One more trip outside my usual reading waters. Science fiction. Foundation makes me remember why I loved science fiction when I was in my late teens and early twenties. The whole world is tilted and new ways of thinking and doing things become possible. All our world leaders need to read science fiction, with its ominous ventures into possible futures. Foundation is the story of a world set up solely as place to compile an enormous encyclopedia, an effort for the ages. But as the story moves forward rapidly in time, we readers come to see that the world has been set up for many other, secret purposes, purposes designed to save the thinking peoples from an eternity in a dark age. ( )

Eight out of ten.The Galactic Empire had lasted for 12,000 years and ruled over a million planets. But now it was dying. It's death would be followed by 30,000 years of brutal barbarism and savage warfare.To preserve knowledge, the Encyclopedia Foundation was created and staffed it with the best scholars and scientists of the Empire. As the Empire fell the Foundation was left isolated and unprotected yet remained the only hope of mankind.The Foundation knew itself as the only hope of mankind. But what could it do, alone and helpless, against the greed of the warlords who were reaching out to conquer and destroy it. ( )

My preview stands for all the associated Foundation novels as well as the Robot series, etc.
Asimov's writing just plods along but his ability to entwine this story over time with other associated novels and series is astounding. He obviously doesn't put emphasis upon the importance of a paragraph, let alone a chapter - he aims for the big picture and if you keep that in mind, you'll reap the reward that Asimov offers. I think Asimov blends Religion and Science in a far more constructive way than what Scientology is offering, which isn't easy as its just like trying to blend Medical with Military or Cooking with Conservation. Hence why Asimov sums up the Golden Age of Sci-Fi, let alone still the leading Sci-Fi writer to date. If you want to get into Sci-Fi, then this is the book to start with and please try to borrow it from a Library... somewhere at the end of the Galaxy.
PS: America is endorsing 'Nuclear Power' as the new common energy source. Australia I'm sure, will oust the oily Shieks, with its vast Uranium resources. I wonder where they got the idea for that? ( )

Foundation is a quality science fiction novel. Is it the best the genre has to offer? With all due respect to Mr. Asimov, no. Asimov was writing science fiction at a much higher level than many of his contemporaries. But he is not the pedestal of science fiction others have claimed. That said, read Foundation. It is solid sci-fi and a great story inspired by the history of Rome. ( )

I was surprised with how much I enjoyed this book. Despite Asimov's simplistic style of writing (you won't find any flowery language here) he managed to write a book with an interesting plot and engaging ideas. This book was the first written in his "Foundation" series, and tells of the establishment of Foundation (a group of scholars/scientists attempting to preserve human knowledge after the inevitable collapse of the empire). The idea presented in this book which I found most interesting was the idea that science itself can be a religion (because it is so true...). Be warned, however, that this book is a product of its time. For example, there is almost no female presence in the novel. When it was published, science fiction was a genre dominated by white, privileged males, and the lack of female voice reflects that reality. However, taken for what it is, this novel really deserves much of the praise it receives - recommended. ( )