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- Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare, by Isaac Asimov, vols I and II (1970), ISBN 0-517-26825-6; Maps by the artist Rafael Palacios. This work gives a short guide to every Shakespeare play, and also his two epic poems. Asimov organizes the plays as follows: Greek Roman Italian The English Plays The last two categories are treated broadly; 'Italian' applies to neighbouring countries, and both Hamlet and Macbeth are listed with 'The English Plays'. Asimov gives a detailed justification for doing this. Within each category, the plays are arranged chronologically, making allowance for the several not based on actual events. Asimov notes how much is real history, and describes who the original people were, where applicable. He traces those characters who appear in more than one play, and provides maps to explain key geographical elements. Asimov's approach is not popular with some readers' prejudices: "Fans of Asimov's science-fiction generally have little taste for door-stopper books such as Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare or The Shaping of England, and specialists are never happy to see clever outsiders make hay in their fields. " (The Tragedy of Isaac Asimov) However, the book remains popular and useful, and the paperback edition remains in print. Another reviewer said: "Asimov has taken the time to methodically go through all the major works, divide them into three groups, i.e. : Roman-Greek and ancient tales, Italian-Mediterranean more modern tales, and finally the English-Europe stories starting with King Lear. He does not need a writer's help - he brings that to the table. Each play is treated in a short chapter and gets about 20 to 40 pages of analysis, general source comments, and specific comments on a few key lines. He has all the skills needed to keep our attention, make it simple, give us lots of background trivia plus the key guidance, and make it all entertaining. I think most would agree that the best book on Shakespeare is the 3500 page monster: The Norton Shakespeare. But the present book is friendlier and at 750 pages easier to read. So this is an excellent reference where one can get a very fast and painless summary of all the works with many interesting details on lines and characters scene by scene without feeling lost or overwhelmed - as sometimes happens with Norton - a book that one can barely lift. Asimov's book is a must buy for most Shakespeare lovers even if you own other books. Simply put this book is a joy to read, an integral part of any Shakespeare library or fine on its own. Asimov spent all that time and made a serious effort, and now we can enjoy it for a few dollars. " (J. E. Robinson, Amazon reviews).
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