''It's Been a Good Life'' (2002) is a book edited by Janet Jeppson Asimov. The book, published by Prometheus Books (), is a collection of

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

's diaries, personal letters, and a condensation of his three earlier autobiographies: * ''In Memory Yet Green'', (1979, Doubleday) * ''In Joy Still Felt'', (1980, Doubleday) * ''I. Asimov: A Memoir'', (1994, Doubleday) Janet Jeppson Asimov's primary role was in choosing the entries and occasionally editing them so the reader would know the people of whom he was speaking. In one case, her edited version is less explicit than Isaac's original, where Isaac and "a famous man" debate

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

(chapter 23 of the book). The famous man voices opposition to scientists since some had aided the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

, and Isaac replies that this is exactly the same as condemning the Jews for crucifying

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

. The edited version omits the celebrity's name—

Elie Wiesel Elie Wiesel (, born Eliezer Wiesel ''Eliezer Vizel''; September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, written mostly in F ...

. In this book Janet Asimov revealed for the first time that Isaac had died of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

as a result of contracting the HIV virus through a blood transfusion he had received in 1983. This had been kept a secret at the time – April 1992 – because of widespread prejudice against AIDS patients at the time. The title "it's been a good life" is a quote from the concluding page of '' Asimov Laughs Again'' (1991), one of his last works.Asimov, Isaac (1994) ''I. Asimov: A Memoir'', p. 561

References

2002 non-fiction books Books by Isaac Asimov Literary autobiographies Diaries Collections of letters {{lit-bio-book-stub