In a March 1991 * article, Isaac Asimov made some very personal revelations. He begins simply, “When I was going to college, the United States was not yet out of the Great Depression … I was not going to get a job after I graduated in 1939. The only thing I could do was to go on to graduate work, obtain some advanced degrees, and hope …”
There are millions of 20-somethings today who have the same concerns as Asimov did over 70 years ago.
However, we read on, “…what subject …? I was hung up between history and chemistry. I thought I could handle either one, but there was no question in my mind that I was more interested in history.”
This point blank shocker must have made 1991 readers drop their magazine. The grand master of science fiction, and the master of explaining science to the masses wanted to be an historian? It gets more interesting.
“If I get my degree in history, then the chances are … I will get {a job} in some small college away from my beloved city of New York. … if … in chemistry … with a large research firm for an ample salary …”. The choice was made on purely pragmatic grounds. “I obtained my Ph.D. In chemistry in 1948.” He had a long delay due to WWII.
In 1949, the job he found was, ironically, at a small college away from New York at a very small salary. “Chemistry was a big flop … I didn’t like it and I was no good at it …”.
Another stunner! The great Asimov was not a good scientist? So, how did he get from the dregs of 1950 to being the notable Asimov?
“… in 1958 I was fired … by that time I had another career, that of writing … Becoming a professional writer was a third option {in college} but one that I didn’t consider for even a split-second. By the time {1949} I had begun work at the medical school, I had written 68 stories and sold 60 … my total earnings for all eleven years amounted to $7700 …”.
That was not an insignificant sum in the 1950′s, but not enough to be a full-time writer. Asimov had written a novel, and added to this, so, “…in 1958, my literary earnings amounted to only $15,000 a year, enough to keep me going … by that time I had a wife and two children …”.
Asimov made a bold choice. He decided to do what he loved the best – history. HE estimated that it would take three years of research to write a “three musketeers historical fiction novel” and little prospect of it selling well. After consulting with John W. Campbell, Jr., he decided to write science fiction historical fiction novels. Few had thought of that idea, at the time, so he began to write what would become his Foundation novels, later expanding to his Robot novels. Their popularity can scarcely be exaggerated for their time, and they allowed Asimov to essentially write anything he wanted, anytime he wanted, and make money from that time forward.
Asimov had tinkered with this idea in Astounding Tales writing eight stories between 1842 and 1950. In 1951, he published Foundation with Gnome Press. Gnome then reprinted Asimov’s original stories in two more volumes (1952, 1953) cementing his legacy and winning a 1966 Hugo award for best all-time series. [Young Lin Carter was notably influenced by this series].
Asimov circa 1965
Asimov influenced countless story writers including Gene Roddenberry (The Federation of Star Trek), and Asimov (in print) speculated on George Lucas’ Star Wars features and the possibility that the writers and producers used his novels. There is no question that Forbidden Planet‘s (1955) Robbie the Robot follows Asimov’s laws of robotics. Asimov had a 1940 story named “Robbie”, but the writer of Doc Savage (1935) predated the use of the name “Robbie the Robot”.
The iconic Asimov, later in life, as we remember him.
History will have a difficult time deciding whether Asimov, Ray Bradbury, or Robert Heinlein impacted mid-20th century culture the greatest, but Asimov – who died too soon in 1992 – is greatly missed by his many fans. He who longed to be an historian ended up making history.
* Fantasy and Science Fiction, “All Four Stanzas”, March 1991, p. 133ff. Asimov had a decades long monthly column, usually on one aspect of applied science or another, but very frequently on an historical subject such as this one: Francis Scott Key’s The Star Spangled Banner.
