The Positronic Man

by Robert Silverberg and Isaac Asimov

Book Overview

Andrew Martin, a standard housekeeping robot, allows the unique capabilities of his experimental brain to lead him to become an artist, businessman, and crusader, in a novel based on Asimov's short... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385263422
• ISBN13: 9780385263429
• Release Date: October 1993
• Publisher: Doubleday Books
• Length: 259 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

A tale of ambition and societal backlash

The story of a mechanical creature who wishes to become human is an old one, appearing in many forms over the centuries. In this superb story, a robot, named Andrew by the children who adore it, begins to exhibit human characteristics, due to the unpredictability of its' positronic memory circuits. Slowly, through a series of step-wise modifications, Andrew is altered so that his functions become more human. Throughout the tale, Andrew exhibits many of the characteristics of being human, although his human society is currently exhibiting a backlash against robots doing anything to appear as anything other than robots. This is also a tale about human politics, emotions and insecurities. Some of the prejudices exhibited against robots are strikingly similar to those humans have against other humans not of the appropriate type. Asimov and Heinlein are masters at describing the consequences of technology and in this book, they are at their best. I have always considered Asimov's robot stories to be the best of all his science fiction works. They deal with limits placed on technology, through the hard-wired laws of robotics to the social restrictions placed on robots so that they do not appear too human. And yet, he also presses the envelope, in that he has humans becoming intimate with robots, even to the point of suggested sexual contact. I consider this to be one of the two best science fiction books that Isaac Asimov wrote, with the other being Nightfall. It is an old tale, but told with emotional entanglements, such as having Andrew being treated not as a monster but as a member of a human family as he pursues his quest to be declared legally human.

Required Reading

After seeing the movie "Bicentennial Man", I ran straight to the library to pick up "The Positronic Man." (I was surprised to find the book 'out of print', especially with the recent release of the movie.) This is the first Sci-Fi book I have ever read, and first review I have offered. I have not been in high school in some time, but this book should be required reading! I'm sure it would bring some hefty discussions on the issues of humanity, morality and mortality. A very thought-provoking, fascinating book and a joy to read.

What is a man?

I enjoyed this book immensly. I couldn't put it down. Here is a robot longing to be human (Star Trek fans....remind you of anyone?) and striving in many ways to find out what that is. In the end, an intriguing idea of what makes us human. Easy reading and thoughtful.

Great Book

One of my favorite books. Funny, touching, and very insightful

Asimov truly has a handle on the nature of humanity.

This is a novel about a truly beautiful human being...who just happens to be a robot. Over a span of centuries you see this robot develop as most humans only wish they could. He grows to care about those around him, his masters and then their children and their children's children as time passes, and you grow to care about all of them as well as him. Ask yourself, what price would you pay to be as good a human being as this robot has managed to become? Because he sure pays bigtime. Asimov should have won a Nobel Prize for his work, and I hope someday they give it to him, even though he won't know about it.