I, Robot. by Asimov, Isaac - 1950

New York: Gnome Press, Inc. Publishers, 1950. First edition of this groundbreaking collection of stories. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Isaac Asimov on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with some of the usual toning to the spine, much less than usually encountered. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Signed first editions are uncommon. In this collection, one of the great classics of science fiction, Asimov set out the principles of robot behavior that we know as the Three Laws of Robotics. Here are stories of robots gone mad, mind-reading robots, robots with a sense of humor, robot politicians, and robots who secretly run the world, all told with Asimov's trademark dramatic blend of science fact and science fiction. It includes "The Evitable Conflict." in which machines that have made the world of the twenty-first century an economic utopia take control of Mankind's future, moving it "toward an unknown and happy destiny" (Berger, Science Fiction and the New Dark Age). It is the basis for the 2004 film starring Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell, Chi McBride, and Alan Tudyk.