collection of four novelettes and six short stories
first edition
cover art by ed cartier
cover price $2.50 (front flap of d-j)
also published by gnome press in card covers, possibly the same year, possibly simultaneously with the hardcover, possibly to shift printed and made, but unfinished, books the following year (1951) as no note of a later printing in their indica, but also possibly a 1951 printing from the same plates. same cover art by ed cartier.
I have read loads of Asimov. This one is a book of short stories (as is the sequel, "The Rest Of The Robots"), largely, if not completely, from the same "universe" as the "Foundation" novels.
Along with Arthur C. Clarke, and Philip K. Dick, he has the the most claim to the title "Mr Science Fiction".
Between the three of them they essentially have considered and mapped the future long before any of us have gotten there. They always bring the big ideas to their works.
@jimeß's cover image added 2019 is from the first canadian printing, detailed below, whose cover was (and states) litho'd in canada (= printed by off-set lithography in canada).
it was apparently a legal requirement that a book distributed in canada be printed in canada - whether to avoid liability for import duties, yr hmbl srppnt. knoweth not.
whatever the reason, this requirement was - apparently successfully - interpreted by other publishers, and later also by fawcett, as being satisfied by their having only the carcass of the book printed, and stated to have been printed, in canada - whereupon they switched to shipping parts of print-run of the merkin-printed covers of their books to their canadian printers. (this comment is from another edition of this book)
likely simultaneous with, or shortly after the near-identical 8/1970 first fawcett crest merkin mmpb from which it shares cat#, cover art, etc. q.v.
cover art by john berkey (signed berkey)
cover price 75¢
undated save for copyright year
192pp.including titles, indica etc, end pp. (this comment is from another edition of this book)
near-identical first fawcett crest mmpb printings sharing
cover art by john berkey (signed "berkey")
cover price 75¢
192pp. including titles, indica etc.
but cover typography differs slightly:
canadadian-printed (both covers and book carcass) bears older fawcett crest logo & cat# top left corner, and bears statement litho'd in canada;
indica states printed in canada
merkin-printed & generally distributed copies bears newer, coronet-outline-free fawcett crest logo & cat# centre top
indica states that it was merkin-printed
undated near-identical 21st° fawcett crest mmpb printing differs:
cat# Q2829 stated to be its isbn in indica
° indica publishing history number-string reported to give this
undated near-identical 22nd fawcett crest mmpb printing differs:
cat# Q2829 stated to be its isbn in indica
indica publishing history number-string 30 - 22
..
undated 25th fawcett crest mmpb printing
(seen estimated to be c. 1980-81 from a front p. advertising offer)
isbn 0-449-23949-7
cover price $2.25
indica publishing history number-string of 35 - 25
undated 26th fawcett crest mmpb printing
cover art by john berkey (retained throughout these printings as cover typography changes)
isbn 0-449-23949-7
cover price $2.25
indica publishing history number-string 35 - 26 (this comment is from another edition of this book)
Added a front cover variant. First time I've run across that here, but probably not the last. Added the back cover and month also. (this comment is from another edition of this book)
if necessary to unlink or delink it from the different, non-identical books to which it is currently linked, this should be re-titled, "i, robot (greatly abridged)". . . (this comment is from another edition of this book)
publisher grayson and grayson should^W has been unified with publisher grayson & grayson as they're one and the same. (this comment is from another edition of this book)
second & third printings:
reprinted 1968, reprinted 1969 (detailed differences?)
refer to indica publishing history to distinguish which is held, including:
fourth printing:
reprinted 1969 (2nd)
cover price 5/-, australia 80c, new zealand 75c, south africa 60c
fifth printing:
reprinted 1971
cover price 30p (6/-), australia 95c, new zealand 90c, south africa 75c, canada 95c
sixth printing:
reprinted 1972 (details?)
seventh printing:
reprinted 1973
cover price 30p, australia 95c, new zealand 95c, south africa 75c, singapore $3.00, canada 95c
eighth printing:
reprinted 1974 (details?)
ninth printing:
reprinted 1975
replaces cat# on cover with sbn it was derived from 586 02532 4
cover price 40p, australia $1.20, new zealand $1.20, canada $1.50
tenth printing:
reprinted 6/1977
cover price 60p
(this printing's data from locus #203, 8/1977)
thirteenth printing:
reprinted 1981
granada replaces panther in some/most positions, including claiming in indica publishing history, first published by granada 1968, which is untrue)
cover price£1.25, australia $4.95, new zealand $5.25
seventeenth printing
reprinted 1984 (2nd)
cover price £1.95, new zealand $6.95
still panther science fiction across top of front cover
..
..
twenty-fifth printing:
reprinted 10/1993
harpercollinspublishers
still on panther books isbn
cover art by chris moore
cover price £4.99
256pp. including titles, indica etc, end pp. advertising
..
..
third printing of harpercollinsvoyager, chris moore-covered, panther books-isbnned p/b
reprinted ?
cover price £5.99
..
..
(a b-format or yuppieback ''harpercollinsvoyager classic'' on different isbn)
..
..
pth printing (given as 18th printing, which is impossible)
reprinted 8/2004
harpercollins voyager
still on panther books isbn
cover art ?
cover price £6.99
..
..
(2013 voyager classic reprint again on different isbn)
..
.. (this comment is from another edition of this book)
n.b. indica publishing history is incorrect: it omits the 1952 first uk edition, grayson & grayson h/cvr, q.v. and also the first uk p/b edition, the abridged digit book cat# D.164.
(it also omits mention of the 3/1954 sfbc #7 h/cvr edition, but this was more understandable as sidgwick & jackson's (later, phoenix house's) sfbc editions were not on sale to the general public, only to members of the - postal - science fiction book club.) (this comment is from another edition of this book)
still using the isbn extended from the sbn extended from the first 1968 panther books edition/printing's core cat# 2532, (in 0-586-02532-4) that truly fine merkin, rupert "the dirty digger" murdoch having added collins to his swag-bag after they'd bought granada publishing, granada group having swallowed up panther books, who'd started off as an imprint of hamilton & co. (staffs.) . . . (this comment is from another edition of this book)
drops fictional introduction written for the gnome press first edition and also two of the four novelettes:
not therefore, identical with any of the books of this title it is bookcatlinked to, and should be unlinked or delinked therefrom. (this comment is from another edition of this book)
mostly reprint collection of four novelettes and six short stories, one - the fictional introduction - original to the gnome press first edition of this.
number in isbn10 field is the sbn9 borne on the back cover of this tenth panther books edition/printing.
cover art by dennis rolfe (uncredited, attribution from 1968 first panther books p/b)
cover price 60p, canada $1.75, australia $1.75, new zealand $1.85
so should be re-flagged "international" according to respected moderator's rule
208pp. including titles, indica etc, end p. advertising
(first uk edition grayson & grayson hardcover 1952)
(first uk paperback digit books D-164 1958 abridged, dropping two novelettes and one shirt story) (this comment is from another edition of this book)