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Foundation (Foundation (Publication Order) #1)

3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 · rating details · 146,683 ratings · 2,590 reviews

For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Sheldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future--to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save mankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire--both scientists...more

Mass Market Paperback, 285 pages

Published July 12th 1984 by Del Rey (first published 1951)

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Apr 13, 2009 Ken-ichi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: escape, science-fiction

An amusing read, but I think I still prefer Brin and Simmons when it comes to epic space opera. Probably the most interesting thing about this book (and, I assume, the rest of the series) is the millennia-spanning time scale of its narrative, which Asimov handles by establishing Hari Seldon's statistical prophesy, and then dropping in at critical junctures to investigate how individuals contrive to fulfill that prophecy. It's kind of a fun model, always knowing the general direction of the plot...more An amusing read, but I think I still prefer Brin and Simmons when it comes to epic space opera. Probably the most interesting thing about this book (and, I assume, the rest of the series) is the millennia-spanning time scale of its narrative, which Asimov handles by establishing Hari Seldon's statistical prophesy, and then dropping in at critical junctures to investigate how individuals contrive to fulfill that prophecy. It's kind of a fun model, always knowing the general direction of the plot without knowing the detail, a bit like reading the last page first. It can also be dull, contradictory, and occasionally unpleasant. There isn't that much suspense when you can always know Seldon is going to end up correct, and the in the end the Foundation will end up ushering in the Renaissance. Asimov's characters also aren't all that likable, or human. They're like strategic robots, avatars the author can inhabit to explain the brilliance of the little political puzzle he's concocted.

It's also slightly ridiculous that in a universe where computational power is so great as to statistically model the destiny of civilizations with great accuracy, we are asked to believe that individual wills and intellects are responsible for shepherding these statistical trends. Characters are always saying, "Oh, it's a Seldon crisis, we should make sure we don't screw this up." Of course they won't screw it up.

This is also a universe of white guys. I'm not against books about white guys, and I don't think every book needs to have a sympathetic, fully-realized representative of every socio-sexual-political-racial identity, but I don't love books about boring, soulless white guys in which all the other humans are pointedly idiotic. I think there is one woman in the entire book, and she's a petulant, impotent princess who's easily impressed by fancy jewelry. I guess it's not really a book about people.

Anyway, a decent read, though I'm not feeling particularly compelled to read the next. Should I? (less)

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Apr 11, 2012 Elijah Kinch Spector rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Somewhere in the fifty years just past is where the historians of the future will place an arbitrary line and say: 'This marks the Fall of the Galactic Empire.'"
p. 80

Foundation is The Book of Kells writ large. The amazing-but-made-up science of psychohistory determines that the Galactic Empire is crumbling and the impending Dark Age can only be, at best, shortened (from 30,000 years to 1,000) if all its expansive knowledge and learning are preserved and disseminated in just the right way. This...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Steven Harbin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of classic science fiction

Shelves: read-1970-to-1979, read-more-than-once, read-previously-re-reading

I just re-read this for about the 5th or 6th time, although this was probably the first time I've gone back to this volume in over a decade or even two. Asimov still holds up for me, though I can't say how much of that is nostalgia. Still, he's probably not for everyone, a little wordy at times, not much action. Even so the whole Foundation series was a major great concept when it first came out and I still recommend it to anyone who loves science fiction, especially "classic" science fiction. T...more

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Jan 23, 2008 Tom rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who has a grain of interest in Sci Fi

Recommended to Tom by: Me Mums

I highly recommend Foundation to anyone who professes to have a grain of interest in Sci-Fi. The political intrigue, religious undertones, innovative sci-fi thoeories, world building, and epic scope make Foundation one of the most worthy reads of speculative fiction.

The premise is that the genius, Harry Seldon, has created and perfected a new science, phychohistory, a form of advanced statistics, to the degree that he can mathematically predict and guide the future of extremely large population...more I highly recommend Foundation to anyone who professes to have a grain of interest in Sci-Fi. The political intrigue, religious undertones, innovative sci-fi thoeories, world building, and epic scope make Foundation one of the most worthy reads of speculative fiction.

The premise is that the genius, Harry Seldon, has created and perfected a new science, phychohistory, a form of advanced statistics, to the degree that he can mathematically predict and guide the future of extremely large population samples. Through mathematics, he predicts the inevitable fall of the galactic Empire and the decline of humanity into a barbaric dark age. He then sets in motion events to minimize the negative effects of this dark age and eventually create a new Empire to maintain the glory of humanity throughout the universe. The novel and sequels cover generations of time as the events he posthumously predicts and directs take place.

