Asimov became quite obsessed with writing in the mid-1950s as he discusses in the second volume of his autobiography, In Joy Still Felt. He did harbor an ambition to publish the most books in history, but was quite deflated to discover that there was a modern French writer who had published more than 900, IIRC. Lots of bio info can also be gleaned from his numerous introductions, his compilations (Opus 100 and Opus 300), his posthumously published memoir (I. Asimov, which was supposed to be titled “I, Asimov,” echoing his famous collection, I, Robot), and some of his letters published by his brother.
As is well-known, Asimov had a jolly, outgoing, witty public personality, loved SF fandom because of his roots (see Damon Knight’s The Futurians, about the famous club of teenage fans that included Asimov), and frequently appeared at conventions (generally in the northeast, because he didn’t like flying). Like many fans back in the day, I had the good fortune to meet him on several occasions, and once at a lecture he answered a question from me about Vico’s theory of cycles in history. His premature death was a tragic loss.
I started reading that about 40 years ago, but got distracted by something and never finished. Your post has put it back on my radar.
I am still slowly progressing though Huntington’s difficult The Clash of Civilizations, mentioned in the Book Club thread. I finished the excellent W. F. Harvey collection, also mention in the Book Club thread, and two of his little-known, non-weird stories are masterpieces worthy of Tolstoy and De Maupassant.This started me on a weird stories kick. The Best of Bram Stoker reveals that he was primarily a grand guignol writer. Very little of his work is any good, primarily Dracula and “The Burial of the Rats.” His other novels are absolute trash. Also read The Best Ghost Stories of H. Russell Wakefield, a much better volume than his Arkham House collection, The Clock Strikes Midnight. Currently about half done with The Complete Ghost Stories of Charles Dickens. Rereading “A Christmas Carol” for the first time since I was a teenager, I was staggered by the imaginative quality of the conception and the details. And the writing is superb…so many memorable lines.
I am currently reading The Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian. My dad has read nearly the entire series and says that it is an excellent example of quality historical fiction. I look forward to seeing how it turns out.
That LA Review of Books essay makes it sound a bit like Zamayatin meets Philip Jose Farmer, that is, We and Riverworld combined with a biblical allegory.
I am unfamiliar with Patrick O’Brian, but then I don’t read much historical fiction. Have you read Michael Shaara’s The Killer Angels, the justly famous historical, or documentary, novel about Gettysburg? Shaara started as a very fine science fiction writer. His only collection, Soldier Boy, is superb—I highly recommend it if you can find it in a used book store. He wrote an all-time, still unrecognized classic (IMHO), “Death of a Hunter,” which has a thematic similarity to Piper’s Little Fuzzy, but was written first. He said he felt like he was finally getting somewhere, artistically speaking, with that story. It was rejected by all the top markets because of the extraordinary, uncompromising fierceness of the story. He was so discouraged he gave up science fiction and began writing other things, leading to TKA. Ironically, Harlan Ellison and the New Wave broke on the scene just a few years after Shaara left the SF field. Shaara’s death at age 59 was a tremendous loss.
I have never read The Killer Angels but have indeed heard of it. I spent a little time digging around in my dad’s library without success so we probably don’t have it. But thanks for the suggestion; I will certainly put it on the to-read list. It sounds like something I would be interested in!
When reading the Trevelyan’s History of England I (re)discovered on page 51-52 this beautiful passage about what life is:
The present life of man upon earth, O King, seems to me in comparison with that time which is unknown to us like the swift flight of a sparrow through the meal-hall where you sit at supper in winter, with your Ealdormen (1) and thanes (2), while the fire blazes in the midst and the hall is warmed, but the wintry storms of rain or snow are raging abroad. The sparrow, flying in at one door and immediately out at another, whilst he is within, is safe from the wintry tempest, but after a short space of fair weather, he immediately vanishes out of your sight, passing from winter to winter again. So this life of man appears for a little while, but of what is to follow or what went before we know nothing at all.”
― St. Bede, [Ecclesiastical History of the English People]
(1) A Ealdorman was man of high status, including some of royal birth, whose authority was independent of the king. An Ealdorman would lead in battle, preside over courts and levy taxation.
(2) A thane was a man who held land granted by the king or by a military nobleman, ranking between an ordinary freeman and a hereditary noble.
I just finished up The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and, while it is among my less favorable books, it wasn’t too bad. It won’t be too long before I start The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis though so it will be interesting to see what comes out of that.
