In a writing career spanning 53 years (1939âÂÂ1992), science fiction and popular science author Isaac Asimov (1920âÂÂ1992) wrote and published 40 novels, 383 short stories, over 280 non-fiction books, and edited about 147 others.
In this article, Asimov's books are listed by year (in order of publication within a year, where known) with publisher indicated. They are divided between original works and edited books. Works of fiction are denoted by an asterisk (*) and books for children or adolescents by a dagger (â ). Currently, 504 total books are listed here (357 original and 147 edited or annotated by Asimov).
Original book-length works
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
- Nine Tomorrows: Tales of the Near Future* (Doubleday)
- The Clock We Live On (Abelard-Schuman)
- Words of Science, and the History Behind Themâ (Houghton Mifflin)
- Realm of Numbers (Houghton Mifflin)
- Breakthroughs in Science (Houghton Mifflin)
1960
- The Living River (Abelard-Schuman)
- The Kingdom of the Sun (Abelard-Schuman)
- Realm of Measure (Houghton Mifflin)
- Satellites in Outer Space (Random House)
- The Wellsprings of Life (Abelard-Schuman)
- The Intelligent Man's Guide to Science (Basic Books)
- 2nd edition: The New Intelligent Man's Guide to Science (1965; Basic Books)
- 3rd edition: Asimov's Guide to Science (1972; Basic Books)
- 4th edition: Asimov's New Guide to Science (1984; Basic Books)
- The Double Planet (Abelard-Schuman)
1961
- Realm of Algebra (Houghton Mifflin)
- Words from the Mythsâ (Houghton Mifflin)
1962
- Life and Energy (Doubleday)
- Words in Genesisâ (Houghton Mifflin; illustrations by William Barss)
- Fact and Fancy (Doubleday)
- Words on the Mapâ (Houghton Mifflin)
- The Search for the Elements (Basic Books)
1963
- Words from the Exodusâ (Houghton Mifflin; illustrations by William Barss)
- The Genetic Code (Orion Press)
- The Human Body: Its Structure and Operation (Houghton Mifflin; illustrations by Anthony Ravielli)
- Revised/expanded edition, 1992
- View from a Height (Doubleday)
- The Kite That Won the Revolutionâ (Houghton Mifflin)
1964
1965
- A Short History of Chemistry (Doubleday)
- The Greeks: A Great Adventureâ (Houghton Mifflin)
- Of Time and Space and Other Things (Doubleday)
- An Easy Introduction to the Slide Rule (Houghton Mifflin)
1966
- Fantastic Voyage* (Houghton Mifflin)
- The Noble Gases (Basic Books)
- The Neutrino: Ghost Particle of the Atom (Doubleday)
- The Roman Republic (Houghton Mifflin)
- Understanding Physics, 3 volumes (Walker)
- Vol. I: Motion, Sound, and Heat
- Vol. II: Light, Magnetism, and Electricity
- Vol. III: The Electron, Proton, and Neutron
- The Genetic Effects of Radiation (U.S. AEC)
- The Universe: From Flat Earth to Quasar (Walker)
- 2nd edition (1971; Walker)
- 3rd edition (1980), as The Universe: From Flat Earth to Black Holes and Beyond (Walker)
- From Earth to Heaven (Doubleday)
1967
- The Moon (Follet)
- Environments Out There (Scholastic/Abelard-Schuman)
- The Roman Empire (Houghton Mifflin)
- Through a Glass, Clearly* (New English Library)
- Is Anyone There? (Doubleday)
- To the Ends of the Universe (Walker)
- Mars (Follet)
- The Egyptians (Houghton Mifflin)
1968
1969
1970
1971
- The Stars in Their Courses (Doubleday)
- What Makes the Sun Shine? (Little, Brown & Co.)
- The Best New Thing*â (World Pub. Co.)