Having some statistics background from my Economics education, I found Asimov's ideas of psychohistory to be both fascinating and implausible. Even though Harry Seldon's phychohistory plots the future using data from an enormous sample size, history is largely written by leaders whose individual actions could not be determined or swayed by mathematics. While it is plausible to me that advanced perfected statistics could predict the fall of the empire, I must suspend my disbelief to believe that Seldon could accurately predict the course of the much smaller Foundation which so heavily depends on the decisions of individual leaders like Salvur Hardin.

Although some of the concepts behind Foundation require a dose of suspended disbelief, I didn't mind because the same ideas are so damn interesting and the way Asimov applies them to the plot is brilliant. I don't think that "beaming up" or "hyper space travel" are plausible notions either, but I love the ideas nonetheless. The idea of psychohistory, or a super-advanced form of the econometric regression analysis I studied in college, is absolutely fascinating and serves as the basis for one hell of a clever read.

I loved how Asimov approaches the idea of God. I personally believe in a God that is omnipotent and omniscient-- able to guide and predict the future. Asimov sets up Seldon to be a God-figure and explains his powers to predict and guide the future by his genius wielding of psychohistory. Religion even crops up based on Seldon's legacy. Speculating about the nature of higher power is a classic facet of sci-fi. An interesting sidenote is that this kind of speculation gave way to Tom Cruise's Scientoligist beliefs through the author L. Ron Hubbard. This shows that a clever idea placed in the right mind at the right time can dramatically influence the masses--which happens to be a theme of Foundation. With my background rooted in Cristianity, I find characters such as Aslan, Jean ValJean, and Harry Seldon that symbolize deity or reflect the authors ideas of higher power fascinating.

(less)

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Jun 25, 2008 Christy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: readinglist2-sf, science-fiction-and-fantasy

Honestly, I don't get why this book/series is so popular. There are some interesting elements to it (for instance, the use of religion as a tool of mass control and the implicit resultant argument that religion is no more than a fraud, "the opiate of the people," after all), but the book gave me little to enjoy or dig into. The forces of the novel are broad, historical, dealing with masses of people; this means that there is little to no room for individual characters here and little to be done...more

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Christy Himanshu wrote: "Asimov had no plans to write in a way as to ensure gender equality, or discuss emotions or personalities. Like good sci fi, the book...more
Apr 10, 2013 06:52pm

Himanshu Bhandoh Good point about ideas and characters not being mutually exclusive. I agree with that. However, I'd say ideas and not characters form the USP of scifi...more
Apr 10, 2013 10:22pm

Dec 28, 2011 Moira rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jediným důvodem, proč Nadaci nedám všech pět hvězdiček, je ten, že jsem měla starší vydání, kde je moře překlepů a kde často chybí úvozovky. Kazilo mi to plynulost i přehlednost čtení a celkově je něco takového v dnešní době monstrózním faux pas.

Pokaždé, když čtu něco ze sci-fi písečku si říkám, proč vlastně čtu knihy. Proč jsou psána pokračování. Proč se autor nespokojí s jedním rozuzlením děje, ale stále pokračuje dále a dále.
A odpověď je jednoduchá: Píše pro své čtenáře. Sci-fi není můj šále...more Jediným důvodem, proč Nadaci nedám všech pět hvězdiček, je ten, že jsem měla starší vydání, kde je moře překlepů a kde často chybí úvozovky. Kazilo mi to plynulost i přehlednost čtení a celkově je něco takového v dnešní době monstrózním faux pas.

Pokaždé, když čtu něco ze sci-fi písečku si říkám, proč vlastně čtu knihy. Proč jsou psána pokračování. Proč se autor nespokojí s jedním rozuzlením děje, ale stále pokračuje dále a dále.
A odpověď je jednoduchá: Píše pro své čtenáře. Sci-fi není můj šálek čaje. Vždy mi nějakou dobu trvá, než se začtu a dělá mi i potíže udržet si pozornost. Ale když už se do příběhu dostanu, když už narazím na úžasné sci-fi... bývám povětšinou úplně nadšená.

Obdivuji autory, kteří dokáží napsat geniální příběh s hlavou a patou. Kteří dokáží zamotat děj tak, že se skoro ztrácíte a nevíte kam dále, nedokážete předvídat ani další stránku. Miluju takové příběhy a Nadace je jedním z nich.

