Author: Isaac Asimov Hardcover: 609 pages Publisher: Science Fiction Book Club Publication Date: 2004 ISBN: 0739444050 Package Length: 8.3 inches Package Width: 5.9 inches Package Height: 1.5 inches Package Weight: 1.55 pounds Average Customer Rating: ***** based on 7 reviews Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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47 of 52 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Isaac Asimov. The Foundation Trilogy. Everyman's Library.
Those three ingredients are truly all that is necessary in this review.
The contents of this volume and people's opinions concerning it are amply represented elsewhere and I will not labor unnecessarily over the Foundation trilogy. Many of us will call it a classic, some of us will not understand why others love it in quite the way that some of us do. The writing is crisp and sometimes sparse, frequently detailed, and always brimming with interesting ideas that not only make good science fiction subject matter, but are worth thinking about in our lives, our futures, and any abstract moments of free time we may have.
The introduction by Dirda is not overly long, but it does provide some interesting information and context for the author and stories. The Everyman's Library chronology is useful as ever and if you are building your own home library with Everyman's editions or have at least a few Everyman's editions kicking around you will be familiar with them. More importantly the typeface used and the layout of the text itself is, as usual, top notch. Nice even ink exposure throughout.
Finally, as with so many Everyman's editions this volume is case bound with cloth over the boards, has a half round spine, cream colored acid-free paper (that smells good), a ribbon, coordinated head and tail bands, and a sewn binding to ensure longevity.
If you are pining for the Foundation Trilogy, this is the edition to purchase it in. If you would like to read it again, this is the edition for you. If your copies lack quality, are dying an acid death due to the ravages of time, or are simply unimpressive, than this is the edition for you.
Those three ingredients are truly all that is necessary in this review.
The contents of this volume and people's opinions concerning it are amply represented elsewhere and I will not labor unnecessarily over the Foundation trilogy. Many of us will call it a classic, some of us will not understand why others love it in quite the way that some of us do. The writing is crisp and sometimes sparse, frequently detailed, and always brimming with interesting ideas that not only make good science fiction subject matter, but are worth thinking about in our lives, our futures, and any abstract moments of free time we may have.
The introduction by Dirda is not overly long, but it does provide some interesting information and context for the author and stories. The Everyman's Library chronology is useful as ever and if you are building your own home library with Everyman's editions or have at least a few Everyman's editions kicking around you will be familiar with them. More importantly the typeface used and the layout of the text itself is, as usual, top notch. Nice even ink exposure throughout.
Finally, as with so many Everyman's editions this volume is case bound with cloth over the boards, has a half round spine, cream colored acid-free paper (that smells good), a ribbon, coordinated head and tail bands, and a sewn binding to ensure longevity.
If you are pining for the Foundation Trilogy, this is the edition to purchase it in. If you would like to read it again, this is the edition for you. If your copies lack quality, are dying an acid death due to the ravages of time, or are simply unimpressive, than this is the edition for you.
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
There's no real way to do justice to this monumental work, one of the most influential ones on later science fiction.
Rather than overpraise it, I will note that the style is a bit dated, but not sufficient to detract from its present day enjoyment. Notable is the lack of physical action and the fact that you don't even notice this lack.
Actually, this isn't as much a group of three novels as it is seven shorter works. They lead through a crucial part of Galactic history starting with the beginning of the First Foundation, the first predicted crises, and then the unpredicted emergence of The Mule which appears to throw Hari Seldon's psychohistory off course, up to the search for a Second Foundation, spurred by the political intrigue and power struggle Asimov handles so well.
If you've never read these stories, and if you appreciate expertly written science-fiction, you do owe it to yourself to read these.