- The Land of Canaan (Houghton Mifflin)
- ABC's of the Earthâ (Walker)
- The Sensuous Dirty Old Man (as by Dr. "A.") (Walker)
- Isaac Asimov's Treasury of Humor (Houghton Mifflin)
1972
- The Left Hand of the Electron (Doubleday)
- The Gods Themselves* (Doubleday)
- More Words of Scienceâ (Houghton Mifflin)
- Electricity and Man (U.S. AEC)
- ABC's of Ecologyâ (Walker)
- The Early Asimov or, Eleven Years of Trying* (Doubleday)
- The Shaping of France (Houghton Mifflin)
- The Story of Ruthâ (Doubleday)
- Ginn Science Program, Intermediate Level Aâ (Ginn)
- Ginn Science Program, Intermediate Level Câ (Ginn)
- Worlds Within Worlds (U.S. AEC)
- Ginn Science Program, Intermediate Level Bâ (Ginn)
1973
- How Did We Find Out the Earth Is Round? â (Walker)
- Comets and Meteors (Follet)
- The Sun (Follet)
- How Did We Find Out About Electricity? â (Walker)
- The Shaping of North America: From Earliest Times to 1763 (Houghton Mifflin)
- Today and Tomorrow and ... (Doubleday)
- Jupiter, the Largest Planet (Lothrop, Lee, & Shepard)
- Ginn Science Program, Advanced Level Aâ (Ginn)
- Ginn Science Program, Advanced Level Bâ (Ginn)
- How Did We Find Out About Numbers? â (Walker)
- Please Explain (Houghton Mifflin)
- The Tragedy of the Moon (Abelard-Schuman)
- How Did We Find Out About Dinosaurs? â (Walker)
- The Best of Isaac Asimov* (Sphere)
1974
- Asimov on Astronomy (Doubleday)
- The Birth of the United States: 1763-1816 (Houghton Mifflin)
- Have You Seen These?* (NESRAA)
- Our World in Space (New York Graphic Society)
- How Did We Find Out About Germs? â (Walker)
- Tales of the Black Widowers* (Doubleday)
- Earth: Our Crowded Spaceship (John Day)
- Asimov on Chemistry (Doubleday)
- How Did We Find Out About Vitamins?â (Walker)
1975
- Of Matters Great and Small (Doubleday)
- The Solar System (Follet)
- Our Federal Union: The United States from 1816 to 1865 (Houghton Mifflin)
- How Did We Find Out About Comets?â (Walker)
- Science Past, Science Future (Doubleday)
- Buy Jupiter and Other Stories* (Doubleday)
- Eyes on the Universe: A History of the Telescope (Houghton Mifflin)
- Lecherous Limericks (Walker)
- The Heavenly Host*â (Walker); illustrations by Bernard Colonna
- The Ends of the Earth: The Polar Regions of the World (Weybright & Talley)
- How Did We Find Out About Energy?â (Walker; Series: How Did We Find Out Series)
1976
1977
- The Collapsing Universe: The Story of Black Holes (Walker)
- Asimov on Numbers (Doubleday)
- How Did We Find Out About Outer Space?â (Walker)
- Still More Lecherous Limericks (Walker)
- The Beginning and the End (Doubleday)
- Mars, the Red Planet (Lothrop, Lee, & Shepard)
- The Golden Door: The United States from 1865 to 1918 (Houghton Mifflin)
- The Key Word and Other Mysteries* (Walker)
- Asimov's Sherlockian Limericks (Mysterious)
1978
- Quasar, Quasar, Burning Bright (Doubleday)
- How Did We Find Out About Earthquakes? â (Walker)
- Animals of the Bibleâ (Doubleday)
- Limericks: Too Gross; or Two Dozen Dirty Stanzas (W. W. Norton)
- How Did We Find Out About Black Holes? â (Walker)
- Life and Time (Doubleday)
1979
1980
1981
- In the Beginning: Science Faces God in the Book of Genesis (Crown/Stonesong Press)
- Asimov on Science Fiction (Doubleday)
- Venus, Near Neighbor of the Sun (Lothrop, Lee, & Shepard)
- Three by Asimov* (Targ)
- How Did We Find Out About Solar Power?â (Walker)
- How Did We Find Out About Volcanoes?â (Walker)
- Visions of the Universe (The Cosmos Store); co-written with Kazuaki Iwasaki
- The Sun Shines Bright (Doubleday)
- Change! Seventy-one Glimpses of the Future (Houghton Mifflin)
- A Grossery of Limericks (W. W. Norton)
1982
1983
1984
- X Stands for Unknown (Doubleday)
- Norby's Other Secret*â (Walker)
- How Did We Find Out About Computers?â (Walker)
- Opus 300 (Houghton Mifflin)
- Banquets of the Black Widowers* (Doubleday)
