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Foundation (Foundation Novels) | 
 enlarge | Author: Isaac Asimov
Publisher: Spectra
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy Used: $0.75
You Save: $7.24 (91%)
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Rating:  333 reviews
Sales Rank: 6789
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Edition: Revised
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 0553293354
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780553293357
ASIN: 0553293354
Publication Date: October 1, 1991
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Condition: EX-LIBRARY; used item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned for refund. Buy with confidence - your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics!
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Amazon.com
Foundation marks the first of a series of tales set so far in the future that Earth is all but forgotten by humans who live throughout the galaxy. Yet all is not well with the Galactic Empire. Its vast size is crippling to it. In particular, the administrative planet, honeycombed and tunneled with offices and staff, is vulnerable to attack or breakdown. The only person willing to confront this imminent catastrophe is Hari Seldon, a psychohistorian and mathematician. Seldon can scientifically predict the future, and it doesn't look pretty: a new Dark Age is scheduled to send humanity into barbarism in 500 years. He concocts a scheme to save the knowledge of the race in an Encyclopedia Galactica. But this project will take generations to complete, and who will take up the torch after him? The first Foundation trilogy (Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation) won a Hugo Award in 1965 for "Best All-Time Series." It's science fiction on the grand scale; one of the classics of the field. --Brooks Peck
Product Description
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 and scholars--and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the Galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for a fututre generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation.
But soon the fledgling Foundation finds itself at the mercy of corrupt warlords rising in the wake of the receding Empire. Mankind's last best hope is faced with an agonizing choice: submit to the barbarians and be overrun--or fight them and be destroyed.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 328 more reviews...
 A succinct, enjoyably light read June 21, 2008
Brian Hawkinson (San Jose, CA)
I came into this one never having read anything by Asimov, even though I had heard and saw his influence so heavily on science fiction. I picked up the first one I found and it happened to be this one, so why not give it a go?
I was intrigued right from the beginning, drawn into the story easily. Asimov's style of writing is fluid and engaging, easily allowing the reader to picture and understand everything. In addition the plot came together nicely and, in a simplistic complexity (oxymoron?), you were able to see the growth of the Foundation from a fledgling world to... well I won't reveal anything, suffice it to say the natural progression that Asimov portrayed fit together very nicely.
My only complaints with Asimov, though, was that it did come together to nice and neat, never really engaging the reader to the extent of wondering, thinking, feeling and diving into the story. Instead you are almost lead from A to B to C without any guessing and wondering, without any involvement, with everything almost being a foregone conclusion. Add to this his style of writing is a bit simplistic, in that there isn't anything too complex, which isn't altogether bad because he backs it up with a fluid and believable plot that is more than enough to add credence to the story. In fact we've seen this in fantasy as well as David Eddings wrote simplistically but backed it up with a story that was enjoyable to read.
I will definitely read Asimov again, especially the rest of the series, if only to what Asimov would do, being a pioneer of the genre. I would certainly recommend Asimov to anyone looking to start reading science fiction and/or a light, quick read. A recommend.
3.75 stars.
 Epic June 19, 2008
! Texas Swede (A Quark Star far far away)
29 out of 46 found this review helpful
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.
Best Book by Asimov (fiction) June 18, 2008
Jeremy Gallagher (California, USA)
I have read almost all of Asimov's fiction, and this book is by far one of the best. I would recommend it to anyone interested!
Boom, Done.
-Jeremy Paul Gallagher
True Classic June 11, 2008
Mark Scheck (CT)
I first read this in the early 80's when I was a teen, and I was blown away by the economic theory. I just reread it, great short story's. The story of the galactic empire is very interesting.
ASIMOV PROBABLY DREAMED OF THE KINDLE May 3, 2008
M. Burgos (Brooklyn, NY)
Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" was my favorite book in high school. I read the other 2 books afterwards, "Foundation and Empire" and "Second Foundation" right after, and by then Asimov finally finished what he started so long ago by writing new books to the Foundation saga, more Robot novels, and prequels. I am re-reading Foundation right now, only this time on my Kindle. It's just as good now as it was 20+ years ago. Asimov's novels remind me of Star Trek because the stories could probably fit in any time or place, including right now. My only issue is that Asimov is deceased for a number of years now. Other writers have tried to take on the challenge of continuing his stories but no one tells a story like Asimov!
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