Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Satisfaction Guaranteed by Isaac Asimov Satisfaction Guaranteed by Isaac Asimov

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Satisfaction Guaranteed by Isaac Asimov Satisfaction Guaranteed by Isaac Asimov Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Satisfaction Guaranteed by Isaac Asimov Satisfaction Guaranteed by Isaac Asimov. I have been writing short stories for fifty-one years and I haven't yet quit. In addition to the hundreds of short stories I have published, there are at least a dozen in press waiting to be published, and two stories written and not yet submitted. So I have by no means retired. There is, however, no way one can publish short stories for this length of time without understanding that the time left to him is limited. In the words of the song: "Forevermore is shorter than before." It is time, therefore, for Doubleday to pull the strings together and get all my fiction-short stories and novels, too-into a definitive form and in uniform bindings, both in hard and soft covers. It may sound conceited of me to say so (I am frequently accused of being conceited), but my fiction generally has been popular from the start and has continued to be well received through the years. To locate any one story, however, that you no longer have and wish you did, or to find one you have heard about but have missed is no easy task. My stories appeared originally in any one of many magazines, the original issues of which are all but unobtainable. They then appeared in any of a multiplicity of anthologies and collections, copies of which are almost as unobtainable. It is Doubleday's intention to make this multivolume collection definitive and uniform in the hope that the science fiction public, the mystery public (for my many mysteries will also be collected), and libraries as well will seize upon them ravenously and clear their book shelves to make room for Isaac Asimav: The Complete Stories. We begin in this volume with two of my early collections from the 1950s, Earth Is Room Enough and Nine Tomorrows. The former includes such favorites of mine as "Franchise," which deals with the ultimate election day; "Living Space," which gives every family a world of its own; "The Fun They Had," my most anthologized story; "Jokester," whose ending I bet you don't anticipate if you've never read the story before; and "Dreaming Is a Private Thing," concerning which Robert A. Heinlein accused me of making money out of my own neuroses. Nine Tomorrows, the personal favorite of all my collections, contains not one story I don't consider to be excellent examples of my productions of the 1950s. In particular, there is "The Last Question," which, of all the stories I have written, is my absolute favorite. Then there is "The Ugly Little Boy," my third-favorite story. My tales tend to be cerebral, but I count on this one to bring about a tear or two. (To find out which is the second-favorite of my stories, you'll have to read successive volumes of this collection.) "The Feeling of Power" is another frequently anthologized piece and is rather prophetic, considering it was written before anyone was thinking of pocket computers. "All the Troubles of the World" is a suspense story and "The Dying Night" is a mystery based, alas, on an astronomical "fact" now known to be quite mistaken. Then there is a later collection included here, Nightfall and Other Stories, which features "Nightfall," a story that many readers and the Science Fiction Writers of America have voted the best science fiction story ever written (I don't think so, but it would be impolite to argue). Other favorites of mine are " 'Breeds There a Man . ?' ", which is rather chilling; "Sally," which expresses my feelings about automobiles; "Strikebreaker," which