Frontiers II: More Recent Discoveries about Life, Earth, Space, and the Universe

Isaac Asimov, Janet Asimov

Truman Talley Books/Dutton, 1993 - Science - 369 pages

Frontiers II is Isaac Asimov's last full-length science book - the final testament of his genius for taking the reader to the cutting edge of scientific investigation and discovery. Gathering 125 of the celebrated science essays that represented the climactic chapter of Asimov's legendary writing career, this wonder-filled volume spans the full spectrum of the excitement and enlightenment that is science on the brink of tomorrow. With the intrigue and accessibility of a scientific Ripley's Believe It or Not, Asimov reveals a riveting array of modern science breakthroughs. How has the probing of proteins brought us to insights into the origin of life? How far have we come on the path to producing life in a laboratory? What are the latest revelations about the nature of dinosaurs and the mystery of their extinction? What recent startling sightings of planets, stars, and galaxies have astronomers made? What is the current thinking on the possibility of establishing human colonies on Mars? What do we now know about black holes - and can one of them actually have landed on earth? Can computer intelligence ever surpass human intelligence - or even that of a cockroach? What are the gravest dangers to our environment - and the best solutions to date?

Contents

• Delightful Diversity: 88
• Mantle and Core: 93
• Titans Atmosphere: 130

About the author

Isaac Asimov was born in Petrovichi, Russia, on January 2, 1920. His family emigrated to the United States in 1923 and settled in Brooklyn, New York, where they owned and operated a candy store. Asimov became a naturalized U.S. citizen at the age of eight. As a youngster he discovered his talent for writing, producing his first original fiction at the age of eleven. He went on to become one of the world's most prolific writers, publishing nearly 500 books in his lifetime. Asimov was not only a writer; he also was a biochemist and an educator. He studied chemistry at Columbia University, earning a B.S., M.A. and Ph.D. In 1951, Asimov accepted a position as an instructor of biochemistry at Boston University's School of Medicine even though he had no practical experience in the field. His exceptional intelligence enabled him to master new systems rapidly, and he soon became a successful and distinguished professor at Columbia and even co-authored a biochemistry textbook within a few years. Asimov won numerous awards and honors for his books and stories, and he is considered to be a leading writer of the Golden Age of science fiction. While he did not invent science fiction, he helped to legitimize it by adding the narrative structure that had been missing from the traditional science fiction books of the period. He also introduced several innovative concepts, including the thematic concern for technological progress and its impact on humanity. Asimov is probably best known for his Foundation series, which includes Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation. In 1966, this trilogy won the Hugo award for best all-time science fiction series. In 1983, Asimov wrote an additional Foundation novel, Foundation's Edge, which won the Hugo for best novel of that year. Asimov also wrote a series of robot books that included I, Robot, and eventually he tied the two series together. He won three additional Hugos, including one awarded posthumously for the best non-fiction book of 1995, I. Asimov. "Nightfall" was chosen the best science fiction story of all time by the Science Fiction Writers of America. In 1979, Asimov wrote his autobiography, In Memory Yet Green. He continued writing until just a few years before his death from heart and kidney failure on April 6, 1992.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Frontiers II: More Recent Discoveries about Life, Earth, Space, and the Universe
• Authors: Isaac Asimov, Janet Asimov
• Publisher: Truman Talley Books/Dutton, 1993
• Original from: the University of California
• Digitized: Oct 7, 2009
• ISBN: 0525936319, 9780525936312
• Length: 369 pages
• Subjects: Science / General; Science / Space Science / Astronomy; Science / Space Science / Cosmology