The Roving Mind | Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov's death on April 6, 1992, was a great loss to the world of literary science and freethought. The prolific author's vision is unmatched today, and his pointed honesty shines through in The Roving Mind, now reissued in this special tribute edition.This collection of essays is wide-ranging, reflecting Asimov's extraordinary skill in disseminating knowledge from across the spectrum of human thought. Some of the areas explored in this volume of 62 essays include creationism, pseudoscience, censorship, population, philosophy of science, transportation, computers and corporations of the future, and astronomy. His predictions about cloning which has only recently become the topic of public debate the theory of technophobia, and other scientific developments are astounding. In a lighter tone, Asimov includes several personal stories from his life including thoughts on his style of writing and memories of family in younger days.With tributes by Arthur C. Clarke, L. Sprague de Camp, Harlan Ellison, Kendrick Frazier, Martin Gardner, Donald Goldsmith, Stephen Jay Gould, E. C. Krupp, Frederik Pohl, and Carl SaganThe collection is very readable and thus is accessible to a wide audience of nonscientists as well as scientists. Both adults and young people should find it interesting. -The Physics Teacher. . . Asimov's best include pieces detailing the present mysteries of solar astronomy, removing the mythology of cloning (backyard gardners do it all the time), and pointing out deficiencies in the supposed chemistry expertise of Sherlock Holmes. -Nature