V tomto příběhu se setkáváme se zánikem lidstva. Avšak jeden geniální matematik - psycholog - prostě něco mezi tím - dokázal vypočítat (ano, ne předvídat, ale vypočítat pravděpodobnost) budoucnost a dle toho také učinil jisté kroky. Založil Nadaci, místo znalostí, organizaci lidí, která by měla urychlit dobu naprostého úpadku lidské civilizace na minimum. A jelikož to byl geniální psycholog, dokázal se ve svých výpočtech odchýlit jen minimálně a takřka přesně narýsoval další kroky Plánu pro své následovníky. Plánu, který má zachránit lidstvo před třiceti tisíci lety Temna.

Zábavné je, že nikdy vlastně netuším, kdo je dobrý a zlý. Ano, logicky ten, kdo je naší hlavní postavou, je dobrý. Avšak to jak se chová, jeho činy a celkově to, čím je, je mnohdy sporné. Nevím. Je dobrý. Ale v jakém vztahu? A byla bych ráda, kdyby to bylo jinak? Kdyby Asimovův příběh byl o chloupek méně promyšlenější?

Jak jsem už několikrát omílala, tento příběh je geniální. Musím to zopakovat, musím to napsat a přestože se prezentuju jako naprostý magor, musím to vyjádřit stokrát, než budu spokojená: Tahle kniha je dechberoucím způsobem promyšleně brilantní.

V knize nenajdete jedinou milostnou zápletku. V knize najdete jen náznak nějakého přátelství. V knize nejde o jednotlivce, i když si na to možná příběh hraje. Celou dobu máme na mysli jen Nadaci - a vlastně celou civilizaci jako celek. Je dobré si něco takového uvědomit dříve, než knihu začnete číst. A když jste si jistí, že nic takového nehledáte, když jste si jistí, že nechcete nic míň, než jen slušnou dávku kvalitního sci-fi, směle do toho. Nadace čeká jen na vás. :)(less)

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Nov 26, 2008 Thomas rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Science Fiction fans

Recommended to Thomas by: Mats Henriksson

The Foundation trilogy (three first books) and the Foundation series (all seven) are often regarded as the greatest set of Science Fiction literature ever produced. The Foundation series won the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966. Isaac Asimov was among the world's best authors, an accomplished scientist, and he was also a genius with an IQ above 170, and it shows in the intelligently concocted but complex plots and narrative. There are already 331 reviews for this Science Fi...more The Foundation trilogy (three first books) and the Foundation series (all seven) are often regarded as the greatest set of Science Fiction literature ever produced. The Foundation series won the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966. Isaac Asimov was among the world's best authors, an accomplished scientist, and he was also a genius with an IQ above 170, and it shows in the intelligently concocted but complex plots and narrative. There are already 331 reviews for this Science Fiction novel, however, I still believe I have something unqiue to contribute which is stated in my last paragraph.

This book and the rest in the series take place far in the future (allegedly 50,000 years) at a time when people live throughout the Galaxy. A mathematician Hari Seldon has developed a new branch of mathematics known as psychohistory. Using the law of mass action, it can roughly predict the future on a large scale. Hari Seldon predicts the demise of the Galactic Empire and creates a plan to save the knowledge of the human race in a huge encyclopedia and also to shorten the barbaric period expected to follow the demise from 30,000 years to 1,000 years. A select people are chosen to write the Encyclopedia and to unknowingly carry out the plan to re-create the Galactic Empire. What unfolds in this book and in the books that follow is the future history of the demise and re-emergence of a Galactic Empire, written as a series of adventures, in a similar fashion to the Star Wars series.

Even though this is arguably the greatest set of Science Fiction novels ever written, I do not recommend it to those who are only mildly interested in Science Fiction. Character development is not the focus of these novels and the large amount of technical/scientific details, schemes and plots can become both confusing and heavy for the unitiated Science Fiction reader. If you read this one you will feel the need to read the others which may take a long time. If you are new to Science Fiction start with something lighter and when you are hooked you can continue with this series. Also, in my opinion the second and third books were better than the first.(less)

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May 30, 2007 Rick rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: science fictioneers, psychology fans, history buffs

I first read this when I was 16, and it changed my life, giving me a whole new take on history and psychology and even math. I even tried a year as a psych major in college to see if the statistical approach was really the answer. Forty years later, I read it again, just to see what effect it would have. What I noticed was that the plot was carefully staged and not "fair" (in that the writer often kept some secret informaiton up his sleeve that the reader didn't know, but still it was a good rea...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Alex rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reading-through-history, 2013

