Hi there! Long time lurker of the AskHistorian's subreddit (In fact, I usually read some threads before putting out the lights).
I've been reading recently Isaac Asimov's "The Land of Canaan" (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1059829.The_Land_of_Canaan), and I simply find fascinating the whole amount of information and the amount of things that make a lot of sense and explain much of our culture (well, at least my west-european culture). It's kind of a discovery of our origins that I'm enjoying thoroughly.
But I was wondering...how much credibility does Asimov hold among "true" historians? Can I really take what is written as what we currently know? Have some forward discoveries invalidated what he wrote? Are his works discredited or of low value for whatever reason?
I guess what I'm trying to ask is if what I'm reading has historic value, or it's just entertainment and I should seek other sources for a true accounting of what happened in the past.
I know this question is a big one, since his history books span the whole thing, from the Big Bang, to 1946. In this case I'm particularly interested in the book I'm reading, The Land of Canaan.
Thanks a lot for the answers!
Intelligent man, no doubt, and someone who had interests from literature to his own speciality, Biochem. Although I have only read one of his nonfiction books detailing with the history of scientific discoveries, I would say that he is a good generalist, but it would be better to look at more specific authors or historians when dealing with specific subjects. He was much like Bill Bryson who was able to write extensively and mostly accurately on many subjects, but I would take both their works as starting points if you want to research a subject more thoroughly.
Also, as Asimov has been dead for 24 years, a lot of his work, especially in scientific fields, is now 3 decades behind current published work, and there have been a huge amount of major discoveries in physics, chemistry, genetics, and most fields that his work can't possibly touch due to being written 3 decades ago.