American · 1920–1992
Isaac Asimov published over 500 books across nearly every category of the Dewey Decimal System. Born in Russia, raised in Brooklyn, he became the most prolific science fiction writer of the twentieth century and one of its great popularizers of science. His Foundation series reimagined civilizational history as mathematics, his Robot stories established the Three Laws that still frame AI ethics debates, and his science writing made complex ideas accessible to millions. He wrote with a clarity that valued ideas over style, and his influence on both science fiction and actual science remains immeasurable.