I consider much underappreciated; and "Eyes Do More than See," a short heartstring wrencher. There'll be more volumes, but begin by reading this one. You will make an old man very happy, you know. Literature / Satisfaction Guaranteed. Claire Belmont is nervous about the new robot TN-3, also known as Tony. Her husband, Lawrence, insists that she'll be perfectly safe, and robopsychologist Dr Susan Calvin reaffirms this claim. Tony will be inside the house, not even going outside to get the newspaper, for the three weeks of Larry's absence. This is part of an experiment so that US Robots & Mechanical Men can expand their services into people's homes, rather than simply having industrial applications. Larry is going to be spending the next three weeks in DC, lobbying to get legal approval for robots like the TN series out into private homes. He regrets that his wife is so weak, especially compared to Gladys Claffern. Claire very much agrees, feeling herself to be mousy and nervous. Tony starts by polishing the furniture and making breakfast in bed for Claire, and as she opens up to the mechanical man, she finds he's always there to comfort her. He also starts to subtly build her confidence, and tell her why she, Claire Belmont, is better than a dozen Gladys Clafferns. When she hosts a dinner party for Gladys and her friends, she finds her nervous terror transform into the aloofness of an experienced socialite. Asimov on Other Media. Asimov - Science Fiction read by Isaac Asimov, Listening Library, 1985, 2 cassettes (117 mins.). ISBN 0-807-23418-4 Unabridged readings of "I Just Make Them Up, See?", "Someday", "The Feeling of Power", "Satisfaction Guaranteed", and "Living Space". Asimov's Guide to Earth & Space read by Michael Jackson, Dove Audio, (360 mins.). Unabridged reading. Asimov's Mysteries read by Dan Lazar, Books on Tape, 8 cassettes (480 mins.). Unabridged reading. The Best of Isaac Asimov read by Dan Lazar, Books on Tape, 8 cassettes (720 mins.). Unabridged reading. Best of Science Fiction and Fantasy Dove Audio, 1991, 4 cassettes (360 mins.). Unabridged reading of "Someday" plus 10 short stories by other authors. The Complete Robot read by Larry McKeever, Books on Tape, 17 cassettes (1530 mins.). Unabridged reading. The Complete Robot read by Lloyd Battista, Warner Audio Pub., 2 cassettes (120 mins.), 1985. Unabridged readings from the book. The Complete Robot Random Audiobooks, 2 cassettes, 1988. Forward the Foundation read by David Dukes, Bantam Audio, (360 mins.). ISBN 0-553-47007-8 Abridged reading. Forward the Foundation read by Larry McKeever, Books on Tape, (1180 mins.). Unabridged reading. Foundation read by Larry McKeever, Books on Tape, 6 cassettes (360 mins.). Unabridged reading. Foundation read by Isaac Asimov, Bantam Audio, New York, 1988, 2 cassettes (180 mins.), Dolby processed. ISBN 0-553-45114-6 Abridged reading of Foundation . Foundation: the psychohistorians read by William Shatner, Caedmon TC1508, New York, 1976, 33 1/3 rpm., stereo, 12 in., 1 disc, (59 mins.). Foundation: the psychohistorians read by William Shatner, Caedmon Audio Cassettes, 1984. 1 cassette (90 mins.), ISBN 0-898-45210-4 Excerpted. Foundation: the psychohistorians read by William Shatner, HarperAudio, 1 cassette. Foundation and Earth read by David Dukes, Bantam Audio, 194, 2 cassettes (180 mins.). ISBN 0-553-47258-5 Abridged reading. Foundation and Earth read by Larry McKeever, Books on Tape, (1170 mins.). Unabridged reading. Foundation and Empire: Mule read by Isaac Asimov, HarperAudio, 1 cassette. Foundation and Empire read by David Dukes, Bantam Audio, 1991, 2 cassettes (180 mins.), Dolby processed. ISBN 0-553-45261-4 Abridged reading. Foundation and Empire read by Dan Lazar, Books on Tape, 8 cassettes (480 mins.). Unabridged reading. Foundation's Edge read by Isaac