Helpful Score: 2
This s the first book in my favorite science fiction series of all time. Asimov has a beautiful vision and a perfectly crafted world. This book is short on dialogue but it tells it's story beautifully. A must-read for any sci-fi fan. 5 out of 5!!
Helpful Score: 1
The book that first opened my eyes to "hard" science fiction and made me realize there was more to the genre than blasters and spaceships. Dr. Asimov's concept of psychohistory has been so influential that there have been attempts to develop theories along those lines in real life. This is also (of course) the source of the famous quote from Salvor Hardin: Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
Helpful Score: 1
A classic! I was hooked on this series (this is the first in the Foundation series) as well as the Robot series. Yes, it's a bit dated for us modern readers, but I just love Asimov's writing style: the creativity, the character development, the politics. One of the best!
The fiercely ambitious premise of the Foundation series is of a repository of knowledge set up as a candle in the dark, against the chaos pressing in on the crumbling edges of the imploding Galactic Empire.
Brilliant social scientist Hari Seldon has realized that the vast, ancient Empire which seemed "too big to fail" (as we might say) should actually be measuring its remaining lifespan on the scale of decades. The aftermath of this collapse will surely be the regression of humanity into barbarism for tens of centuries before civilization can hope to regroup. That is, unless a visionary were to try to establish a last bastion of science, to safeguard human knowledge for the purposes of rebuilding as soon as the dust has settled from the Empire's collapse.
Yet as the protection of the dwindling Empire is gradually withdrawn from Foundation, how will this small community of peace-loving scientists manage to hold off the ring of savage petty kingdoms that lust after the prospect of looting this desperate outpost of human knowledge?
The second half of the book is broken into a series of connected short stories describing activities of the different groups involved in Foundation's struggle for survival. One after another, they must confront a series of desperate crises with only their own ingenuity and the wisdom of the long-dead Hari Seldon to guide them.
Brilliant social scientist Hari Seldon has realized that the vast, ancient Empire which seemed "too big to fail" (as we might say) should actually be measuring its remaining lifespan on the scale of decades. The aftermath of this collapse will surely be the regression of humanity into barbarism for tens of centuries before civilization can hope to regroup. That is, unless a visionary were to try to establish a last bastion of science, to safeguard human knowledge for the purposes of rebuilding as soon as the dust has settled from the Empire's collapse.
Yet as the protection of the dwindling Empire is gradually withdrawn from Foundation, how will this small community of peace-loving scientists manage to hold off the ring of savage petty kingdoms that lust after the prospect of looting this desperate outpost of human knowledge?
The second half of the book is broken into a series of connected short stories describing activities of the different groups involved in Foundation's struggle for survival. One after another, they must confront a series of desperate crises with only their own ingenuity and the wisdom of the long-dead Hari Seldon to guide them.
Hooked me on the journey, I have now read all of the trilogy and a few of the other offshoots. A great way to spend a few hours.
One of the classics of the genre by one of it's most brilliant authors.
Book 1 of the Foundation Series. Isaac Asimov's Best novel length set of works.
This classic work of science fiction should be read by anyone interested in learning more about the origins of the genre. Although the book does show its age in places, the story is still compelling and ultimately very readable.
THE first classic sci-fi novel in Asimov's Foundation series.
Read the Foundation Series!!!! This is the first book (or is it)
Read the summary off the back cover--that covers it all.
For twelve thousand years, the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. Only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future- 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 and scholars- and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the Galaxy to serve as a beacon for future generations.
Great classic SF
The first of three in this Hugo Award-winning All-time Best SF Series. Truly deserving of all its praises through the years. The modern re-beginning of science fiction. The creation of Psychohistory. One of the Five Star books.
