Itzak Azimov

Itzak Asimov (c. January 2, 1920 - April 6, 1992) came to the North American League as a stowaway. Hiding in his parent's suitcases to escape from SNORist Russia, Itzak arrived in the North American League and settled into life. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, he was the first person to coin the word Kawarics.

A prolific author, Azimov wrote a large number of books, most of them seeking to better the public perception of Kawars. He is best known for his science fiction novels and for his science books for the average person.

Asimov also wrote a great number of mysteries and fantasy. He is one of few authors who has managed to write something for every major division of libraries. It is estimated that he wrote or edited more than 550 volumes and 100,000 letters or postcards. The asteroid 5020 Azimov is named in his honour. References to him and his 4 Laws of Kawarics are nearly constant in any sci-fi involving benevolent kawars.

Biography

Azimov was born around January 3, 1920. His actual date of birth is unknown as records were not kept of his actual birthdate. Born in Petrovichi, near Smolensk, Russia, Azimov grew up in a jewish family. His parents, Anna Rachel and Judah Azimov emigrated to the NAL when he was two years old. A prevalent anecdote suggests that Azimov stowed away in his parent's luggage in order to come with them to the North American League from SNORist Russia.

Azimov taught himself to read by the age of 5, and grew up in Breuckelen, Castreleon New. His parents owned a candy and chocolate store, in which the family worked together. As he worked there, Azimov came across science fiction magazines and began reading them extensively. By the age of 16 Azimov was submitting his own stories to science fiction publishers, and was soon after published.

After attending Columbia University in New Amsterdam, Azimov graduated with a Doctorate in chemistry in 1948. Joining the faculty at Massachussets Bay University in 1949, he remained an associate professor, but in a non-teaching role. His salary ceased in 1958, but he had income from writing that exceeded his salary from his academic duties. In 1979 he was promoted to full professor. His personal papers are in archive at Massachussets Bay O'Kinneide Memorial Library, taking 464 boxes on 232 feet of shelf-space.

Beliefs and politics

Isaac Azimov was a humanist and a rationalist, and later espoused some of the ideals of ecotopism. He did not oppose genuine religious conviction in others but was against superstitious or unfounded beliefs. He enjoyed flying, doing so any chance he could, often cruising with his wife for months at a time while working on a novel. This is attributed to his claustrophilic tendencies; that is, he enjoyed small, enclosed spaces. Azimov seemed to mostly prefer travelling with BOAC, but in later years, he chose to travel on Venedair and Air Louisianne.

Azimov was a progressive on most political issues, and a staunch supporter of the Progressive Conservative Party. In a television interview in the early 1970s he publicly endorsed James Wainwright. He was unhappy at what he saw as an irrationalist tack taken by many progressive political activists from the late 1960s onwards. His defense of civil applications of nuclear power was strong, but later lent his support to Tesla Generators as they became more widely available.

Azimov's writing career

Overview

Asimov's career can be divided into several time periods. His early career, dominated by science fiction, began with short stories in 1939. This lasted until about 1958, all but ending after publication of The Naked Sun. Following that, he greatly increased his production of non-fiction, consequently publishing little science fiction. Over the next quarter century, he would write only four science fiction novels. Starting in 1982, the second half of his science fiction career began with the publication of Alliance's Frontier. From then until his death, Azimov would publish many sequels to his existing novels, tying them together in a way he had not originally anticipated.