Sure, okay, this is pretty good. A series of interconnected short stories, each with the same basic theme: our heroes are put in a tight spot and have to weasel their way out of it. Sortof like a mystery in a way: you get to try to figure out what their answer will be. Sometimes it's a little obvious. (Really, no one imagined that the Foundation guys would take charge of that big-ass spaceship? Nobody thought of that? And anyway, how did Seldon predict that they would randomly find a huge dereli...more

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Mar 17, 2009 Jesse rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I love me some scifi, I really do. When I had cable and the SciFi channel was playing some horrible self-produced drivel staring B actors and a giant rubber half-human, half-hammerhead shark, you better believe I watched the whole thing through.

And that is sort of how I felt about Foundation. Firstly, I'm just really disappointed that this was the "foundation" of such better works, namely Dune (which definitely started here, but added much more research and careful universe planning and you know...more

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Apr 21, 2011 Jihad rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 52-books, scifi

I have been waiting to read Foundation for a long time. Before it I've only read a number of short stories by Asimov.

I'd say I'm fairly new to scifi. I've been reading it for only about 3 years, and I'm still catching up with the classics. What gripped me the most so far are large stories with massive universes (a la Dune and Hyperion). I wasn't lucky to find much of those recently, so boy did I start reading Foundation in the right time.

It's a lot shorter than I thought it would be (the audio v...more

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May 28, 2010 Architeuthis rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1950s, fiction-that-speculates

It really is high time I review this sucker, even though I'm not sure how I'm going to do it. Even Hari Seldon doesn't know how I'm going to do it, but that's because individuals are hard to predict. He could tell you fer sure what's going to happen in 2012, though: whether or not we can expect Xenu's return, whether or not the Tea Party is going to win and realize they don't have a bloody clue how to lower taxes, whether or not the final battle between vampires and werewolves will happen, whate...more
It really is high time I review this sucker, even though I'm not sure how I'm going to do it. Even Hari Seldon doesn't know how I'm going to do it, but that's because individuals are hard to predict. He could tell you fer sure what's going to happen in 2012, though: whether or not we can expect Xenu's return, whether or not the Tea Party is going to win and realize they don't have a bloody clue how to lower taxes, whether or not the final battle between vampires and werewolves will happen, whatever: Hari Seldon could tell you, because that's the magnitude of shit he can predict using his methods of psychohistory.

This is the beginning of an epic story about the Foundation, an organization preserving information as the galactic empire around them collapses and begins the gradual process of rebuilding itself. Seldon knew this collapse was inevitable, but he also knew it was possible to shorten this inevitable Dark Age, and his plan is to make this Dark Age a mere thousand years instead of a really really long time.

But Hari Seldon is too badass to JUST shorten the Dark Age: he's also going to test the members of the Foundation by putting them in horrible political situations where there's really only one solution (other than the Foundation failing). He predicts precisely when these events that he has constructed will happen, and it is the job of the Foundation to overcome these obstacles and preserve all the scientific knowledge for the rebirth of the galactic empire.

All in all, this was an enjoyable and quick read. In my opinion, it lacked momentum because it was a sequence of chronological short stories which weren't in an order that really helped to build tension. In fact, I was talking to a friend about the book a couple days ago and couldn't even remember what happened in the last story, even though several of the middle stories were very cool and memorable.

Having heard this is the BEST SF SERIES EVAH, I'm slightly underwhelmed; but any series would probably be underwhelming if you went into it expecting that. The basic idea here is pretty cool, and reminded me in a lot of good ways of A Canticle For Liebowitz...if I were capable of successfully creating a link, I'd make one for that review. But when it comes to technology, I'm differently abled.

I love the broad scope and the sweeping epicness of this, and the way events from the previous stories become history just a few pages later. It's very fun, and I'm definitely planning on reading the whole trilogy. But does anyone else think it's totally confusing that Second Foundation is book 3?(less)

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Jul 09, 2011 Jonathan Cullen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Foundation. The name is apt.

Isaac Asimov's sprawling scifi tale is the rock on which much of today's space opera is built. Truer scifi historians than me would cite the late 1920s and pulp magazines such as Amazing Stories and E. E. "Doc" Smith as the DNA donors that spawned a thousand space operas. They would be right, but Asimov's fame towers above all others. His 1952 story of the decline and fall of the Galactic Empire is space opera's... foundation.

Unfortunately, the analogy continues. Fou...more Foundation. The name is apt.

