Easy to see why this has held its own as a sci-fi classic. A collection of short stories tracing the evolution of robots and their positronic brains, the book is unified by the frame tale of an interview with Susan Calvin, expert in robopsychology. Each story is one of her memories, though she is not directly involved in all the action. With her no-nonsense, break-the-glass-ceiling, drop-truth-bombs demeanor, she is cut from the same cloth as Margo Madison of For All Mankind.
Every story is different, yet there is a unity of progression, not only because of Susan’s character but because of the three laws of robotics with which all “intelligent” robots are programmed. In fact, most of the conflicts revolved around the tension between these laws and needing to adjust the way the machine views situations so that it can act without violating these laws—sometimes for pretty sketchy reasons and in sketchy ways. While robots took a lot of heat in this world, the ways humans manipulated circumstances demonstrates their own culpability and corruption.
I liked all the stories, but I think “Liar!” was my favorite. The robots tell humans what they want to know, so as not to cause them pain—a priority more important than accurate data–with emotional results. In other stories, Mike and Greg, the tech testers, serve as amazing secondary characters in their adventures on planets, asteroids, and space. Full of personality and their own insights into the dilemmas of working with machines who think they are superior to humans.
A must read as part of the sci-fi canon, for Asimov fans, and for adventure/philosophical flavored sci-fi.
That Lady Who Reads A Lot 
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