It's Been a Good Life

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It's Been a Good Life (2002) is a book edited by Janet Asimov. The book, published by Prometheus Books (ISBN 1-57392-968-9), is a collection of Isaac Asimov's diaries, personal letters, and pieces of his three earlier autobiographies:

• In Memory Yet Green, (1979, Doubleday)
• In Joy Still Felt, (1980, Doubleday)
• I. Asimov: A memoir, (1994, Doubleday)

Janet's primary role was in choosing the entries and occasionally editing them so the reader would know the people of whom he was speaking. In one case, her edited version is less explicit than Isaac's original. Isaac and "a famous man" debate anti-Semitism (chapter 23 of the book). The famous man voices opposition to scientists since some had aided the Holocaust, and Isaac nearly replies that this is exactly the same as condemning the Jews for crucifying Jesus. The edited version omits the celebrity's name—Elie Wiesel.

The epilogue contains a significant new revelation about Asimov's life. Janet Asimov revealed that Isaac had apparently died of AIDS complications. He contracted it from a blood transfusion during heart bypass surgery in 1983. She says that the reason it was kept secret was that Isaac did not want to deal with the stigma often associated with having the disease.