Asimov, Caedmon TC1710, New York, 1982, 33 1/3 rpm., stereo, 12 in., 1 disc, (62 mins.). Foundation's Edge read by Isaac Asimov, HarperAudio HC1710, 1994, 1 cassette, Dolby processed. ISBN 1-559-94934-1. Foundation's Edge read by Larry McKeever, Books on Tape, 9 cassettes (810 mins.). Unabridged reading. Foundation's Edge read by David Dukes, Bantam Audio, New York, 1992, 1 cassette. ISBN 0-553-47072-8 Abridged reading. Friends, Robots, Countrymen: Isaac Asimov Presents: Favorite Robot Stories From His Private Library read by Isaac Asimov, Dercum Press, 1991, 4 cassettes (360 mins.). ISBN 1-556-56120-2, 1-556-56121-0. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow Dercum Press, 1991, 4 cassettes. ISBN 1-556-56152-6. In Memory Yet Green read by Dan Lazar, Books on Tape, 20 cassettes (1800 mins.). Unabridged reading. Inside Star Trek Columbia, New York, 1976, 33 1/3 rpm, stereo, 12 in., 1 disc. Includes the track "Asimov's world of science fiction". Isaac Asimov Audio Collection read by Isaac Asimov and William Shatner, Caedmon, 1994, 3 cassettes (240 mins.), Dolby processed. ISBN 1- 55994-747-0 Unabridged reading of "Foundation: The Psychohistorians", excerpts from "Foundation's Edge", abridged reading of "Foundation: The Mayors". The Isaac Asimov Cassette Library Random Audiobooks, 6 cassettes. Isaac Asimov Conversations With Writers Tapes Readers, 1980, 1 cassette. ISBN 9-997-01632-7. Isaac Asimov Himself read by Isaac Asimov, Audio Partners Publishing, Auburn Ca., 1975, 2 cassettes (180 mins.). Unabridged readings of "The Immortal Bard", "The Last Question", "Someday", "Jokester", and "The Ugly Little Boy", with anecdotes and comments. Isaac Asimov talks: an interview Writer's Voice, Cincinnati, 1974, 1 cassette. Asimov discusses writing and his career as an author with Lois Rosenthal. Isaac Asimov's Guide to Earth and Space read by Michael Jackson, Dove Audio, 1991, 4 cassettes. ISBN 1-558-00452-1. Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine read by Peter Marinker and Ed Bishop, Listen For Pleasure, Ontario Canada, 1986, 2 cassettes (120 mins.), Dolby processed. Unabridged readings of "Strikebreaker" and "It's Such a Beautiful Day", plus Frederik Pohl's "Soaking Up the Rays". Issac [sic] Asimov Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul, Minn., 1972, 2 cassettes (120 mins.).
Recommended publications
  • THE MENTOR 86 “The Magazine Ahead of Its Time”
    THE MENTOR 86 “The Magazine Ahead of its Time” APRIL 1995 page 1 So this is the world that “swirls around us”, here where we A PLANET MUCH LIKE live in the most quite and forgotten of sites, shielded to our west by the Santa Barbara Range, (perhaps 2,500 metres high, or higher maybe); to our south by the valley’s own heights where lie the vast domains of El EARTH Fuerte... and beyond it there’s a national park, too far to reach easily from here, at the every centre of a geological fault, so that severe earthquakes can occur. To our east just beyond another ridge stretch the wastes of Chaco, becoming more and more swampy as the great BY Mae Strelkov rivers coming down from Brazil encounter difficulty in emptying their burdens into the Atlantic Ocean far to the south-east of us here. Somewhere in the wilds to our east, moreover lies the mysterious homeland of the Guaranies, now called Paraguay To our north there are not cities, just some sugar-producing ingenios employing thousands of peones, so that small thriving towns cluster around such sites. The brisk north wind, whoever, by the time it comes roaring across our own piece of land where we are, halfway This is the story of a bulldozer in a steamy jungle. It is the up this great valley, is so pure it’s a pleasure to have it as our steadiest story of myself, born in China, married to a Russian refugee, with wind the whole year through.
