Starting with "what is science", according to the logical structure of science itself, the book expounds the universe, solar system, earth, atmosphere, elements, particles, waves, machines, reactors, molecules, protein, cells, microorganisms, and finally human body, species, brain and artificial intelligence. It can be said that from micro to macro, from material science to life science, the book covers almost all disciplines of natural science. With fluent writing, the author expounds the mutual infiltration and blending relationship between disciplines, which fully shows the author's superb art in mastering language and scientific concepts.
1959 In May, Leon Swarsky, editor of Basic Series Publishing House, found Asimov and asked him to write a popular science book about the general situation of scientific development in the 20th century for adults. He is nervous and uneasy about explaining so many scientific projects in one book. His new girlfriend, Janet jepson, gave him courage and encouragement: It's a good idea, and you can definitely write this book well. Asimov no longer hesitates at this point. But then they had an argument about the title of the book. Perhaps inspired by Bernard Shaw's A Guide to Socialism and Capitalism for Smart Women, Swarsky named Asimov's new book A Guide to Science for Smart Men. Asimov thought it was inappropriate, because the name sounded like it was written for excellent men and would affect their sales, so he suggested changing the title to "Guide to Popular Science". But Swarsky doesn't think so. He believes that the title he gave will have a good promotion effect-because people who buy books like to think of themselves as smart people even if they are not smart. Asimov can only submit.
Surprisingly, despite his fear before writing, Asimov started writing surprisingly fast: in less than three months, he actually wrote 400,000 words. 1February, 960, Asimov gave most of the manuscripts to Swarovski. Because the length is too long to finish a volume, Swarsky intends to delete half of the content. Asimov angrily rejected the proposal and threatened to refuse to hand over the last two chapters of the manuscript and not return the reservation. Swarovski had to agree to publish the book in two volumes. But Asimov was surprised when he received the edited proof: at least 30% of the materials in the book were deleted. So he immediately went to Swarsky and asked to restore all the deleted parts, but it was too late. Asimov, whose creative attitude is rigorous, was deeply saddened and thought it was a shameful work. Even when he received the sample book, he didn't bother to turn it over. But the public and critics do not think so. After its publication, the book was well received and immediately became a best seller after being nominated by the National Book Award, which achieved great economic benefits. Originally written for adults, this book has become a treasure of teenagers. 1965, the second edition of the book, A Guide to New Science for Smart People, was revised and published, with new contents such as quasars and lasers added. With the appearance of pulsars, black holes, continental drift, human landing on the moon, holography and other new discoveries and new things, Asimov revised the book and changed the title to Asimov's Guide to Science when it was reprinted in 1972. In the fourth revised reprint of 1984, Asimov said in the preface: "Because I changed the title of every new edition in the past, this time is no exception. The title of this time is "The Latest Science Guide". " Asimov's book contains most important scientific achievements in human history.
Asimov's latest scientific guide provides readers with a magnificent and exquisite scientific guide map, and incorporates many original opinions of the author. For example, when talking about the fact that modern science is too specialized to encourage laymen, the author points out: "As long as scientists shoulder the responsibility of communication, explain their own affairs as simply as possible, and non-scientists are willing to listen, then the gap between the two may be bridged. To appreciate the progress of a science satisfactorily, you don't need a complete understanding of science. No one thinks that to appreciate Shakespeare's plays, one must be able to write a great work; To appreciate Beethoven's symphony, you must be able to create a piece of music equivalent to it. Similarly, to appreciate or enjoy scientific achievements, you don't have to have the ability of scientific creation. " Asimov believes that the duty of a real popular science writer is to really popularize scientific knowledge to readers. Noble and clear creative motivation and strong sense of social responsibility make him not only deeply loved by the public, but also widely respected by scientists from all walks of life.