America’s most revered science writer is represented here by one hundred and one previously uncollected essays and ruminations. The Tyrannosaurus Prescription demonstrates the full range of Isaac Asimov’s imagination: his lively discussions of science fiction—its odd history, its greatest writers—future space adventures, inner space discoveries, rediscoveries of our hidden past (archaeologic, mythic, and otherwise), and even what to do when the present state of the world is just too oppressive—his “Tyrannosaurus Prescription.”

Asimov fans will find gems of every kind in this far-roving collection. The section of “Science” provides thirteen pieces on the planets; unstable atomic nuclei; Einstein, “the one-man revolution”; and dinosaurs. “SciQuest” includes twenty of Asimov’s best columns for SciQuest, many of which vividly describe the inspiring struggles of great scientists—William Herschel, Michael Faraday, Joseph Henry, Ernest Rutherford, and others. Asimov’s awesome grasp of culture—ancient and modern—is on display in “Foreword by Isaac Asimov.”

A special treat are two highly personal autobiographical essays, coauthored with his wife, Janet, that reveal the writer to be as eccentric as he is sane, as all-here as he is visionary.

Here, then, is Isaac Asimov’s latest collection “into which people can dip at random,” and a very pleasant one it is.

This is Asimov’s final non-F&SF essay collection for Prometheus Books and is a fairly standard entry in the series, consisting of readable and interesting essays on a broad range of topics. There is, however, nothing really outstanding here, either. Nice, but not spectacular.