[The Early Asimov or, Eleven Years of Trying is a candid], delightful insight into Asimov's increasing maturity as a science fiction writer. His discussion of his feelings on first breaking into print could be an inspiration to any young writer…. The early stories are valuable to any collection of science fiction since they show Asimov's concern with the exactness and certitude of the known in our science and his uncanny ability to predict those elements in and concerning science which have since come to pass. Stories like these also show his progression from an awkward, inspired teenager to the intellectual genius and internationally known writer he has become. (The book could be used as a text for "creative writing," provided the teacher understood science fiction.) Above all, the delicious comments about the short stories, the editors he has known, the fans and bibliographers (who grow angry when he...