- Isaac Asimov's Limericks for Childrenâ (Caedmon)
- How Did We Find Out About Robots? â (Walker)
1985
- Asimov's Guide to Halley's Comet (Walker)
- The Exploding Suns: The Secrets of the Supernovas (E. P. Dutton)
- Norby and the Lost Princess*â (Walker)
- How Did We Find Out About the Atmosphere?â (Walker)
- Living in the Future (Harmony House)
- Robots: Machines In Man's Image (Harmony House)
- The Edge of Tomorrow* (Tor/Tom Doherty Associates)
- The Subatomic Monster (Doubleday)
- The Disappearing Man and Other Mysteries* (Walker)
- Robots and Empire* (Doubleday)
- Norby and the Invaders*â (Walker)
- It's Such a Beautiful Day* (Creative Education)
- How Did We Find Out About DNA?â (Walker)
1986
1987
- Far as Human Eye Could See: Essays on Science (Doubleday)
- How Did We Find Out About Blood?â (Walker)
- Past, Present, and Future (Prometheus Books)
- Isaac Asimov Presents Superquiz III (Dembner Books)
- How Did We Find Out About Sunshine? â (Walker)
- How to Enjoy Writing: A Book of Aid and Comfort (Walker)
- Norby Finds a Villain*â (Walker)
- '* (Doubleday)
- How Did We Find Out About the Brain?â (Walker)
- Did Comets Kill the Dinosaurs?â (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Beginnings: The Story of Origins of Mankind, Life, the Earth, the Universe (Walker)
- Other Worlds of Isaac Asimov* (Avenel)
1988
- How Did We Find Out About Superconductivity?â (Walker)
- The Relativity of Wrong (Doubleday)
- Prelude to Foundation* (Doubleday)
- The Asteroidsâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- The Earth's Moonâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Mars: Our Mysterious Neighborâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Our Milky Way and Other Galaxiesâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Quasars, Pulsars, and Black Holesâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Rockets, Probes, and Satellitesâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Our Solar Systemâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- The Sunâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Uranus: The Sideways Planetâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- History of Biology [A chart] (Carolina Biological Suppls.)
- Azazel* (Doubleday)
- Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction and Fantasy Story-a-Month 1989 Calendar (Pomegranate Calendars & Bks)
- Saturn: The Ringed Beautyâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- How Was the Universe Born?â (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Earth: Our Home Baseâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Ancient Astronomyâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Unidentified Flying Objectsâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc; Series: Isaac Asimov's Library of the Universe)
- The Space Spotter's Guideâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Norby Down to Earth*â (Walker)
1989
- How Did We Find Out About Microwaves?â (Walker)
- Asimov's Galaxy: Reflections on Science Fiction (Doubleday)
- All the Troubles of the World* (Creative Education)
- Franchise* (Creative Education)
- Robbie* (Creative Education)
- Sally* (Creative Education)
- Is There Life on Other Planets?â (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Science Fiction, Science Factâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Mercury: The Quick Planetâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Space Garbageâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Jupiter: The Spotted Giantâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- The Birth and Death of Starsâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- The Asimov Chronicles: Fifty Years of Isaac Asimov* (Dark Harvest)
- The History of Mathematics [a chart] (Carolina Biological Suppls.)