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Asimov's classic original trilogy comes to a close in this ambitious finale. Here Asimov has really gone over the top with political and intellectual intrigue, which propels the two main plot elements. As with the two previous Foundation novels, there are actually two shorter stories here that take place decades apart. In this installment Hari Seldon's plan gets back on track after being disrupted by the mutant known as the Mule, with the mythical Second Foundation starting to peek out from behind the scenes. Who works for whom, who's a traitor or not, and whether or not the Second Foundation even really exists are all intricately played out by a series of intelligent and conspiratorial characters in relentlessly tangled webs of intrigue. In fact, this book has the most well-defined characters yet to appear in the Foundation series, especially the young Arcadia. The original Foundation saga is wrapped up nicely here as the original trilogy comes to a close. Of course, Asimov's creation is so expansive that there was plenty of room for more speculation and development of the story, leading to the prequels and sequels that Asimov continued to crank out for this classic series.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By Bart Leahy
Format:Hardcover
Foundation owes its genesis to young Asimov reading Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. As the author explains, he started thinking, what would happen if he described the fall of a GALACTIC Empire? Armed with a "science" of history known as psychohistory, Asimov and his editor John W. Campbell set about trying to describe the fall and rebirth of that mythic Empire. While the trilogy (and even the subsequent sequels) did not finish the 1,000-year cycle, enough was described to bring about some rather intriguing fiction.
Asimov, of course, is fond of puzzles involving logic. While logic is rather hazy regarding human behavior (the "Laws of Psychohistory" are deliberately kept off-stage), the characters are nevertheless able to make guesses that fall within the expectations of said logic.
The prime element in the resurrection of the Empire is, of course, Hari Seldon, the greatest psychohistorian in history. Seeing through his equations that the galaxy is about to fall into ruin, Seldon strives to create a "Foundation" which will preserve the wisdom of the old empire when the collapse comes. This Foundation will ensure that, instead of thousands of years of barbarism following the collapse, only 1,000 years will ensue. The Foundation begins harmlessly enough, as a scientific organization, designed to write the "Encyclopedia Galactica," a repository for all the galaxy's knowledge. However, as the Empire falls and the scientists of the Foundation are isolated by the barbarism on the galactic periphery (in a series of "Seldon Crises"), it becomes much more. That is the basic context of the first book in the series.
Seldon also creates a "Second Foundation.
... Read more ›Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
good book
I like the book...very intelligently written for science fictions. It has alot of economic and history and you definitely enjoys the psychological aspects of the book.
Published 10 days ago by Hason Vu
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not perfect, but very good.
The first half of this novel involved the Mule's search for the Second Foundation. That was excellent - the mystery and tension of the search was very fun to read. Read more
Published 10 days ago by Normal Guy
4.0 out of 5 stars
Azimov
One of my first reading adventures...This is like reading the best of all novels again and again..only DUNE is an equal.
Published 10 days ago by Lloyd Haugh
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful hardcover
This thing is great. As well as the beautiful outer cover, the story involved in the foundation tril is without a doubt a ver near shadow of our future.
Published 12 days ago by Samuel Urrutia
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't forget there is actualy 5-6 books to the whole story!
I like getting hardback Trillogy copies of the stories I love and hope to hand down to my children. This is one of them, but I forgot there are 5-6 books to really fully tell this... Read more
Published 15 days ago by Just Some Dad
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great read
If you like Asimov, you'll like this novel. There's not much more to say. It's a classic read that might just offer more than you go in expecting.
Published 17 days ago by Kyle
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great Read even after so many years
Read the book 50 years ago, and again a few weeks ago. It was a great story based on a solid science fiction idea. The writing is mediocre, but the book is great!
Published 23 days ago by rogsonl
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Story, Important message
If you think this is a science fiction book, think again. Asimov was an incredibly smart guy and this story applies to what is happening today worldwide and offers a cautionary... Read more
Published 23 days ago by Robert George
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting and Imaginative
This was one of the most interesting stories that I have read in a long time and my first Asimov novel. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Nicholas Rubenstein
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great completion to the trilogy
Loved the end. Felt like I was part of the Seldon plan while reading the series. Great twist to a series built on a predetermined destiny.
Published 1 month ago by John Alvah Coe
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