FUTURE MAN: BRAVE NEW WORLD OR GENETIC NIGHTMARE?

Granada hardback, 1984. Cover painting by Peter Gudynas.

In the final phase man will become master of his own evolution as well as that of all other living things. 

Thanks to Jerry Boucher who made me aware of this book and the similarity of a certain Peter Gudynas painting similar to the cover of Frederik Pohl's Man Plus, which I posted a few weeks ago.

This book (with obligatory Asimov foreword) is sort of disappointingly not concerned with science fiction per se, rather the application of speculative fiction, theories as well as modern science and medicine in real life (circa 1984). Topics include evolution, the biological revolution, mastering the environment, diseases, ageing, engineering people, mind control and scenarios for the future of mankind. The majority of illustrations are photographs of a medical or scientific nature, but there's a few paintings by Gudynas, Peter Goodfellow, Terry Oakes and others have artwork credits in the acknowledgements section but I do not recognize which images are theirs.

Life underwater.

Man modified for life underwater.

Man modified to live in space by Peter Gudynas.

Man modified for war.

THE CURRENTS OF SPACE

Panther SF paperback, 1973 reprint. Cover painting by Chris Foss.

"DOOMED PLANET 

They called him 'Crazy Rik' - but only he knew that they planet was doomed with all its people. The only key to the vital information that could save it was locked in the subconscious memory of this strange, child-minded man...a memory obliterated by a Psychic Probe! 

Caught in a galactic web of intrigue, Rik struggled courageously with his own blasted mind and an unknown enemy in a desperate and one-sided race with time... 

Here is a nova-bright novel of tension and adventure by the acknowledged High Master of today's science fiction, Isaac Asimov."

Panther SF paperback, 1967. Cover artist uncredited.

I'm greedy - here's another book I unwittingly bought two copies of. The 1973 one with the Chris Foss cover (which I didn't think I still had) was/is my reading copy, the 1967 edition is unbelievably free from wear and is unread.

BUY JUPITER

Panther Science Fiction paperback, 1977 reprint.
Cover illustration by Peter Jones.

"The biggest advertising sign in the solar system...Dinosaurs of the mesozoic era - armed with guns...The fall of a future Atlantis - these and many more mind-spinning delights await the reader within this latest collection of Isaac Asimov's shorter science fiction.

Never before collected into book form, the stories in Buy Jupiter span twenty-three years of Dr Asimov's writing career. Each brilliant tale comes complete with fascinating details of the circumstances in which the author wrote it. The result is an unsurpassed combination of first-rate entertainment and an intriguing look at the development of the twentieth century's greatest master of science fiction."

Contents:

Darwinian Pool Room

Day Of The Hunters

Shah Guido G.

Button, Button

The Monkey's Finger

Everest

The Pause

Let's Not

Each An Explorer

Blank!

Does A Bee Care?

Silly Asses

Buy Jupiter

A Statue For Father

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Founding Father

Exile To Hell

Key Item

The Proper Study

2430 A.D.

The Greatest Asset

Take A Match

Thiotimoline To The Stars

Light Verse

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? BOOK 1

Sphere SF paperback, 1974. Cover artist uncredited.

"Isaac Asimov maintains that 'science fiction has potential as an inspiring and useful teaching device' and proves it with this selection of classic short stories. Each story was chosen for its scientific content as much as its literary merit and each is followed by Dr. Asimov's own comments on the problems and questions created."

Contents:


A Martian Odyssey, by Stanley G Weinbaum
Night, by Don A. Stewart
The Day Is Done, by Lester del Rey
Heavy Planet, by Milton A. Rothman
'-And He Built A Crooked House-', by Robert A. Heinlein
Proof, by Hal Clement
A Subway Named Moebius by A. J. Deutsch
Surface Tension, by James Blish

PRELUDE TO FOUNDATION

Grafton paperback, 1990. Illustration by Tim White.

"THE KEY TO THE FUTURE 

It is the year 12,020 G.E. And the last Galactic Emperor of the Autun Dynasty, Cleon I, sits uneasily on the throne. These are troubled times and Cleon I is desperate to find a way to calm them. When young Hari Seldon arrives on Trantor to present a paper on psychohistory, his astounding theory of prediction, the Emperor believes that his future security may rest on Seldon's prophetic powers. Now Hari is the most wanted man in the Empire as he desperately struggles to keep his remarkable theory from reaching the wrong hands, while forging the key to the future - a power to be known as the Foundation! 

PRELUDE TO FOUNDATION 

marks the long awaited and eagerly anticipated re-appearance of the Outworld mathematician, Hari Seldon. What happened in the many centuries before the events told of in Asimov's other Foundation nobels- hitherto only hinted at- is now revealed."

THE BICENTENNIAL MAN

Panther SF paperback, 1978. Cover painting by Chris Foss.

"ROBOT AS REVOLUTIONARY 

Andrew was one of Earth's first house robots - clean, smoothly designed and functional. But when Andrew started to develop special talents which exceeded the confines of his allotted positronic pathways, he abandoned his domestic duties in favour of more intellectual pursuits. As time passed, Andrew acquired knowledge, feelings and ambitions way beyond anything ever experienced by other mechanical men. And he found himself launched on to a career which would bring him fame, fortune - and danger. For a robot who wants to be human must also be prepared to die... 

In The Bicentennial Man, Isaac Asimov returns to his first and most enduring love - robotics. The result is a brilliant book of first-class entertainment and mind-spanning ideas which confirms Asimov's supreme status as Grand Master of science fiction."

Contents:


The Prime Of Life
Feminine Intuition
Waterclap
That Thou Art Mindful Of Him
Stranger In Paradise
The Life And Times Of Multivac
The Winnowing
The Bicentennial Man
Marching In
Old-fashioned
The Tercentenary Incident
Birth Of A Notion

THROUGH A GLASS, CLEARLY

NEL reprint, 1970. Artist uncredited.

"Enter the incredible imagination of Isaac Asimov: 

IT'S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL DAY: Nature had been forgotten in this electronic world of the future, until one day, quite by accident, a young boy strayed outdoors and discovered what was there. 

BREEDS THERE A MAN?: The physicist had arrived at a theory - very interesting, but highly improbably. But something not quite human seemed to be causing a bit of trouble... 

THE C-CHUTE: The spaceship had to be recaptured from the aliens, which meant that somebody had to be a hero. But who would that be...and why?

Contents:

It's Such A Beautiful Day

Belief

Breeds There A Man

The C-Chute

I, ROBOT

Panther SF paperback, 1969. Photograph by Dennis Rolfe.

"I, ROBOT 

To you, a robot is just a robot. But you haven't worked with them. You don't know them. They're a cleaner, better breed than we are 

I, ROBOT 

When Earth is ruled by master-machines...when robots are more human than mankind 

I, ROBOT 

Isaac Asimov's unforgettable, spine-chilling vision of the future"

Contents:

Robbie

Runaround

Catch That Rabbit

Liar!

Little Lost Robot

Escape!

Evidence

The Evitable Conflict