kodermike's review against another edition
3.0
dbzvin's review against another edition
5.0
Isaac Asimov defines what it means to be in love with your craft. Having written and edited over 500 books in his life, in this autobiography, gathered from notes and diary, he offers deep reflections on life and the importance of science.
He wrote both fiction and non-fiction, at times torn between the two (he couldn't decide which he loved more). And the diversity of subjects in which he confidently wrote, or rather bravely, knowing that his knowledge of the subject was not all there, he would still keep writing. From a 1300-page Guide to the Bible (two volumes long), to Shakespeare.
To have a mind so stamped in academia—covering astronomy, biology, mathematics, earth sciences, chemistry, physics, history, literature, and many more—he managed to find room to fit a sense of humor throughout his interviews and conversations with fans.
greeniezona's review against another edition
4.0
That issue aside, Good Life is a fascinating and enjoyable read. I had enjoyed all of Asimov's work that I had read before -- The Foundation Trilogy and some of his robot stories, but I had absolutely no idea how tiny a portion of his writings this made up! He wrote hundreds of books -- both fiction and nonfiction, as well as edited probably dozens of anthologies and his own SF journal. While he was a scientist, he was a far better writer and educator than researcher, so it wasn't long before he managed to get out of his research duties altogether in order to devote himself to his true calling -- that of amassing, processing, and conveying information. He could become an expert on virtually any topic, write a book on it, then move on to the next interesting idea. As much as he is known for his SF, his fiction writing seemed often to be something that was squeezed in when time allowed rather than the focus of his life.
He's just plain brilliant and funny, and that comes across very well in this book. I was away from home for a few days while I read this, and I kept a list on the back of my bookmark of all the anecdotes and their page numbers that I had to read to Andrew when I got home.
Also included was his favorite short story (that he wrote), which was indeed wonderful (and which I cannot read aloud without at least verging on tears.) And in the afterword -- Janet reveals for the first time that what Asimov finally died of was AIDS (contracted via blood transfusion during an operation.) They kept it quiet for fear of prejudice, and because another public figure had recently revealed they had AIDS -- so they didn't feel the revelation would add anything to the cause or the public good.
I must just go back to say it was a particular joy to read Asimov speak of "the problem" of women in science fiction -- particularly why he had so few female characters in his early writing, but then as he was married and began to know other women professionally, his work included more and stronger women. I also really enjoyed when he briefly wrote about the other popular SF writers in that age of SF when Asimov, Heinlein, Dick, etc. were churning out novels. I would so love to read a history of that period -- those men and their relations, how their writing was affected by the Cold War and the dawn of nukes, etc. I wonder if such a book exists?
Anyway, even for the choppiness of some of the material, the uneven way different periods and subjects were treated, etc., on the whole, this book was pretty delightful. I was left convicted that I need to increase the size of my Asimov library -- and look for that book on the early greats of science fiction!
ajlewis2's review
5.0