Isaac Asimov was born in the Soviet Union, in Petrovichi, on January 2, 1920. When he was three, his family emigrated to the United States and settled in Brooklyn, New York, where they ran a series of confectionery shops. An early and voracious reader, Asimov advanced rapidly through the state school system, completing his secondary education by the age of 15. During this period he discovered science fiction and became an ardent reader as well as an aspiring writer. His first story was published when he was 18 and others followed steadily. Asimovs story, “Nightfall”, the most frequently anthologized science-fiction story ever, was published when the author was 21. ...