HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
Loading...

Foundation (1951)

by Isaac Asimov

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Foundation Expanded Universe (11)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
19,818368216 (3.99)2 / 527
Classic Literature. Fiction. Science Fiction. HTML:The first novel in Isaac Asimovâ??s classic science-fiction masterpiece, the Foundation series
THE EPIC SAGA THAT INSPIRED THE APPLE TV+ SERIES FOUNDATION â?ą Nominated as one of Americaâ??s best-loved novels by PBSâ??s The Great American Read
 
For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the futureâ??to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save humankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empireâ??both scientists and scholarsâ??and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation. 
 
The Foundation novels of Isaac Asimov are among the most influential in the history of science fiction, celebrated for their unique blend of breathtaking action, daring ideas, and extensive worldbuilding. In Foundation, Asimov has written a timely and timeless novel of the bestâ??and worstâ??that lies in humanity, and the power of even a few courageous souls to shine a light… (more)
all members
▾Members
▾Tags
▾LibraryThing Recommendations
▾Member recommendations
  1. 355
    Dune by Frank Herbert (Patangel, JonTheTerrible, philAbrams)
    JonTheTerrible: The pace of these books are similar as well as the topics they cover: society and government. The science plays only a small role in both books but is present enough to successfully build the worlds in which the characters inhabit.
  2. 152
    The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov (karnoefel)
    karnoefel: de eerste drie foundation boeken in een robuuste hardcoverband. Dit boek was een van de eerste sf boeken die ik las in de jaren 70 in de bibliotheek van Tegelen
  3. 132
    The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov (Cecrow)
  4. 102
    Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (br77rino)
  5. 83
    A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. (yokai)
  6. 50
    Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov (br77rino)
    br77rino: Pebble in the Sky is the first book Asimov wrote regarding the Galactic Empire, a subject he used in his later masterpiece trilogy, Foundation.
  7. 52
    Foundation's Fear by Gregory Benford (Patangel)
  8. 41
    Ringworld by Larry Niven (nar_)
    nar_: Space travelling and interminable, huge lands and space... so huge !
  9. 20
    Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov (philAbrams)
  10. 21
    Psychohistorical Crisis by Donald Kingsbury (goodiegoodie)
  11. 11
    Shadow of Heaven by Bob Shaw (Polenth)
  12. 00
    The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu (aulandez)
  13. 01
    The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer (missmaddie)
  14. 01
    Even Peons are People: Interplanetary Justice by D. Pak (Anonymous user)
  15. 02
    The Chrysalids by John Wyndham (br77rino)
▾Lists
» 53 more
1950s (42)
Read (47)
My TBR (3)
2021 (19)
▾Will you like it?
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

▾Conversations (About links)

» See also 527 mentions

▾Member reviews
English (342)  Spanish (4)  Dutch (4)  French (4)  Italian (4)  Slovak (2)  Finnish (2)  Portuguese (Brazil) (1)  Polish (1)  Catalan (1)  German (1)  Portuguese (1)  All languages (367)
date ▼ | votes
Showing 1-5 of 342 (next | show all)
Very engaging story, but not nearly as good as Prelude to the Foundation, which he wrote many years later. I was annoyed that there are essentially no women in this book at all. ( )
  lschiff | Sep 24, 2023 |
When I was an adolescent I read science fiction voraciously but shied away from this series for much the same reason I did from Atlas Shrugged or Catcher in the Rye—they were touted as being formative in a You-Must-Read-This manner. I'm 64 now, and picked it up from a Little Free Library for some comfort reading, and I'm glad I did. It's dated, it's classic, it's wonderful, and it's a cultural fossil. And it's not a space opera: It's all about palace politics, really, and an inverse Spengler who calls the shots. Or, if you'd like, a Marx who gets the course of history right, so long as there weren't too many variables. ( )
  kencf0618 | Sep 20, 2023 |
Signed by author ( )
  DruJoplin | Sep 7, 2023 |
Hoewel ik meer meeleef met de karakters van de Robot-serie, vind ik dit een heel goede serie. Het is wat afstandelijk geschreven, waarschijnlijk door het feit dat er zulke sprongen in de tijd worden gemaakt. Daardoor heb je dus korter met een bepaald karakter te maken en is de band die je opbouwt veel minder. Maar de plot en de opbouw van een compleet heelal door de tijd heen is geniaal. En ik leef wel degelijk mee met de karakters, misschien wel omdat ze allemaal enigszins op elkaar lijken: slim, opportunistisch op de juiste manier, namelijk kijkend naar wat goed is op de lange termijn en heerlijk vol van zichzelf. Er is nauwelijks twijfel en ergens vind ik dat erg verfrissend. Dit is een vrij politieke serie, maar toch leest het zo niet. Het is wel degelijk spannend, hoewel niet op de James Bond manier. Waar de spanning in ligt? In wat iedere keer de clou is van de verschillende crisissituaties. Sommigen zijn te voorspellen, maar anderen zag ik niet aankomen, of werkten toch net wat anders uit dan ik gedacht had. Toch is het allemaal heel logisch. Kortom, met recht een klassieker. ( )
  weaver-of-dreams | Aug 1, 2023 |
PART 1: The Psychohistorians - 5.0
PART 2: The Encyclopedists - 5.0
PART 3: The Mayors - 4.0
PART 4: The Traders - 2.5
PART 5: The Merchant Princes - 3.5

