The Roving Mind
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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 Sagan
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Enjoyed the read. I would expect no less from a writer of Asimov's caliber. I know it would have rocked my socks off had I read it 25 years ago. His analysis of what we faced then was accurate. His extrapolations into the future credible. If his voice had been listened to back in the 1980's we would probably be in a better condition than we are. He couldn't be expected to have foreseen the detail but he nailed most of the driving forces that have cumulated in the ecological crisis we face. It's value now is in the clear exposition he had advancing an understanding of science and its vital importance to the rest of us. As a collection of essays, nothing could be in depth but I would still happily give this to someone with little knowledge of science despite it being “technically” out of date. They would get a good grounding and I think and enthusiasm to follow up for themselves.