Isaac Asimov's sprawling scifi tale is the rock on which much of today's space opera is built. Truer scifi historians than me would cite the late 1920s and pulp magazines such as Amazing Stories and E. E. "Doc" Smith as the DNA donors that spawned a thousand space operas. They would be right, but Asimov's fame towers above all others. His 1952 story of the decline and fall of the Galactic Empire is space opera's... foundation.

Unfortunately, the analogy continues. Foundation has all the elements of poor writing that makes stuffy literary aristocrats stick their noses up at the genre. And rightfully so. Flat characters, a lack of economical yet creative prose, and endless dialogue are the genre's Achilles heel, and not in a cool Ilium way.

This rant covers only Foundation itself. Despite owning an old edition which includes the entire original trilogy, I only managed to slog through the first book. Barely.

The first chapter with Hari Seldon and a death-or-exile-decision was promising. But the plot device that makes the story potentially interesting also pulls it apart like the gravity of a gas giant. Foundation spans decades and with each shift into a new era, you're introduced to new characters. You learn almost nothing about them and in some scenes the dialogue is so pervasive, violating the hallowed "show-don't-tell" rule so thouroughly, I was actually unsure where these people were.

One of my favorite parts of reading science fiction is being exposed to the new ideas of smart visionary authors. Good scifi ends up being right, cool or both. I obviously try to give anything as old as Foundation more of a pass on this front but I really didn't find any of its concepts mind-bending, or even mind-tickling. Psychohistory, as I understood it, was alright. I guess. Statistics.

Dated elements abruptly eject the reader from the ever so important suspension of disbelief. For days I couldn't shake the scene where two characters shared a bunch of "snuff". I thought, is it reasonable that humans are still using tobacco products 12,000 years in the future?? And snuff?? Atomic energy is the big technology in the Foundation universe. That's like, fascinating, and stuff.

Immediately after I "finished" Foundation, I picked up Scott Westerfeld's The Risen Empire. A quote on the cover claimed "In the tradition of Asimov". Uh oh. But wait. Intellegent turns of phrase? Break-neck action? Verisimilitude in the progression of civilizations? Technology that drives the plot, is extremely inventive and is extrapolated from today's knowledge base? Well-thought out characters whose behaviour makes sense but is not cardboard predictable? Other wicked-cool oddities like undead royal families? No snuff? Yes, I'm in the safe and familiar bio-tech embrace of a trusted friend: New Space Opera.

Stories like Foundation are the reason why we even needed a New Space Opera in the first place. Unlike the misadventure of New Coke, this was a significant improvement on the original. The authors of this reinvigorated genre like Banks, Hamilton and Westerfeld (with all due respect to Stephen Baxter and his physics lectures some call novels) focus on quality writing, character development and social commentary. Oh and scientific accuracy verging on "whooooa there". A few, like Dan Simmons' georgeous Hyperion, are masterworks in any genre.

All this poison being said, I can easily watch old GI Joe and He-Man cartoons and marvel at their sheer genius while a 10-year old today would brand me an idiot. Nostalgia is a shiny prism through which we all view our past. If I had not first read Foundation in my thirties but instead in my teens this review would like be entitled "Asimov is like chewing on expensive snuff!". But alas I am stuck with current me.

This review also marks several times now that I give poor grades to scifi written prior to 1980. I'm a linear person: old before new, read things in order, cake before coffee, no spoilers please. So I've attempted to read Asimov, Niven, Pohl and I have to say: meh. I now vow brown cow to not feel guilty by skipping the basement of my favorite genre and instead enjoy the first floor, second floor, jacuzzi, balcony and pool. I'll get to that basement. One day. When it's raining. Ooo look a squirrel!

Being a solid fan of New Space Opera, I must give proper respect to works upon whose shoulders it stands. I do so. But as with many of you, I have more books on my to-read list than I can tackle in a lifetime. I must prune and trim aggressively and I'm afraid the rest of the Foundation series is likely to end up on the greenhouse floor. Hopefully before I'm dust a clever New Space Opera idea about extending human life expectancy will give me more time to explore books about advanced civilizations prone to cancer of the mouth due to snuff addictions. Until then, I give thanks to the Old and say bring on the New.(less)

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Aug 22, 2008 Alison Looney rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoy reading science fiction, and even seek it out when I'm ready for a break from well-written books in which nothing really happens. As with all sci-fi, there were some great ideas in this book, psychohistory chief among them. Much like psychology predicts behavior, psychohistory predicts large, sweeping patterns through time. The book then explores influence, power, and control within the frame of psychohistory. Some interesting questions and themes come along - does the individual matter...more

