About this title: The first volume of the "Foundation" series is essentially a reworking of the fall of the Roman Empire written as a vast, all-encompassing science fiction opera. It is such a well-conceived and elaborate a social and political autopsy that, even after Asimov's death in 1992, books set inside the Foundation universe continue to be written.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1983
ISBN-13:9780345308993ISBN:0345308999
Description: Fair. No Jacket. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. The book is very solid with lightly browned pages. The cover is aging with moderate shelf & edge wear. A 5/8 inch X 1 1/4 inch piece is missing from the upper back corner. The upper corner of the pages is damaged. There is a 3/8 inch tear at the lower front corner of the spine. The spine has a few creases. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Date Published: 1984
ISBN-13:9780345317988ISBN:034531798X
Description: Fair. No dust jacket as issued. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. Foundation Novels (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Date Published: 1983
ISBN-13:9780345308993ISBN:0345308999
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. Foundation Novels (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. Very Good Copy with some shelf wear. Still in excellent condition for its age! Tight Binding! ! ! ! Speedy Shipping! ! ! ! read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Spectra
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780553293357ISBN:0553293354
Description: Acceptable. Overall below average used book. May have highlighting, underlining, notes, price sticker on cover, or be an ex-library book. read more
Description: Used-Good. Cover shows wear. slight rubbing damage to corners and edges. Cover shows some scuffing. Spine shows wear. This book contains one or more book store or library stamps. Good reading copy. We ship daily. read more
Description: Used-Good. Has typical library markings. Cover shows wear. Spine shows wear. Good reading copy. We ship daily. All books are boxed and ship via USPS with delivery confirmation. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: avon books
Date Published: 1966
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. fading, staining, puncture marks lt upper cover through to p 11, tight copy, age tanning pages. 200 p. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 1983
ISBN-13:9780345308993ISBN:0345308999
Description: Grade: C. Catalog: Science Fiction General Synopsis: Editions vary. 236 pages. For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire had ruled supreme. Now it was dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revo... read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Date Published: 1983
ISBN-13:9780345308993ISBN:0345308999
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. slight cover wear may have price &/or rem mark(s)on cover. ALL pages very good. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. Foundation Novels (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
"I'm re-reading Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy -- it's been a while. I will admit that it has a certain dated quality; however, it stands the test of time.
In Foundation, psychohistorian Hari Seldon has used advanced mathematics to predict the fall of the Galactic Empire and has set in motion a plan to shorten the interregnum from 30,000 years to a mere 1000. He establishes the "Foundation" ostensibly to compile an encyclopedia of the Galactic Empire -- but it's really there to move the "plan" forward. But nobody knows what the plan is and therein lies the story.
I love this book! I love how it jumps forward in time to right before each "Seldon Crisis" -- when a step in the plan is revealed to the current denizens of the Foundation. I love how everyone a bazillion years in the future smokes constantly. I love the sly, the oily, and the earnest characters who are so much like people from the 50s. I even love the lack of aliens or monsters. It's a very human future and a really great read."
"Somehow, this is the first Asimov I've ever read, and it was certainly worth the wait.
In this far-future science fiction, Asimov posits the notion of history as a battle between galaxy-wide social and economic forces, rather than attributable to individual action. The science of psycho-history, mastered by Hari Seldon, is basically an advanced form of statistics which can predict the movements of history as long as the populations involved are planet-sized. Therefore, while individual action is of course non deterministic, the actions and destiny of large groups is statistically preordained. Seldon uses the mathematically rigorous science of psychohistory to predict the end of the 11,000-year galactic empire, and to establish two Foundations that will nurse the spark of science during the age of barbarism to follow, reducing its duration from 30,000 years to a single 1,000.
In this first book of the series, we see the Foundation navigate a series of crises foreseen by Seldon but unknown to them. At each point, their action is restricuted, by the Seldon plan, to a single course. The book tells the story of several hundred years of galactic history as seen by the Foundation, so it's hardly surprising that the characters are none too deep. But the foundational (ha!) idea, the tension between historical destiny and individual action, is so compelling that it doesn't matter.
"The beginning of what is undoubtedly Asimov's greatest creation. Using a mathematical system of his own devising that allows sociological trends to be treated statistically, Hari Seldon predicts the fall of the Galactic Empire, and sets in motion a plan to erect a second and greater empire after millennium of turmoil. This novel (actually more of a series of short stories) chronicles the first couple hundred years of that millennium. Subtler by far than most science fiction, Foundation is a thoroughly original and clever work of art."
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