Asimov works backwards in short chapters from a very recent beginning, human flight, to the beginning of the universe. Clear and direct and unusually funny. I like best Asimov's work that was originally organized around a coherent theme, much better than collections, even thematic ones, of his standalone essays. Given that he wrote so much, sticking with books that have coherent themes seems like the right idea.

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Detailed Review:

Introduction:

Asimov points out that the world is now able to agree on dates, so that's one less detail to manage.

1. Human Flight
Asimov points out that, although everyone thinks first of the Wright brothers' successful flight at Kitty Hawk, the actual facts are far more nuanced. What about gliders, dirigibles, balloons, etc. What about a dirigible that ran on steam so didn't really work?

Why Science Fiction?
Because like all truly excellent science fiction, everything here started out in somebody's imagination. After all, truly good science fiction in time becomes science fact.
This is basically a collection of short essays, so even those who have trouble with any kind of textbook (which is what, for all intents and purposes, this is) should be able to enjoy and learn. ( )