The John W. Campbell Letters with Isaac Asimov and A.E. van Vogt

Isaak Yudovich Ozimov, otherwise known as Isaac Asimov, was an American author of science fiction and popular books of science. He was also a professor at Boston University. Isaac, or “Ike” as his friends called him, was a master of hard science fiction, but he also wrote mysteries and fantasies as well as something in nearly all of the Dewey decimal system of library classification. Perhaps Dr. Asimov will most likely be best remembered for his three laws of robotics and the “I, Robot” 2004 movie adapted from his writings. "5020 Asimov" is an asteroid named after Ike, and "Asimov Crater" can be found on Mars as can the "Campbell Crater." Alfred Elton van Vogt -- A.E. van Vogt -- was simply “van” to his many friends. He was a self-taught writer often capable of spinning complex ideas and thoughts. He began his career writing “true confessions” in magazines like True Story, but later switched to science fiction with a true vigor. Isaac Asimov developed his own writing talents but also learned “hard” science fiction rules under the tutelage of John W. Campbell, Jr. Although Asimov reached a wider audience and was surely more prolific, van Vogt stimulated fandom “slan shacks,” special fandoms throughout the world and he was almost venerated in France. The term "slan shack" came to be used in fanspeak to designate a house or building occupied entirely or primarily by fans. Typos and misspellings were copied directly from original letters. 279,873 Words