cover image Frontiers 2: 2more Recent Discoveries about Life, Earth, Space and the Universe

Frontiers 2: 2more Recent Discoveries about Life, Earth, Space and the Universe

Isaac Asimov, Janet Asimov. Dutton Books, $23 (384pp) ISBN 978-0-525-93631-2

This second compilation of Isaac Asimov's syndicated science column includes 125 articles, approximately 30 of which were contributed by his wife Janet after her husband's death in 1992. Arranged in sections concerning life sciences, astronomy, particle physics and general technology news, the 1500-word essays offer lively, though brief, discussions of such matters as right- and left-handedness and Neptune's farthest satellite (Triton). Though Asimov fans will appreciate this collection of the science polymath's last pieces, many will regret the column-length restriction that makes this anthology the intellectual equivalent of a bowl of mixed nuts. The first Frontiers collection aged quickly, as this one certainly will. (Aug.)