The third book in the original Foundation trilogy. Like the previous book, there are two parts, which are two separate stories. The first part is a continuation of where we left off in the previous book: the Mule is searching for the Second Foundation to complete his conquest of the galaxy. Because of the power of the Second Foundation, the Mule does not succeed - but unfortunately the Second Foundation had to reveal themselves to the First Foundation in order to do so. This brings us to the second part of the book: the Mule has passed on, and the Foundation is once again its own master. Because the Foundation knows of the Second's existence (and their superiority) they seek to destroy it. This part has a bit of a convoluted plot, but by the end, the Foundation is convinced that they have destroyed the Second Foundation (they haven't).

Upon finishing this book, I am convinced that Asimov (at least when he wrote these first three books) was a misogynist. In this book especially, women are almost always described as being interested in trivial things (like clothes, appearance) - women are trivial. At first it might seem that this is not entirely the case with Arcadia, since she often outsmarts the men in the story, and plays a major role in the "defeat" of the Second Foundation. However, by the end of the story, we find that she was mentally "adjusted" by the Second Foundation at birth to be intelligent - so basically, the only reason an intelligent woman exists is because a bunch of powerful men decided it should be so. Even Arcadia's grandmother, Bayta, is suggested to have been controlled to an extent by the Second Foundation. Women are never involved in official politics, are always interested in trivial things, and are sometimes useful to men. I'm sorry Asimov, I love you, but your a misogynist.

The first part of the book has some very interested discussions on mind control and emotional control. However, these themes were introduced in the previous book, so this serves more as an elaboration (at the risk of being overkill). Although it is a logical continuation of the Mule's story, and set's up the second part quite nicely.

Something that disturbed me about the Foundation in this book was how, at the end, they killed the supposed Second Foundationers in completely cold blood. I understand wanting to be in control of your own destiny, but mass murder is pretty extreme. The way in which the Second Foundation sacrificed these people was also a bit disturbing - killing 50 people for the sake of the Seldon plan? That's starting to sound like religious extremism to me. As for the Seldon Plan itself, this act complicates its role for the Foundation. If Seldon intended for the Second Foundation to be a part of the plan, doesn't this suggest that the Foundation have abandoned the plan? These complications are something I like about the Foundation - it's not exactly "good", in a heaven vs. hell kind of way, but we are still seeing everything from its perspective (they aren't exactly "bad" either). For me, this adds a sort of "reality" to the world Asimov is creating. Its interesting stuff.

Recommended. If you want to read this one, at least read "Foundation" and "Foundation and Empire" first. ( )

Asimov presents ideas that are astounding even today and presents his own thesis in some aspect of the story of humanity. This landmark work, along with other books of the series, is a must-read for science fiction fans, if only for the importance it had with the genre. And with this series, along with his other works, Isaac Asimov demonstrates why he is one of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century and one of its greatest writers, if just in terms of ideas, and not in style. His first Foundation trilogy is a true classic (more) ( )

The last in the original Foundation trilogy, this tells how the Mule tries to find the Second Foundation and then how the Second Foundation restores the Seldon Plan to its original course after the disruption caused by the Mule.

Both parts have lots of twists and turns in the plot and are a fun ride but the second part overshadows the first. I must admit, though, I do find the final answer given for the puzzle of the whereabouts of the Second Foundation unconvincing. ( )

Kind of disappointing. The first, shorter story (of two) is good. The second story has no likable characters; I wouldn't have guessed that characters are so important to this kind of science fiction, but they are. Also, by the time the second story starts, there's no side that you could call the good guys; I can't go into why without spoilers, so I'll just say that I don't think Asimov intended the audience to feel that way. ( )

Satisfying conclusion to a great trilogy. Nothing more to add to the comments made on the first two books. ( )