Isaac Asimov
Asimov story - the Early Asimov

For example, for me, who was struck by the Trilogy when I was twenty, who proudly keeps novels and essays by Asimov, this collection was essentially missing.

Let me say, I was camping with my parents in '73, at the age of 12, when it was published by Urania with four consecutive issues named Asimov Story no. 1, 2, 3, and 4 in the summer of 1973.
A twenty-year-old uncle bought them at the campsite's shop, and I devoured them.
And then, he took them away.
Then no more - nothing. Only in memory.
I've been able to get my hands on a complete Asimov Story from this past month; I dare my first - possibly only - review because I doubt others might want or be able to review the same work.
The collection was published by Asimov in '72 under the title The Early Asimov.
Essentially, it consists of a series of short stories, the first written by Isaac between '39 and '49, that is, from the ages of nineteen to twenty-nine, when he had no intention, nor expectation, of becoming a writer: they were mostly entertainments, experiments, games.
Science fiction publishing was coming into its own exactly in those years and the genre was gaining autonomy and its dignity, readers were still few, and publishers struggled to keep their magazines afloat.
Twenty-seven short stories each accompanied by an Amarcord aimed at placing it in context, describing how the story was conceived, the countless series of rejections or requests - by editors - for revisions sometimes accepted, sometimes not, the amount of checks received in front of sales and the importance they had in keeping the writer in his chemistry studies and later justifying - with a "normal" working activity started - maintaining a parallel occupation while waiting to see what would come of it.
Personally, I find most of the stories timid, very timid, through which one can easily see the evolution of technique and content.
Some of them (Mezzosangue, Il senso segreto, Homo Sol, Mezzosangue su Venere, Vicolo cieco, Madre Terra, L'arma troppo terribile per essere usata, Il guardiano della fiamma) I point out as little gems, the seeds of what would later become the grand construction of Psychohistory in the Trilogy can be seen, that theoretical construct according to which psychology, when applied to enormous masses of individuals, allows the creation of perfectly reliable mathematical models through which targeted interventions can ensure results within a few months, or a few decades, or a few millennia.
The "historical" breath, borrowed from History and Decline of the Roman Empire by admission of the author himself, begins to be recognized in these writings, and for those like me who love the Trilogy, it is a spectacle.
But above all, it is a volume dedicated to personal stories.
Of those like Asimov who was formed in those times and environments sharing paths and difficulties: the names of Frederik Pohl or Lyon Sprague de Camp recur throughout all the interludes as those of who "grew up together," true and genuine affections and companions on the journey.

Above all, however, stands out the figure of John Campbell, an enlightened editor who played an enormous role in Asimov's formation and successes, so well summarized by the image: in rejecting my story he would write me long letters describing in detail what was wrong and why buying it was impossible for him. I later learned that in case of acceptance, the check I would receive would be the only form of comment.
To John Campbell, mentor and friend, Asimov posthumously dedicated this collection.
Asimov Story, 586 pages, can be found with some ease on Amazon or similar, published in English under its original title, The Early Asimov.