In Memory Yet Green, In Memory Yet Green: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov, 1920-1954, is the first volume of Isaac Asimov's two-volume autobiography.[1] It was published in 1979. This first volume covers the years 1920 to 1954, which lead up to the point just prior to Asimov becoming a full time writer. The second volume is In Joy Still Felt.
The publisher, Doubleday, disliked Asimov's original title, so they asked him to provide another, suggesting he find a good quote from an obscure poem.[2] Asimov suggested the following poem:
Doubleday agreed to Asimov's new title, but couldn't find the source of the verse he had given them. When Doubleday inquired, Asimov confessed: "I wrote it myself".[2] In the end, the poem was attributed to "Anon."
In Joy Still Felt: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov, 1954-1978 is the second part of Asimov's autobiography, and covers the years 1954 to 1978.
According to Asimov's second wife, Janet Asimov, this two-volume autobiography was too chronological (albeit highly detailed, owing to Asimov's eidetic memory and the copious notes he kept about his life in his daily diary), lending it an emotionless and reserved quality. As such she encouraged him to write a third autobiography, I. Asimov, which would convey more of his feelings about the contents.[2]