    [Show full text]
  • Son of WSFA Journal 7
    SON OF THE WSFA JOURNAL WSFA JOURNAL News Supplement---------- -------------------------------April, 1970 (Issue ^7) In This Issue — IN THIS ISSUE; IN BRIEF; COLOPHON.......................................................................pg 1 THE BOOKSHELF: New Releases (Ace, Belmont, Berkley, Doubleday SFBC) ... pg 2 MAGAZINARAMA: Contents of Recent Prozines (AMAZING 7/70; ANALOG 5/70, 6/70; GALAXY 5/70; F&SF 5/70, 6/70; IF 5-6/70) ...........................................pp 3,U THE STEADY STREAM.... (Books and fanzines recently received) .....................pp li—6 THE CLUB CIRCUIT: News &. Minutes (ESFA, WSFA) .......... ........................................pp 7-9-. THE CON GAME — May & June, 1970 ............................................................................ pg 10 In Brief — Remember the DISCLAVE 70, May 15-17 (details on page 10). Also remember WSFA Annual Meeting, May 1. Trustees* slate: Pres., Jay Halde- Dave Halterman, Ted Pauls. Don’t know who was nominated for Treasurer — the Minutes don’t say.... At the Gillilands’ (address on page 8). And remember DISCLAVE Art Show (details on page 10). TAFF Voting deadline — July 15,-1970. We have no ballots on hand this year to be distributed, and no time to type any up, so 300 or so would be appreciated.... We noted recently the death of Michael S. Vartanoff, father of one-of our recerit WSFA members, Ellen. Born Prince Michael Iskanderbeg-Dolgoruki-Khojimina soff- Vartanoff in Russia, he came to the U.S. in 1922; he was involved in the preparation for the American landings in W-II on the coast of North Africa, in the San Francisco Conference which organized the U.N., and in several other noteworthy activities,' generally a,s a translator/interpreter. He was 69.
    [Show full text]
  • Tereza Koblihová
    Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Tereza Koblihová Risk Management in Time-Travel Works by Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: Mgr. Filip Krajník, Ph.D. 2015 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author’s signature Table of Content Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 4 1. Possibilities and Limitations of Time-Travel ......................................................................... 8 1.1 Types of plots and risk management .................................................................................... 8 1.2 Paradoxes as limitations ...................................................................................................... 12 2. Changeable Reality ............................................................................................................... 19 2.1 Parallel Universes ............................................................................................................... 19 2.2 Bureaucracy and Sentient Reality ....................................................................................... 23 3. Unchangeable Past ................................................................................................................ 30 3.1 The time-viewing fish bowl
    [Show full text]
  • Matrix 104 the Newsletter of the British Science Fiction Association £1.25
    Matrix 104 The Newsletter of the British Science Fiction Association £1.25 February-March 1993 Information & IIn& Out Contacts Change of Address BSFA Membership Slles, Ian; 120 Terry Rd; Co\'entry CVl 2BA Tnoish, &rryC; Fbt 01..2,; 51 Mirk's F'I.II5;St Now cosb £15 tEO. Muse mquire for Mark's ~ L..eed5152 9EL. BbU)', Ronak!; There i111' wveraJ artJrlZfs 10 scrani>le Ihrwgh OV_i15fi1les. 46A Regent St; Gh't'nock PAI64NP; first: sales al1' divided into home i1nc! export. New Members Scotland.Steel.Jim;160iikfitoldAv~. avoiding lhe possibility of ful1'ign editions Hillheold;GLtsgowGI28JE. Kinnear, bring mort' eilSily KCessibll' and lhe actual 10 binto, 29 Thomvilll' Rd, Hartlepool, M.drolm H; n/9 Cnoighouse CdR$; figures are given regardk:ss of the month of Clenland TS26 SEW Mominpidf'; Edinburgh EHIO SUN. publkation, 50 it may give one paperbick an Membership Renewals Dohmy. Eugene M C; 110 North PaDde; advantav to be published in Febtua.ry rather Ormeau Rd; Belf.ul 817 2CJN. l",bOO. than October. Keith Ft'ftmAn. 209 Wykeham Rd, Ruding Wignall. Brendan J; Capilano; Penslone RC6IPL College; Denslone; Ullo_eler; S4:,lIffs. ST14 The paperbacks are arbitrarily dlvkled by 5HL. COX, Andy J; 5 Martins Lane;Witcham; USA Memberships genre: thriller, romance, humour, fantasy, nr Ely; Cambs. CB6 21,8. Swifl,Jennifer. science fiction - with the more g~neral novel, Cy Chauvin, 14248 Wilfred Street, Detroit, Sivagnanam, Nesa. Butler, Andrew M. stories and saga definitions when the MI48213,USA Vermaas, Richilrd. statisticians' imagination failed them. Matrix New and Rejoined Members Finally, the important column quile Jenny &: Slt'v!' Glover, 16 Aviary PLJ,ce, Leeds understandably for a readership designed to LS12 2NP {tel: 0532 7912(4) Haines, Nick D A; 285 Mill Ret c.mbridge be booksellers i1nd sympatlUz.ers, is the CBI3DF.