- Think About Space: Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going? (Walker; Series: The Think Series), with Frank White
- Isaac Asimov Presents Superquiz IV (Dembner Books)
- The Tyrannosaurus Prescription: and One Hundred Other Science Essays (Prometheus Books)
- Asimov on Science: A 30 Year Retrospective 1959âÂÂ1989 (Doubleday)
- Nemesis* (Doubleday)
- Asimov's Chronology of Science and Discovery (Harper & Row)
- How Did We Find Out About Photosynthesis?â (Walker)
- The Complete Science Fair Handbooks (Scott Foresman & Co)
- Little Treasury of Dinosaursâ (5 book set) (Outlet)
- Giant DinosaursâÂÂ
- Armored DinosaursâÂÂ
- Small DinosaursâÂÂ
- Sea Reptiles and Flying ReptilesâÂÂ
- Meat-Eating Dinosaurs and Horned DinosaursâÂÂ
- Norby and Yobo's Great Adventure*â (Walker)
- Mythology and the Universeâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Colonizing the Planets and the Starsâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Astronomy Todayâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Pluto: A Double Planet?â (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Piloted Space Flightsâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Comets and Meteorsâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
1990
- Puzzles of the Black Widowers* (Doubleday)
- Norby and the Oldest Dragon*â (Walker)
- Frontiers: New Discoveries About Man and His Planet, Outer Space and the Universe (E. P. Dutton/Truman)
- Out of the Everywhere: Thoughts on Science from the Master (Doubleday)
- Robot Visions* (Byron Preiss)
- How Did We Find Out About Lasers?â (Walker)
- Neptune: The Farthest Giantâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc; Series: Isaac Asimov's Library of the Universe)
- Venus: A Shrouded Mysteryâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc; Series: Isaac Asimov's Library of the Universe)
- The World's Space Programsâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc; Series: Isaac Asimov's Library of the Universe)
- Nightfall* (Doubleday); co-written with Robert Silverberg
- The Complete Stories Volume 1* (Doubleday)
- How Did We Find Out About Neptune?â (Walker)
- The March of the Millennia: A Key to Looking at History (Walker), with Frank White
- Cal: A Short Story Written Exclusively for Members of the Isaac Asimov Collection* (Doubleday)
1991
- Norby and the Court Jester*â (Walker)
- The March of the Millennia: A Key to Looking at History (Walker)
- The Secret of the Universe (Doubleday)
- How Did We Find Out About Pluto? â (Walker)
- ' (E. P. Dutton/Truman)
- ' (Tor); co-written with Frederik Pohl (2018 edition includes intro/afterword by Kim Stanley Robinson)
- Why Do We Have Different Seasons?â (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Is Our Planet Warming Up? â (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Why Is the Air Dirty? â (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Why Are Whales Vanishing?â (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Where Does Garbage Go? â (Gareth Stevens, Inc; Series: Ask Isaac Asimov)
- What Causes Acid Rain? â (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- What Is a Shooting Star?â (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Why Do Stars Twinkle?â (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Why Does the Moon Change Shape?â (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- What Is an Eclipse?â (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Isaac Asimov's Guide to Earth and Space (Random House)
- Asimov's Chronology of the World (HarperCollins)
- Christopher Columbus: Navigator to the New Worldâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc; Series: Isaac Asimov's Pioneers of Science and Exploration)
- Ferdinand Magellan: Opening the Door to World Explorationâ (Gareth Stevens, Inc; Series: Isaac Asimov's Pioneers of Science and Exploration)