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Aug 20, 2008 Jamie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Isaac Asimov's Foundation series is often cited amongst the nerdegalian as the best sci-fi series evar. It's set, as you may guess, far into the future where a man discovers that Rome ...uh, I mean The Galactic Empire is fated to collapse and bring about 30,000 years of barbarism unless certain actions are taken to start a long chain of events, the first of which is to create a kind of galactic Wikipedia. I'm not normally a fan of hard science fiction, and reading this trilogy kind of reminds me...more

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Sep 14, 2008 Inder rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Rebecita

Recommended to Inder by: Dad, Krishna, Harpal

Shelves: 1001-books, science, 20th-century, fiction, read-2008

This novel takes place in the far distant future, when humans have settled the whole galaxy. The origins of humanity, on the legendary "Earth," have been all but forgotten. The Galactic Empire is dying, and a small colony of scientists (the "Foundation") are struggling to survive the subsequent dark ages.

First, the bad news: The book is, in some respects, very dated. In this distant future, women all but do not exist. Asimov could imagine a radically changed society, but apparently not in this o...more This novel takes place in the far distant future, when humans have settled the whole galaxy. The origins of humanity, on the legendary "Earth," have been all but forgotten. The Galactic Empire is dying, and a small colony of scientists (the "Foundation") are struggling to survive the subsequent dark ages.

First, the bad news: The book is, in some respects, very dated. In this distant future, women all but do not exist. Asimov could imagine a radically changed society, but apparently not in this one respect. There is one female character in the entire book, a nagging wife, who gets less than a page of dialogue. Because of this, I could never entirely forget the 1951 publishing date. Apparently, in 1951, the possibility that women might participate in scholarship, science, politics, and business seemed more remote and unlikely than the accurate prediction of history through the mathematical science of "psychohistory."

The truth is officially stranger than fiction.

(Foundation is further evidence that midcentury 20th century culture was markedly more sexist than the previous Victorian era, when women were at least acknowledged to have interesting personalities worth writing about.)

That aside, this is clever, fun, appropriately scary sci-fi, and I recommend it. The history of Foundation eerily echoes European medieval history - the fall of Empire, followed by dark ages, the rule of religion and superstition, the advent of early capitalism, making this a strikingly intelligent read. But again, this book is a product of its time, as can be seen by Asimov's derisive dismissal of religion and borderline-worship of science and free trade - or maybe that's just sci-fi. But the fact that it is clearly an ideological child of its time does not make the book less interesting - rather, it makes it more so.

I second other reviewers who note that this is not exactly an emotionally-engaging read. The generational parade of clever male politicians are not exactly relatable. But as a plot/idea based novel, Foundation is good fun and well worth a read.(less)

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Oct 25, 2007 Donovan rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: history and science students

I enjoyed the first book because its theories were new and intriguing. The second book just waded about, repeating itself, with a mutant variable thrown in. I liked the third book because it felt like something actually happened. It’s as if the first book is the word problem, the second book is the solving of it, and the third is the answer. I wonder if he intended this to be a trilogy when he started or the long series that it became. Asimov didn’t ever really write a novel with any of it. It’s...more I enjoyed the first book because its theories were new and intriguing. The second book just waded about, repeating itself, with a mutant variable thrown in. I liked the third book because it felt like something actually happened. It’s as if the first book is the word problem, the second book is the solving of it, and the third is the answer. I wonder if he intended this to be a trilogy when he started or the long series that it became. Asimov didn’t ever really write a novel with any of it. It’s all a collection of novellas and short stories. It feels like he more wanted a vehicle for his brilliant idea of psychohistory and his analogy of large populations of people behaving like the particles in quantum mechanics; he found it in writing.

His analogy is a very good one. When the Second Foundationer says, “The laws of Psychohistory are statistical in nature and are rendered invalid if the actions of individual men are not random in nature. If a sizable group of human beings learned of key details of the Plan, their actions would no longer be random in the meaning of the axioms of Psychohistory,” [pg.127] all I could think about was how subatomic particles behave differently when they are being observed, the whole Schrödinger's cat thing.