( )
  TheScribblingMan | Jul 29, 2023 |
date ▼ | votes
Showing 1-5 of 342 (next | show all)
?
▾Published reviews
▾Other authors

» Add other authors (35 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Asimov, IsaacAuthorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Brick, ScottNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Foss, ChrisCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Fruttero, CarloForewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Giralt, PilarTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lucentini, FrancoForewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rosenthal, JeanTraductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Scaglia, CesareTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sweet, Darrell K.Cover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
▾Series and work relationships
▾Awards and Honors
view history
▾Common Knowledge
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Foundation
Alternative titles
The 1,000 Year Plan
Original publication date
1951
People/Characters
Hari Seldon
Salvor Hardin
Hober Mallow
Gaal Dornick
Yugo Amaryl
Important places
Trantor
Terminus
Anacreon
Smyrno
Askone
Important events
Seldon Crisis
Related movies
Foundation (2021 | IMDb)
Awards and honors
Guardian 1000 (Science Fiction & Fantasy)
1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (2006/2008/2010/2012 Edition)
The Telegraph's 110 Best Books: The Perfect Library (2008)
thisrecording.com 100 Greatest Science Fiction or Fantasy Novels of All Time (52)
Bloomsbury's 100 Must-Read Science Fiction Novels
Epigraph
Dedication
Post-1973 reissues:
To the memory of my mother
(1895–1973)
1951 issue:
To my Mother

Of whose Authentic Gray Hairs
Not a few were caused by myself.
First words
HARI SELDON ... born in the 11,988th year of the Galactic Era: died 12,069.

ENCYCLOPEDIA GALACTICA
His name was Gaal Dornick and he was just a country boy who had never seen Trantor before.
Quotations
It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety.
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
Violence is the last refuge of the competent.
He had brought down his first Nyak when scarcely thirteen; had brought down his tenth the week after his accession to the throne; and was returning now from his forty-sixth.

‘Fifty before I come of age,’ he had exulted. ‘Who’ll take the wager?’

But courtiers don’t take wagers against the king’s skill. There is the deadly danger of winning.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
English
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC
PZ3.A8316 Fo PS3551.S5
▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

▾Book descriptions
Classic Literature. Fiction. Science Fiction. HTML:The first novel in Isaac Asimovâ??s classic science-fiction masterpiece, the Foundation series
THE EPIC SAGA THAT INSPIRED THE APPLE TV+ SERIES FOUNDATION â?ą Nominated as one of Americaâ??s best-loved novels by PBSâ??s The Great American Read
 
For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the futureâ??to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save humankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empireâ??both scientists and scholarsâ??and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation. 
 
The Foundation novels of Isaac Asimov are among the most influential in the history of science fiction, celebrated for their unique blend of breathtaking action, daring ideas, and extensive worldbuilding. In Foundation, Asimov has written a timely and timeless novel of the bestâ??and worstâ??that lies in humanity, and the power of even a few courageous souls to shine a light
▾Library descriptions

No library descriptions found.

?
▾LibraryThing members' description
Book description
First issued as Ace Double D-110 (with Poul Anderson's "No World of Their Own"); shortly thereafter, reissued as a stand-alone with the same publisher's number (D-110); reissued again a few years later as D-538. One of the stories that make up the 'fix-up' novel "Foundation".
Haiku summary

Popular covers

Quick Links

Amazon.com (direct)
Abebooks.com
Amazon Kindle (0 editions)
Audible (0 editions)
CD Audiobook (0 editions)
Project Gutenberg (0 editions)
Google Books — Loading...
WorldCat

Genres

Melvil Decimal System (DDC)

813.54Literature › English (North America) › American fiction › 20th Century › 1945-1999

LC Classification

PZ3.A8316Language and Literature › Fiction and juvenile belles lettres › Fiction and juvenile belles lettres › Fiction in English

Rating

Average: (3.99)
0.5 4
1 55
1.5 25
2 304
2.5 54
3 999
3.5 194
4 1979
4.5 169
5 1905

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 195,091,229 books! | Top bar: Always visible
Copyright LibraryThing and/or members of LibraryThing, authors, publishers, libraries, cover designers, Amazon, Bol, Bruna, etc.