- The History of Chemistry [a chart]
1992
- The Ugly Little Boy* (Doubleday); co-written with Robert Silverberg
- The Complete Stories, Volume 2* (Doubleday)
- Why Are Some Beaches Oily?â (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Why Are Animals Endangered?â (Gareth Stevens, Inc; Series: Ask Isaac Asimov)
- Why Are the Rain Forests Vanishing? â (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Why Does Litter Cause Problems?â (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
- Asimov Laughs Again: More Than 700 Favorite Jokes, Limericks, and Anecdotes (HarperCollins)
- What's Happening to the Ozone Layer? â (Gareth Stevens, Inc)
1993
1994
1995
- '* (HarperPrism)
- Yours, Isaac Asimov (Doubleday)
1996
2002
2003
As editor or annotator
1962
1963
1966
- Tomorrow's Children: Eighteen Tales of Fantasy and Science Fiction* (Doubleday)
1971
1972
- Asimov's Annotated âÂÂDon Juanâ (Doubleday)
1973
1974
- Before the Golden Age: A Science Fiction Anthology of the 1930s* (Doubleday)
- Asimov's Annotated âÂÂParadise Lostâ (Doubleday)
1977
- Familiar Poems, Annotated (Doubleday)
- The Hugo Winners, Volume III* (Doubleday)
1978
- One Hundred Great Science Fiction Short-Short Stories* (Doubleday)
1979
1980
1981
- The Future I* (Fawcett Crest)
- Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 5 (1943)* (DAW Books)
- Catastrophes!* (Fawcett Crest)
- Isaac Asimov Presents the Best Science Fiction of the 19th Century* (Beaufort Books)
- The Seven Cardinal Virtues of Science Fiction* (Fawcett Crest)
- Fantastic Creatures: An Anthology of Fantasy and Science Fiction* (Franklin Watts)
- Raintree Reading Series I* (Raintree)
- Travels Through Time*
- Thinking Machines*
- Wild Inventions*
- After The End*
- Miniature Mysteries: One Hundred Malicious Little Mystery Stories* (Taplinger)
- The Twelve Crimes of Christmas* (Avon)
- Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 6 (1944)* (DAW Books)
1982
1983
- Show Business Is Murder* (Avon)
- Hallucination Orbit: Psychology In Science Fiction* (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux), with Charles G. Waugh and Martin Harry Greenberg
- Caught In the Organ Draft: Biology in Science Fiction* (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux)
- The Science Fiction Weight-Loss Book* (Crown)
- Isaac Asimov Presents the Best Horror and Supernatural Stories of the 19th Century* (Beaufort Books)
- Starships: Stories Beyond the Boundaries of the Universe* (Fawcett Crest)
- Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 10 (1948)* (DAW Books)
- Thirteen Horrors of Halloween* (Avon)
- Creations: The Quest for Origins in Story and Science* (Crown)
- Wizards* (NAL)
- Those Amazing Electronic Thinking Machines! An Anthology of Robot and Computer Stories* (Franklin Watts)
- Computer Crimes and Capers* (Academy Chicago Pub.)
- Intergalactic Empires* (NAL)
1984
1985
- Cosmic Knights* (NAL)
- The Hugo Winners, Volume IV* (Doubleday)
- Young Monsters* (Harper & Row)
- Spells* (NAL)
- Great Science Fiction Stories by the World's Great Scientists* (Donald I. Fine)
- Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 13 (1951)* (DAW Books)
- Amazing Stories: Sixty Years of the Best Science Fiction* (TSR, Inc.)
- Young Ghosts* (Harper & Row)
- Baker's Dozen: Thirteen Short Science Fiction Novels* (Crown)
- Giants* (NAL)
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
Books with introduction by Asimov
- Boardman, Barrington (1989), Flappers, Bootleggers, "Typhoid Mary" and the Bomb: An Anecdotal History of the U.S. from 1923-1945 (Harpercollins)
- Reissued in 1992 as Isaac Asimov Presents From Harding to Hiroshima: An Anecdotal History of the United States from 1923 to 1945 (Dembner Books)
Short stories
See also
Notes
External links