and the time-consuming effort toward the doctorate, but the real reason for the gap is that I spent most of the Forties writing the stories collected in my books I, Robot and The Foundation Trilogy. It seemed inadvisable to amputate portions of either for this collection.
C-Chute' comes near the beginning of my mature' period (or whatever you want to call it). I had my Ph.D.; I was an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at Boston University School of Medicine; I had published my first three books, and I was full of self-confidence. What's more I had broken away from exclusive dependence on Astounding Science Fiction. New magazines had arisen to challenge its leadership, notably Galaxy, and also Fantasy and Science Fiction. C-Chute' appeared in Galaxy. So did the next two stories in the collection.
(4) The Martian Way' represents my reaction to the McCarthy era, a time, in the early fifties, when Americans seemed to abandon their own history and become, in some cases, witch-hunters; in some cases, victims; and in most cases, cowards. (Brave men remained, fortunately, which is why we pulled out of it.) The Martian Way', written and published at the height of the McCarthy era, was my own personal statement of position. I felt very brave at the time and was disappointed that no one ever as much as frowned at me in consequence. I must have been too subtle--or too unimportant.