As for being deserving of its role as a “Top 50” trilogy, I will cast my vote to yes. I recently had a discussion/argument with my friend Tasneem over our influences as adolescents. She claimed Dune to be of a larger impact than the Star Wars trilogy. While I disagree, I also have to say that I didn’t ever read Dune which I am currently remedying. My point is that I see the influence of the Foundation trilogy in Star Wars. City/Capital planets mechanized and built up until no bare earth remains, planets consisting of one ecology or one resource, hyperspace travel, the Empire, etc. Even the mental powers of the Second Foundationers can be seen as a stepping off point for the Force. It felt like reading the skeleton for the universe Star Wars was built upon; so in my book that marks it as being very significant and I am content with it’s placement despite my personal disinterest in the middle section of the trilogy.

Also, I noticed in book 1 that there were no women characters. There was a secretary once mentioned offhand and then that jewelry-hoarder at the end. My theory would be that, despite attempting to look to the future, Mr. Asimov assimilated his contemporary culture into the wilds of space. I've still only read the first book; so it's hard to know if this is a theme throughout.

I'd say it's on the list because it was, I assume, one of the first books to propose intergallactic colonization and deal with the socioeconomics there of. (less)

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Jul 28, 2007 Doc Opp rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of the great books of science fiction. Brilliant plot, great characters, and one of the most memorable quotes of all sci-fi: "violence is the last refuge of the incompetent". The first section reads slowly, but its worth sticking with it because the book as a whole is spectacular.

SPOILER ALERT - THE FOLLOWING IS A TRUE STORY, BUT CONTAINS ELEMENTS OF THE BOOKS THAT YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE ENTIRE SERIES (AND ARE PLANNING TO) STOP READING NOW.

I'm a psychologi...more

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May 22, 2013 John rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reread

What an old pile of Wombat's dos! A truly awfully written book, with no big ideas but rather a medium-sized idea exploited to the max. Today, It's hard to believe that humans will become so populous in the galaxy that they will lose track of their origins, let alone make possible by their sheer numbers what Asimov calls "Psychohistory", the science of predicting future human history through probabilites.

But particularly hard to take is the fact that in all these billions and billions of people...more

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Nov 07, 2008 Bill Purdy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: New sci-fi fans who want to better appreciate the Masters

I downloaded the original Foundation trilogy nearly 30 (!) years after reading them the first time -- and (probably because I was in 7th grade at the time) not really "getting" them. I was certain my intervening maturity would reveal a more nuanced and, frankly epic read than the one I remembered from childhood.

Sadly, the first one's still a bit boring, taking place mostly as a series of deep, philosophical conversations between characters with odd names and impeccably described facial hair (and...more

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Jan 11, 2009 Gary rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Gary by: manny rayner

Shelves: science-fiction, 20-fiction-titles-in-09

Couldn't believe all that smoking in the future.

Totally inconsequential but this book and the previous one that I read, The Driver's Seat, both make mention in their opening pages of unstainable fabrics.

In Driver's Seat it gives us the first sign that Lise is a bit odd. In Foundation of course it's just part of the future.

A man in glaring blue-and-yellow uniform, shining and new in unstainable plasto-textile, reached for his two bags.

Part of the future but realised by the 1970s (maybe not plasto...more

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Jan 05, 2010 The W rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

W Rating: B-

Foundation is an old school style book with five or so episodic looks at the future of this millennium of barbarism that is to follow the eventual collapse of the empire. (That's a sentence!)While the book is brief and quick to the point and essentially short stories squeezed together, they flow well and the characters have merit.

I think that I have read too much history and cultural/societal development books to have this be a very novel idea. It was good, and I am ready to read the...more

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Apr 15, 2011 Chinook rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1-kindle

I really, really liked it. I don't know why that surprised me so much, but I did. I am now disappointed that there aren't any used copies of the rest of the series around, so I'm going to be forced to buy them new. I'm glad that Tim started me in the direction of the classic sci-fi, because it's been the perfect escapism lately.

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Jul 17, 2012 Louella Mahabir rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's amazing how you can programme half of a civilization into doing exactly what you want because there are only so many outcomes and natural reactions that people may choose according to upbringing and idiosyncrasies. This is only book one of how Seldon uses pyschohistory and his legacy lives on and on toward the rebuilding of the empire. It makes you wonder how everyone would have fared without the interference of people who have looked and planned ahead and anticipated many actions, feelings...more

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Jul 25, 2008 Scurra rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

The original Foundation trilogy or, rather, sequence, since it's actually a set of short stories/novellas rather than actual books, is frequently cited in lists of "great SF".
It fully deserves its place. Although none of the stories in themselves are out-and-out classics, the cumulative effect is utterly amazing, recounting an almost-plausible massive future history all hung on the genius concept of "psychohistory", which is used as the theoretical filter through which the individual stories pla...more

