Science fiction writer and chemistry professor Asimov was widely known from the 1950's on for his remarkable memory, and in this (first) autobiography he demonstrates it to great effect, bringing to light lots of ephemera that in other hands would be irrelevant to the narrative.  But Dr. Asimov's story is largely about information and the way he handles it, which is quite instructive.  

   From this reading one gets a sense of a person of great focus - so much so that it can rub off.  I can recall no more powerful example of this.  After a chapter of this book, I can feel like a Jewish chemistry professor who grew up in the 1930's, even though I did not grow up then, am not Jewish and know next to nothing of chemistry. The sign of a good writer is that that craftsman can almost literally drop the reader into the midst of a situation, and this autobiography may be a better example of that than much of Asimov's fiction.  Regarding his fiction, I recommend the first three "Foundation" series books, popularly called the Foundation Trilogy, and most particularly the events dealing with the character "The Mule".  He appears in the second book, called "Foundation And Empire", continuing into the third volume, "Second Foundation".   The overall saga features a decent plot in support of very rich characterization.

6/15/2008