Depending on the counting convention used,[1] and including all titles, charts, and edited collections, there may be currently over 500 books in Isaac Asimov's bibliography—as well as his individual short stories, individual essays, and criticism. For his 100th, 200th, and 300th books (based on his personal count), Asimov published Opus 100 (1969), Opus 200 (1979), and Opus 300 (1984), celebrating his writing.[2][3][4]

Asimov was so prolific that his books span all major categories of the Dewey Decimal Classification except for category 100, philosophy and psychology.[5] Although Asimov did write several essays about psychology,[6] and forewords for the books The Humanist Way (1988) and In Pursuit of Truth (1982),[7] which were classified in the 100s category, none of his own books were classified in that category.[8]

According to UNESCO's Index Translationum database, Asimov is the world's 24th most-translated author.[9]

An online exhibit in West Virginia University Libraries' virtually complete Asimov Collection displays features, visuals, and descriptions of some of his over 600 books, games, audio recordings, videos, and wall charts. Many first, rare, and autographed editions are in the Libraries' Rare Book Room. Book jackets and autographs are presented online along with descriptions and images of children's books, science fiction art, multimedia, and other materials in the collection.[10]

For a listing of Asimov's science fiction books in chronological order within his future history, see the Foundation series list of books.

Science fiction

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Novels

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"Greater Foundation" series

The Robot series was originally separate from the Foundation series. The Galactic Empire novels were published as independent stories, set earlier in the same universe as Foundation. Later in life, Asimov synthesized the Robot series into a single coherent "history" that appeared in the extension of the Foundation series.[11]

  1. Robot series:
    1. Asimov, Isaac (1954). The Caves of Steel. National Geographic Books. ISBN 0-553-29340-0. (first Elijah Baley SF-crime novel)
    2. Asimov, Isaac (1957). The Naked Sun. Random House Worlds. ISBN 0-553-29339-7. (second Elijah Baley SF-crime novel)
    3. Asimov, Isaac (1983). The Robots of Dawn. Random House Worlds. ISBN 0-553-29949-2. (third Elijah Baley SF-crime novel)
    4. Asimov, Isaac (1985). Robots and Empire. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-586-06200-5. (sequel to the Elijah Baley trilogy)
  2. Galactic Empire series:
    1. Asimov, Isaac (1952). The Currents of Space. ISBN 0-553-29341-9. (Republic of Trantor still expanding)
    2. Asimov, Isaac (1951). The Stars, Like Dust. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-29343-5. (long before the Empire)
    3. Asimov, Isaac (1950). Pebble in the Sky. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-29342-7. (early Galactic Empire)
  3. Foundation series:
    1. Foundation prequels series:
      1. Asimov, Isaac (1988). Prelude to Foundation. Random House Worlds. ISBN 0-553-27839-8. (occurs before Foundation)
      2. Asimov, Isaac (1993). Forward the Foundation. Bantam. ISBN 0-553-40488-1. (occurs after Prelude to Foundation and before Foundation)
    2. Original Foundation trilogy:
      1. Asimov, Isaac (1951). Foundation. National Geographic Books. ISBN 0-553-29335-4.
      2. Asimov, Isaac (1952). Foundation and Empire. Random House Worlds. ISBN 0-553-29337-0., Published with the title 'The Man Who Upset the Universe' as a 35c Ace paperback, D-125, in about 1952
      3. Asimov, Isaac (1953). Second Foundation. Random House Worlds. ISBN 0-553-29336-2.
    3. Extended Foundation series:
      1. Asimov, Isaac (1982). Foundation's Edge. National Geographic Books. ISBN 0-553-29338-9.
      2. Asimov, Isaac (1986). Foundation and Earth. National Geographic Books. ISBN 0-553-58757-9. (last of the Foundation series)
Stand-alones

Novels marked with an asterisk (*) have minor connections to the Foundation universe.

Young adult novels

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Lucky Starr series (as Paul French):

  1. David Starr, Space Ranger (1952)
  2. Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids (1953)
  3. Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus (1954)
  4. Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of Mercury (1956)
  5. Lucky Starr and the Moons of Jupiter (1957)
  6. Lucky Starr and the Rings of Saturn (1958)

Children's novels

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The Norby Chronicles (with Janet Asimov):

  1. Norby, the Mixed-Up Robot (1983)
  2. Norby's Other Secret (1984)
  3. Norby and the Lost Princess (1985)
  4. Norby and the Invaders (1985)
  5. Norby and the Queen's Necklace (1986)
  6. Norby Finds a Villain (1987)
  7. Norby Down to Earth (1988)
  8. Norby and Yobo's Great Adventure (1989)
  9. Norby and the Oldest Dragon (1990)
  10. Norby and the Court Jester (1991)

Short stories

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Collections:

Uncollected short stories:

Mysteries

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Novels

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Short stories

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Collections:

Uncollected short stories:

Comics

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Plays

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Poems

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Collections:

Uncollected poems:

Non-fiction

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General science

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Collections of essays:

Science fiction

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Collections of essays:

Astronomy

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Geoscience

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Mathematics

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Physics

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Chemistry

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Biology

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History

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The Bible

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Literature

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Guides

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Humor

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Autobiographies

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Miscellanies

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Seiler, Edward; Hatcher, Richard (2014). "Just how many books did Asimov write?". Isaac Asimov Home Page. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  2. ^ Asimov, Isaac (1969). Opus 100. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
  3. ^ Asimov, Isaac (1979). Opus 200. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-27625-X.
  4. ^ Asimov, Isaac (1984). Opus 300. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-36108-7.
  5. ^ Seiler, Edward; Jenkins, John H. (June 27, 2008). "Isaac Asimov FAQ". Isaac Asimov Home Page. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
  6. ^ Seiler, Edward; Hatcher, Richard (1995). "Asimov essays about psychology". Isaac Asimov Home Page. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  7. ^ Isaac Asimov, "The Way of Reason", in In Pursuit of Truth: Essays on the Philosophy of Karl Popper on the Occasion of his 80th Birthday,, ed. Paul Levinson, Humanities Press, 1982, pp. ix–x.
  8. ^ Seiler, Edward; Hatcher, Richard (2014). "Did you know that Asimov is the only author to have published books in all ten categories of the Dewey Decimal System?". Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  9. ^ Index Translationum database
  10. ^ WVU Libraries Asimov Collection Archived 2014-01-03 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
  11. ^ Asimov, I. Prelude to Foundation (Grafton, 1989), p. 9.
  12. ^ Storypilot.com
  13. ^ Asimovonline: Star Empire
  14. ^ The Locus Index to Science Fiction, 1984–1998
  15. ^ Asimovonline: The Story Machine
  16. ^ h, Dole; Isaac, Asimov (September 15, 2010). "Planets for Man". RAND. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
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