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Apr 03, 2009 Kevin Slater rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For those wanting to start science fiction, or hoping to learn what it's about: Foundation. The start of Asimov's epic series and so far the best science fiction series I've read. It gets overhyped by many readers, it's not Lord of the Rings epic but I've yet to find something in Science Fiction that is. Asimov admitted that it's his own science fiction retelling of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Gibbon it suffers most from Asimov's hyper technicality though the overa...more

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Mar 16, 2009 Dom rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Constitué de dialogues ayant trait à la stratégie pour la plupart, ce livre relate l'histoire de la Fondation, de sa création par Hari Seldon à l'ère des Princes Marchands, près d'un siècle plus tard. Le concept-clé de ce roman est celui de psychohistoire, science permettant, via des calculs de probabilités, de prédire le cours de l'histoire. Le contexte historique est houleux : l'Empire Galactique est sur le point de tomber. La psychohistoire prédit une période de barbarie d'une durée de 30.000...more

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Mar 04, 2009 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction-fantasy

I have always been a fan of science fiction, especially so called "hard" science fiction (stories based around the "big idea," or cutting edge science and astronomy, or speculation about future events; rather than just fantasy writing which happens to involve space ships and blaster rifles), but I have never been a huge fan of Isaac Asimov (sacrilege, I know) and I have never read his seminal work the Foundation Trilogy. However there is a time for everything, and the time for this is now...

Asim...more

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Aug 22, 2007 Todd rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I tried to like Asimov and his robots. Really, I did. My friend, who is usually spot-on with his recommendations, would rave and rave about Asimov, this series included. But these stories are so focused on plot, plot, plot, with no effort left over for milieu, character development, or anything else, that I quickly tired of his stories. Each scene plays out more like a math problem than an actual chapter of a story. It's a shame that Asimov is the so-called "grand master" of science fiction.

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May 09, 2013 Ob-jonny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Foundation series is a must read for science fiction fans. It has totally unique plots and ideas and it seems kind of believable considering how far it is set in the future. The protagonist characters are so smart and it is amazing what they are able to figure out given the same evidence that is shared with the reader. Each subplot in Foundation is its own mystery and it is a challenge to try to figure out what is going on. But inevitably the characters will outsmart you but the outcomes are...more

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Sci-fi and Heroic...: Foundation	65	91	Apr 17, 2013 07:10am
The Spoiler Show ...: March's Book: FOUNDATION	10	8	Mar 26, 2013 11:28pm
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I think I was reading this book but...	64	706	Feb 04, 2013 11:40pm
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The Sword and Laser: Hari Seldon vs. Nate Silver	3	116	Nov 08, 2012 12:29pm

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About Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov was a Russian-born, American author, a professor of biochemistry, and a highly successful writer, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books.

Professor Asimov is generally considered the most prolific writer of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. He has works published in nine of the te...more Isaac Asimov was a Russian-born, American author, a professor of biochemistry, and a highly successful writer, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books.

Professor Asimov is generally considered the most prolific writer of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. He has works published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System (lacking only an entry in the 100s category of Philosophy).

Asimov is widely considered a master of the science-fiction genre and, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, was considered one of the "Big Three" science-fiction writers during his lifetime. Asimov's most famous work is the Foundation Series; his other major series are the Galactic Empire series and the Robot series, both of which he later tied into the same fictional universe as the Foundation Series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those pioneered by Robert A. Heinlein and previously produced by Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson. He penned numerous short stories, among them "Nightfall", which in 1964 was voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America the best short science fiction story of all time, a title many still honor. He also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as a great amount of nonfiction. Asimov wrote the Lucky Starr series of juvenile science-fiction novels using the pen name Paul French.

Most of Asimov's popularized science books explain scientific concepts in a historical way, going as far back as possible to a time when the science in question was at its simplest stage. He often provides nationalities, birth dates, and death dates for the scientists he mentions, as well as etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Examples include his Guide to Science, the three volume set Understanding Physics, and Asimov's Chronology of Science and Discovery.

Asimov was a long-time member and Vice President of Mensa International, albeit reluctantly; he described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs" He took more joy in being president of the American Humanist Association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, a Brooklyn, NY elementary school, and two different Isaac Asimov Awards are named in his honor.

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Isaac Asimov. (2007, November 29). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:50, November 29, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?t...(less)

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