Robot visions

From the writer whose name is synonymous with the science of robotics comes five decades of robot visions-36 landmark stories and essays, plus three rare tales-gathered together in one volume. From Publishers Weekly NAL launches its new SF imprint, ROC, with a collection of 18 of Asimov's ( Foundation ) robot stories. The earliest tales here, written from 1940 to 1960, remain among the most-loved in the field, the best being "Little Lost Robot," about a robot who obeys an order to "get lost." "The Bicentennial Man" (1976) about one robot's desires and efforts to be first free, then equal, is the quintessential robot-as-man's-mirror story. The book concludes with brief essays offering companionable commentary on the history of robots in fiction, the Frankenstein complex, the origin of Asimov's famous Three Laws and the author's own surprise at the emergence of robots during his lifetime. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review "This collection offers 18 stories about robots as well as brief essays in which Asimov comments on robots in fiction, the Frankenstein complex, his famous Three Laws and the development of actual robots. ``The earliest tales here, written from 1940 to 1960, remain among the most-loved in the field," —Publishers Weekly "Classic stories with new material, both fiction and fact, that puts the whole theme together in a larger context." —Poul Andersen