Isaac Asimov

The first Asimov book I read was Foundation. That book piqued my interest enough to convince me to keep on reading. Asimov is one of the most famous and widely-read sci fi authors for a reason.

Books I've Read by Isaac Asimov

Foundation

1. Foundation
   

   Foundation marks the first of a series of tales set so far in the future that Earth is all but forgotten by humans who live throughout the galaxy. Yet all is not well with the Galactic Empire. Its vast size is crippling to it. In particular, the administrative planet, honeycombed and tunneled with offices and staff, is vulnerable to attack or breakdown. The only person willing to confront this imminent catastrophe is Hari Seldon, a psychohistorian and mathematician. Seldon can scientifically predict the future, and it doesn't look pretty: a new Dark Age is scheduled to send humanity into barbarism in 500 years. He concocts a scheme to save the knowledge of the race in an Encyclopedia Galactica. But this project will take generations to complete, and who will take up the torch after him? (from an Amazon.com review)

2. Foundation and Empire
   

   Although small and seemingly helpless, the Foundation had managed to survive against the greed of its neighboring warlords. But could it stand against the mighty power of the Empire, who had created a mutant man with the strength of a dozen battlefleets...? (from an Amazon.com review)

3. Second Foundation
   

   So far the Foundation was safe. But there was a hidden Second Foundation to protect the first. The Mule has yet to find it, but he was getting closer all the time. The men of the Foundation sought it, too, to escape from Mule's mind control. Only Arkady, a 14 year-old girl seemed to have the answer, or did she...? (from RandomHouse.com)

• Foundation's Edge
  

  Now, 498 years after its founding, the Foundation seemed to be following the Seldon Plan perfectly. Too perfectly. Now an impossible planet -- with impossible powers -- threatens to upset the Seldon Plan for good unless two men, sworn enemies, can work together to save it! (from an Amazon.com review)

• Prelude to Foundation
  

  For the first time Asimov chronicles the life of Hari Seldon, the man who laid the framework for the universe that came to be known as the Foundation. The long-awaited overture to the greatest science fiction series of all time. (from an Amazon.com review)

• Forward the Foundation
  

  The story begins on Trantor, capital planet of a Galactic Empire that has stood for millennia; only a few citizens suspect that the Empire is about to collapse. Among them is Hari Seldon, mathematics professor and inventor of psychohistory: a science that allows him to predict and control the future. Psychohistory proves that the fall of the Empire is inevitable; but it also suggests ways to ameliorate the coming Dark Ages, and to lay the foundation for a Second--more stable--Empire. Luckily, Seldon has made important allies: the Emperor himself, who heard an early lecture by Seldon and has maintained an interest in him ever since; and Eto Dermerzel, long the power behind the throne. Essentially, the story is of Seldon's carrying out the mission implicit in the opening chapters. (from an Amazon.com review)

Robot

• I, Robot
  

  In this collection, one of the great classics of science fiction, Asimov set out the principles of robot behavior that we know as the Three Laws of Robotics. Here are stories of robots gone mad, mind-reading robots, robots with a sense of humor, robot politicians, and robots who secretly run the world, all told with Asimov's trademark dramatic blend of science fact and science fiction. (from an Amazon.com review)

• The Caves of Steel
  

  A millennium into the future two advancements have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. Isaac Asimov's Robot novels chronicle the unlikely partnership between a New York City detective and a humanoid robot who must learn to work together. Like most people left behind on an over-populated Earth, New York City police detective Elijah Baley had little love for either the arrogant Spacers or their robotic companions. But when a prominent Spacer is murdered under mysterious circumstances, Baley is ordered to the Outer Worlds to help track down the killer. The relationship between Life and his Spacer superiors, who distrusted all Earthmen, was strained from the start. Then he learned that they had assigned him a partner: R. Daneel Olivaw. Worst of all was that the "R" stood for robot--and his positronic partner was made in the image and likeness of the murder victim! (from an Amazon.com review)

• The Naked Sun
  

  A millennium into the future, two advancements have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the Galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. On the beautiful Outer World planet of Solaria, a handful of human colonists lead a hermit-like existence, their every need attended to by their faithful robot servants. To this strange and provocative planet comes Detective Elijah Baley, sent from the streets of New York with his positronic partner, the robot R. Daneel Olivaw, to solve an incredible murder that has rocked Solaria to its foundations. The victim had been so reclusive that he appeared to his associates only through holographic projection. Yet someone had gotten close enough to bludgeon him to death while robots looked on. Now Baley and Olivaw are faced with two clear impossibilities: Either the Solarian was killed by one of his robots--unthinkable under the laws of Robotics--or he was killed by the woman who loved him so much that she never came into his presence! (from an Amazon.com review)

• The Robots of Dawn
  

  A puzzling case of roboticide sends New York Detective Elijah Baley on an intense search for a murderer. Armed with his own instincts, his quirky logic, and the immutable Three Laws of Robotics, Baley is determined to solve the case. But can anything prepare a simple Earthman for the psychological complexities of a world where a beautiful woman can easily have fallen in love with an all-too-human robot...? (from an Amazon.com review)

• Robot Dreams
  

  Robot Dreams spans the body of Asimov's fiction from the 1940s to the mid-80s, and features classic Asimovian themes, from the scientific puzzle to the extraterrestrial thriller, all introduced in an exclusive essay written especially for this collection. (from an Amazon.com review)

• Robot Visions
  

  Here, from the writer whose name is synonymous with robots and the science of robotics, are five decades of robot visions gathered together in one volume. These 36 landmark short stories and essays include three never before colleccted stories: " Too Bad", "Chritmas Without Rodney" and "Robot Visions", which was created specifically for this book. And you will meet all of Isaac Asimov's technological children from Robbie, the very first robot that Asimov's imagination brought to life, to Susan Calvin, the original robot psychologist, Stephen Byerly, the humanoid robot, and the famous human/robot detective team of lije Bailey and R. Daneel Olivaw, the starts of so many best--selling novels. Let the master himself be your gide as you explore the key moments in the financial history of robot--human relations--from the most primitive computers and mobile machines to the first robot to become a man. And you will see these "robot visions" skillfully captured in illustrations by Academey Award--winner Ralp McQuarrie, production designer of Star Wars. (from a BarnesAndNoble.com review)