First published in 1972 by Isaac Asimov, with the help of Doubleday publishing company. Dr. Asimov's second Biography, this Anthology focuses on his first eleven years of professional publication, and is dedicated to the recently deceased John W. Campbell.
Beginning with a justification for writing this collection when he already has ten others from the same time period, Dr. Asimov explains how Panther and Doubleday persuaded him to select additional stories and to write a short personal history related to each of them. Convinced of the idea, Dr. Asimov shares thoughts from his diary, and sketches out a history of publication, from the first time he published a story ("Little Brothers", for Boys High School) in 1934 and the first story he wrote for professional publication ("The Callistan Menace", rejected half a dozen times before being published by Astonishing Stories) in 1940, to the last short fiction stories he wrote before publishing novels and moving to Boston in 1949, and the way it felt when Campbell died in 1971.
Interspersed between the stories reprinted for this collection, Dr. Asimov shares anecdotes of meetings, letters he received from editors, and other events that affected his ability to write. The varying influences on his work, including the various Science Fiction authors and publishers, are all talked about here. Because of the (roughly) 550 pages, this story has been Divided for Publication in two different ways; split into two books or three volumes.
The Early Asimov republishes the following works:
- "The Callistan Menace" (1940)
- "Ring Around The Sun" (1940)
- "The Magnificent Possession" (1940)
- "Trends" (1939)
- "The Weapon Too Dreadful to Use" (1939)
- "Black Friar Of The Flame" (1942)
- "Half Breed" (1940)
- "The Secret Sense" (1941)
- "Homo Sol" (1940)
- "Half Breeds On Venus" (1940)
- "The Imaginary" (1942)
- "Heredity" (1941)
- "History" (1941)
- "Christmas On Ganymede" (1942)
- "The Little Man On The Subway" (1950) co-written with Frederik Pohl
- "The Hazing" (1942)
- "Super Neutron" (1941)
- "Not Final!" (1941)
- "Legal Rites" (1950) co-written with Frederik Pohl
- "Time Pussy" (1942)
- "Author! Author! (1964)"
- "Death Sentence" (1943)
- "Blind Alley" (1945)
- "No Connection" (1948)
- "The Endochronic Properties Of Resublimated Thiotimoline" (1948)
- "The Red Queens Race" (1949)
- "Mother Earth" (1949)
The Early Asimov provides examples of:
- All Planets Are Earth-Like: Dr. Asimov discusses the way he was
influenced by the other pulp magazines to include several earthlike worlds when he was writing "The Callistan Menace". He claims to have known that it was improbable to the extreme even then. - Autobiography: This anthology is an autobiographical account of Dr. Asimov's first eleven years of professional publication. It's the second biographical account he wrote, and he focused on his interactions with the great editor John W. Campbell.
- Book Ends: The story starts at the dedication to the recently deceased John W. Campbell, and ends with Dr. Asimov saying that the eleven years of working with Campbell were indescribable. Writing this book is the best way he can describe the debt he owes Campbell.
- Divided for Publication:
- The original Panther edition, from 1973, has Volume 1 containing "The Callistan Menace" through "The Secret Sense", Volume 2 containing "Homo Sol" through "Time Pussy", and Volume 3 containing "Author! Author! (1964)" through "Mother Earth".
- The Italian translation, published in the Urania magazine, called it Asimov Story, and published it in four parts, including about seven works each time (and often an unrelated story).
- Fawcett Crest publishes this story in two parts; Book One contains "The Callistan Menace" through "History", while Book Two contains "Christmas On Ganymede" through "Mother Earth".
- Humans Are Special: In the afterword to "Homo Sol", Dr. Asimov said Campbell loved the story because it made humans unique without suggesting we're inherently more intelligent or morally superior.
- Inspiration for the Work: [[Invoked]] Dr. Asimov discusses the inspirations for each work in this collection (assuming he recalls what may have inspired the story).
- Missing Episode: [[Invoked]] Dr. Asimov discusses several works that he had written, but never published (usually this means the story is lost).
- "Little Brothers" was Dr. Asimov's first published work, printed in his high school magazine. However, a later Auto Biography shares that he managed to find a copy of the issue and he republished it several more times.
- Dr. Asimov's "Cosmic Corkscrew" is a story about Time Travel that was submitted to several publishers, but never accepted.
- Dr. Asimov names "The Weapon" as a Short Story he wrote, but later lost when none of the publishers accepted it. He had forgotten that it was actually published in 1942 under a pseudonym. He reprinted it in his 1979 autobiography.
- Dr. Asimov names "Paths of Destiny" as a Short Story he wrote, but later lost when none of the magazine editors of the day accepted it.
- "Knossos in Its Glory" was an attempt by Dr. Asimov to take the myth of Theseus and rewrite it in modern science fiction style.
- Pen Name: After the story "Trends", Dr. Asimov describes the disagreement between himself and John W. Campbell over whether he should use an anglo-saxon pseudonym to make it easier for audiences to read/spell his name. Dr. Asimov was firmly against the idea, and Campbell didn't raise the subject when he agreed to publish "Trends".
- Recycled In Space: Dr. Asimov shares his concept for the lost story, "Knossos in Its Glory", a retelling of the Theseus myth with Science Fiction elements, such as making the minotaur an extraterrestrial who crashed in ancient Crete.
- Shout-Out:
- Due to Dr. Asimov's prolific publication history, even during his early years, it can be safely assumed that every Science Fiction Pulp Magazine of the Golden Age, as well as most of the publishing houses and major editors, are named here.
- Classical Mythology gets referenced when Dr. Asimov explains the premise of "Knossos in Its Glory"; a retelling of the Theseus myth with science fiction elements.
- Tagline:
- "13 never-before-collected stories by the master of science fiction" — Fawcett Crest cover of The Early Asimov: Book One
- "14 classic stories by the master of science fiction" — Fawcett Crest cover of The Early Asimov: Book Two