    [Show full text]
  • La Poésie Américaine English Short Stories of Today. 4 English Ghost
    La poésie américaine English short stories of today. 4 English ghost stories Seven american short stories Sept nouvelles insolites choisies dans l'oeuvre des meilleurs écrivains américains : Sinclair Lewis, John Updike, William Faulkner, Edgar Poe, Ambrose Bierce, Harry D. Miller et Damon Runyon. The umbrella man and other short stories Un "gentleman" anglais bien étrange, un auto-stoppeur sans gêne, une enfant blessée par un "remariage", un géant repenti, une vieille dame mystérieuse au milieu des bois, en compagnie de ses six (ou sept) chats ... Tels sont , entre autres, les personnages de ces nouvelles anglaises et américaines contemporaines, dans la plus pure tradition anglo-saxonne. Simple arithmetic and other american short stories De l'arithmétique, c'est pratiquement tout ce qui reste dans la correspondance entre ce petit Américain exilé dans une pension européenne chic et son père remarié - et il y a le terrible silence de sa mère. Nine english short stories Recueil de nouvelles : "The searchlight" de Virginia Woolf, "Out of the rose" de William Butler Yeats, "Last day of spring" de Célia Fremlin, "The evil that men do" de Elizabeth Bowen, "Things" de D. H. Lawrence, "The sound of the river" de Jean Rhys, "Death of an old dog" d'Antonia Fraser, "The other side of the hedge" de E. M. Forster, "The putting away of uncle Quaggin" de Nigel Kneale. Prostho Plus Piers, Anthony Histoire d'un dentiste, enlevé par des extra-terrestres, qui va devoir procurer des soins dentaires aux aliens ... Limericks, limericks Dahl, Jürgen Allemagne / Langue : allemand / Masculin Reunion Uhlman, Fred Allemagne / Langue : anglais / Masculin La Souabe, le Rhin, la Forêt-Noire sont les décors d'une amitié entre deux jeunes Allemands, dans les années trente : un Juif, Hanz Schwarz, et un aristocrate, Konradin von Hohenfels.
    [Show full text]
  • Tuber, Maarit-Hannele the Sound of English
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 249 50P CS 208 601 AUTHOR Linn, Michael D.; Tuber, Maarit-Hannele TITLE The Sound of English: A Bibliography of Language Recordings. INSTITUTION National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, Ill. PUB DATE 84 NOTE 82p. AVAILABI' FROMNational Council of Teachers of English, 1111 Kenyon Rd., Urbana, IL 61801 (Stock No. 45701, $6.50 nonmember, $5.00 member). PUB TYPE Reference Materials - Bibliographies (131) -- Books (010) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC04 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Audiodisc Recordings; *Audiotape Recordings; Audiovisual Instruction; Authors; Diachronic Linguistics; Elementary Secondary Education; English Instruction; *Language Patterns; Music; Oral History; *Oral Language; *Regional Dialects; *Resource Materials ABSTRACT Designed to help teachers locate commercially available sound recordings that illustrate historical, regional, and nationtl varieties of English, this Looklet lists tapes and records under one of seven headings: (1) history of the English language, (2) historical periods of English, (3) American English, (4) modern non-American dialects, (5) voices of notable Americans, (6) authors reading their own works, (7) and regional music. The items under each heading are arranged in alphabetical order by title. Following the title is the name of the reader, editor or author, and producer, and--when it could be determined--the date of the recording. The format (record/cassette/reel-to-reel) and item number precedes the recording's approximate length in minutes. The suggested audience is mentioned at the end of the identification line. A list of producers and distributors immediately follows the bibliographic entries. Three indexes--a recording title index, a regional languages and dialects index, and a literature by author index--complete the booklet.
    [Show full text]