“Some readers may realize that this story, first published in 1956, has been overtaken by events. In 1965, astronomers discovered that Mercury does not keep one side always to the Sun, but has a period of rotation of about fifty-four days, so that all parts of it are exposed to the sunlight at one time or another.Well, what can I do except say that I wish astronomers would get things right to begin with?And I certainly refuse to change the story to suit their whims.”

American writer and professor of biochemistry

Isaac Asimov was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. He became widely known as one of the “Big Three” science fiction writers of his era, alongside Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. He wrote or edited more than 500 books and also produced an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. He is especially associated with hard science fiction, but he also wrote mysteries, fantasy, popular science, and other non-fiction. His work ranges across nine of the ten categories of the Dewey decimal system.