Among the writers of science for the general public, some, like Carl Sagan, could compose beautiful, resonant prose that conveyed the wonder and majesty of the cosmos. Others, like Stephen Jay Gould, produced writings that were masterpieces of the essayist's art. But nobody could match Isaac Asimov in sheer expository skill. Asimov had the very rare, perhaps unique, ability to take the most difficult ideas of science and present them so clearly and engagingly that any interested person could read about them with pleasure and profit