Asimov Isaac. Life and Time

Avon Books, 1979. — 296 p. — ISBN 9780380479443, 0380479443.Twenty-six essays probe the phenomena of the universe that have shaped and will shape the future of man from the development of multicellular life to twenty possible ways the world could end.
Journeying across time, through the past, present, and our enthralling future, one of the world’s most prolific and widely read authors traces the roots of life in the universe. From the first protein molecule to the real possibility that we will eventually create computers that can simulate «life», Isaac Asimov explains how life evolved and comes up with an unusual definition of this phenomenon that even allows for alien life forms.
«Life and time» takes the reader an adventure of the mind, a journey as exciting and imaginative as the mind of Isaac Asimov himself. Here is Asimov at his inimitable best, covering a fascinating range of topics with characteristic wit and insight: how the first “memory molecule”—a major breakthrough in brain research—was discovered; how science fiction preceded scientific theory with the idea of hyperspace; the legal aspects of space colonization; twenty catastrophes that could end the world (including the one we have to fear most); and, in «An Open Letter to the President», Asimov’s own special solution to the energy crisis.Introduction
Life past
Life
The March of the Phyla
Beyond the Phyla
The Gift of the Plants
The Brain Explosion
Man, the Overbalancer
Life present
The Myth of Less-Than-All
The Flaming God
Before Bacteria
The Face of the Moon
The Discovery of Argon
Water
Salt
Earth Shrugs Its Shoulders
Forget Me Not!
You Are a Catalog
The Gene Scene
Life future
Technology and Communication
One-to-One
Farewell to Youth
Moving About
The Ultimate Speed Limit
The Coming Decades in Agriculture
An Open Letter to the President
Space and the Law
A Choice of Catastrophes
Afterword