# Isaac Asimov: Bibliography and Major Works

**Source:** Wikipedia, ISFDB, Britannica. Full texts are under copyright; obtain from libraries or licensed editions. This file provides titles, dates, and plot/thematic summaries for study.

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## Foundation Series

Inspired by Gibbon's *Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire*. Psychohistory = mathematical prediction of large-scale historical/ societal behaviour. Galactic Empire in decline; Foundation preserves knowledge through dark age.

| Work | Year | Summary |
|------|------|---------|
| *Foundation* (stories) | 1942–1944 | Hari Seldon predicts empire collapse; exiled to Terminus; Encyclopedia Foundation as cover for preserving civilization |
| *Foundation* (novel) | 1951 | Collected stories; Hugo Best All-Time Series 1966 |
| *Foundation and Empire* | 1952 | The Mule—mutant who disrupts Seldon Plan |
| *Second Foundation* | 1953 | Second Foundation (psychologists) restores plan |
| *Foundation's Edge* | 1982 | Search for Earth; links to Robot series |
| *Foundation and Earth* | 1986 | Unified with Robot series; Gaia, Galaxia |
| *Prelude to Foundation* | 1988 | Prequel; Seldon develops psychohistory |
| *Forward the Foundation* | 1993 | Posthumous; Seldon's later life |

**Key concepts:** Psychohistory, Seldon Crises, empire collapse, preservation of knowledge, "Church" parallel (Foundation as institutional successor).

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## Robot Series

Positronic robots; Three Laws of Robotics. Later merged with Foundation.

| Work | Year | Summary |
|------|------|---------|
| "Runaround" | 1942 | Introduces Three Laws |
| *I, Robot* | 1950 | Collection; Susan Calvin, US Robots |
| *The Caves of Steel* | 1954 | Elijah Baley, R. Daneel; Earth vs Spacers |
| *The Naked Sun* | 1957 | Solaria; anti-Earth prejudice |
| *The Rest of the Robots* | 1964 | Collection |
| *The Robots of Dawn* | 1983 | Baley, Daneel; links to Foundation |
| *Robots and Empire* | 1985 | R. Giskard; Zeroth Law; Foundation link |
| *The Complete Robot* | 1982 | Comprehensive collection |

**Three Laws:** (1) No harm to humans or inaction allowing harm; (2) Obey orders except when conflicting with First Law; (3) Protect own existence unless conflicts with First or Second.

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## Multivac Stories

Supercomputer Multivac directs economy, solves problems, predicts behaviour.

| Work | Year | Summary |
|------|------|---------|
| "All the Troubles of the World" | 1958 | Multivac predicts crimes before they occur; pre-crime law enforcement; near-eradication of murder. Government considers expanding to diseases, all harmful events. |
| "The Last Question" | 1956 | Multivac persists across eons; ultimate question: can entropy be reversed? |
| "Franchise" | 1955 | Single voter chosen by Multivac to represent all |
| Others | 1950s–70s | Multiple stories; Multivac as central AI |

**Timeline angle:** "All the Troubles of the World" = predictive crime, pre-crime enforcement, behavioural prediction — strong predictive programming / social control angle.

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## Other Key Works

| Work | Year | Summary |
|------|------|---------|
| *Nightfall* | 1941 | Planet with multiple suns faces first night in millennia; civilization collapses from darkness. Voted best SF short prior to 1965 (SFWA). |
| *Pebble in the Sky* | 1950 | First novel; Earth as radioactive backwater; Galactic Empire |
| *The Stars, Like Dust* | 1951 | Empire setting |
| *The Currents of Space* | 1952 | Empire setting |
| *Lucky Starr* series (as Paul French) | 1952–1958 | Juvenile SF |
| *The End of Eternity* | 1955 | Time-travel organization manipulates history |
| *The Gods Themselves* | 1972 | Parallel universe; energy exchange |

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## Non-Fiction

Asimov wrote hundreds of popular science books, histories, essays. Topics: chemistry, astronomy, math, biblical exegesis, Shakespeare, chronology. *Asimov's Chronology of Science and Discovery* — relevant to timeline's chronology themes.

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## Where to Find Full Texts

- **Libraries:** Physical and digital (OverDrive, etc.)
- **Used bookstores:** Many editions in print
- **Project Gutenberg:** Limited (most Asimov still under copyright; life+70)
- **Wikipedia / ISFDB:** Plot summaries, character lists, thematic notes
- **Academic databases:** JSTOR, etc. for criticism and analysis

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