Foundation by Isaac Asimov (ISBN:0553293354)

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		Foundation
	
				(729 reviews)			
(45641 Readers)

			Isaac Asimov		
	
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. ...more
 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   less

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
The whole Foundation set endures as one of the great traditional science fiction works.  It's important to note differences here among character driven science fiction or action/plot driven science fiction and the sort of traditional science fiction one finds in Asimov and other writers of his era.  Yes, Asimov's characters are all generic whitebread, pocket-protector using, crew-cut...more
 The whole Foundation set endures as one of the great traditional science fiction works.  It's important to note differences here among character driven science fiction or action/plot driven science fiction and the sort of traditional science fiction one finds in Asimov and other writers of his era.  Yes, Asimov's characters are all generic whitebread, pocket-protector using, crew-cut wearing "guys" of the 1950s (no matter the era in which they are operating) who usually have the personalities of defunct toasters.  The real strength of the Foundation (along with Asimov's other fiction) is the focus on speculative ideas of the potential for socially and scientifically driven change.  If you can overlook many of the critical ideologies that dominate our contemporary approaches to understanding literature,  then you may find some merit in such classic works as Asimov's Foundation as artifacts of a unique subgenre of literature, with its own rules and expectations.   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
very  good

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							Cory
						
							few weeks ago						
Seriously? No robots?

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
I have long heard that the Foundation novels are THE science fiction series to read, but for some reason never got around to it until a long train ride across northern India this week. And now I'm a believer.

While some have called the Foundation books a sci-fi epic, I like that Asimov is able to establish relevant concepts and dilemmas for each section very quickly (unlike other "epic"...more
 I have long heard that the Foundation novels are THE science fiction series to read, but for some reason never got around to it until a long train ride across northern India this week. And now I'm a believer.

While some have called the Foundation books a sci-fi epic, I like that Asimov is able to establish relevant concepts and dilemmas for each section very quickly (unlike other "epic" fiction). Most writers are incapable of telling a coherent story with this kind of sparse precision; Asimov excels at it.   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Foundation was ok. I liked the story and basic ideas of the book but it was not very discriptive and whenever you got in tune with the setting and charactors, it changes to a future setting so the man you got to know is now old or dead. I like the storyline and the cleverness of the foundation but it is like you pass it on the highway (going the oposite direction)without getting a feel for it...more
 Foundation was ok. I liked the story and basic ideas of the book but it was not very discriptive and whenever you got in tune with the setting and charactors, it changes to a future setting so the man you got to know is now old or dead. I like the storyline and the cleverness of the foundation but it is like you pass it on the highway (going the oposite direction)without getting a feel for it like longer novels. Also this is not one story, it is a collection of short stories like IRobot that go in one direction. I know this is the foundation of mordern scifi and a legend by its own right and I admit the gagets and plots made are good,I dont think it can compare in entertainment value to other sci fi books such as Enders Game, The Hichhhikers Guide or Harry Turtledove's epics, call me spoiled. This is the first foundation book Ive read so this is only a reveiw for the first book.   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Rereading.  Finding it very good this time.  I don't remember a thing about it from when I first read it, about 19 years ago.

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							David
						
							few weeks ago						
Excellent 1 of 5, theory of sociohistory, not action packed enough for some! More tension.

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Interesting start, but drags a bit near the end.

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							Lisa
						
							few weeks ago						
This was the book that made me think I might be tired of science fiction.

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							Aparna Ram
						
							few weeks ago						
This is one truly brilliant book, and a truly timeless classic. Foundation is a definitive science fiction piece which doesn't have strange aliens with pointy ears and antennae sticking out of their heads - rather, it focuses on the timelessness of the human condition, and all the things that make up society - politics, religion, economics and science. The genius of Asimov lies not only in...more
 This is one truly brilliant book, and a truly timeless classic. Foundation is a definitive science fiction piece which doesn't have strange aliens with pointy ears and antennae sticking out of their heads - rather, it focuses on the timelessness of the human condition, and all the things that make up society - politics, religion, economics and science. The genius of Asimov lies not only in his thorough understanding of each of these aspects, but the ease and brilliance with which he takes all of them into outer space to give them some real scope. Will definitely leave you thirsting for the rest of the series.   hide

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