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Summary: An Excellent Work for any Sci-Fi Library
Review: First I will detail the faults of this book. It is too brief. Mr. Asimov was working under the assumption that he had to keep it under a certain length, and so abbreviated it unfairly, cutting certain amounts of plot and character development.That aside, this book is excellent, showing the struggle against adversity and brains versus brute force that is so lacking in most modern literature. It is true that Science Fiction is the Modern version of Romantic (the time period) literature, and Asimov carried the beacon.
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Summary: Psychohistory Saves Classic
Review: Re-reading Foundation showed it to be rather dated in its depiction of an advanced galactic empire, rooted in its 1940s science fiction environment. The overall plot, such as it is, betrays the novel's origins as separate short stories, and the characters tend to be wooden. Foundation and Empire, the next book in Asimov's original Foundation trilogy, is a much better novel, especially in its depiction of the character of the Mule. However, the concept of psychohistory introduced in this work is fascinating and the key to the other books by Asimov and others describing past and future developments in the Foundation universe.
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Summary: Dry Sci-Fi
Review: I respect Asimov as a writer of science fiction. However after reading all of the Foundation series I wish it had more humanity in it. The book was overly complex. The characters did nothing for me. The Foundation series is over rated in my humble opinion. It falls in the category that I call dry sci-fi. Asimov's Robot series was better than this.
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Summary: An Interesting Look Into The Fall Of A Civilization
Review: While the book does offer a promising premise, the necessary jumps from one point in time to another do not make for a pleasant read. The very first time I attempted to read the book, I was unable to get much further than the first part (The Psycho- Historians). As soon as you begin to get used the characters, a shift takes place. Unfortunately, this happens again and again. When you read Foundation, it becomes neccesary to think of each of the five parts as a short story. While the story was displayed in the best way I could imagine, the classic simply did not live up to my expectations. The emphasis is on the plot, and very little is put into the characters. While the book has it's flaws, I find it simply amazing when the date it was published is taken into consideration. Put simply, it's like the majority of 'classics' out there; while they were astounding in their own time, they simply can't stand up to the best of modern modern literature out there.
Rating: 
Summary: An all time classic
Review: Like a previous reviewer, I was only 11 when I first read Foundation - it was also my first science fiction book. It is a wonderful read. Basically Hari Seldon creates Psychohistory, a mathematical model which enables him to determine the future. In that future the Empire will collapse and enter a period of anarchy lasting thousands of years - unless! - he can create a secret foundation which would be responsible for shepherding the galaxy back on the right tracks. This vehicle for this are "Crisis" points, where Hari Seldon appears in pretaped statements defining the crisis for the Foundationers. The characters are drawn with a fine brush, and the work is full of little gems... look for the poster which says "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent". I thoroughly and unequivocally recommend this book.
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Summary: Is psychohistory feasible?
Review: I first tried reading this book when I was 11. For me at the time, it seemed boring at that age, and I had trouble reading it. Next year, I picked up the book again, and couldn't stop reading it. Asimov sets up a realistic structure for how to contain millenias of combined information from across a galaxy, and build a stable, remote world to contain the falling Empire's scientific knowledge. But especially after reading the entire series, I always must ask, is psycho history scientifically possible? It states that the actions of an individual doesn't affect the flow of the universe. Later int he series though, you will learn of the mule that broke this rule, and even later after the trilogy, where he came from. But how could mathematics, and the general pschology of people,possibly predict when specific crisis's happen. Even though in Second Foundation, where the reader learns more about the second foundation, which is based not on science, but on pschohistory, helps maintain the course of the Foundation. You can get lost in thought trying to discover the possibilities psychohistory could bring, if it could work.????
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Summary: OF THE BOOKS/AUTHORS WHO MADE ME WHO I AM
Review: I first read this book when I was young, perhaps in my early 20's. I remember it as astounding, but recall little of it's content. In my early 30's, I went through and reread the entire trilogy straight through, which by then was a total of seven books. I believe Isaac is a true genius beyond most any man of our age. His insight into politics, religion, society, hope, hatred, love, friendship is beyond most anything I have known. And how he was able to incorporate these things into a series of books about the future of humanity nearly overwhelms me when I consider it. Most of what happens in the world, especially in the world of technology, has been shown in his books. It seems as if he must have has a direct link to the future.
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Summary: The Foundation - a great book
Review: "The Foundation" by Isaac Asimov is a very thrilling science fiction book. This book takes place so far into the future that they do not know which planet humans came from! This book spans over 160 years and shows the developments of the Foundation. The Foundation is a group of people sent to a remote planet to preserve information and to secretly start a new empire. When the old Galactic Empire begins to crumble, Hari Seldon starts the Foundation. He and his followers work on an encyclopedia to help shorten the barbarian age that results from the destruction of the empire. Seldon's true plan for the Foundation is to raise the next empire that would control the galaxy. As the book continues, the Foundation grows and tries to spread their beliefs across the galaxy. Powerful neighbors become jealous and try to conquer the foundation and destroy it. The Foundation wins usually using non violent means unlike their violent foes. When the Foundation starts to conquer the other surrounding worlds, they expand and send out traders. Traders hold the Foundation together and keep up the economy by trading with the inhabitants and bringing them the Foundation's beliefs. Much of the galaxy is unaware of the Foundation's secrets and the power it holds! This book is divided into five sections, starting at different time periods with new characters and conflicts. The beginning of each section is difficult until you learn the new characters. However, the books flows well since the ideas of people in the past sections are presented in each new section as historically important. Each section is exciting with descriptive characters and a suspenseful plot. The book is a fast read, written for pure enjoyment and entertainment. It does a terrific job of both. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good book.
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Summary: Other books are judged next to this
Review: This review is intended for the entire Foundation trilogy and as such this series of books even though written in pieces in Science Fiction magazines is woven together in an astonishingly complex web of ideas and mystery. This series stands as the epitome of the science fiction classic, what science fiction should be about and how it should be written. As a classic it is only superseded by "Dune" and only a few others come close eg "Ender's Game" (Orson Scott Card) series and the "Galactic Milieu" series (Julian May). The whole series is epic and yet does not loose sight of the characters or the story which is all important in science fiction, without it the wizz-bang effect takes hold and the whole thing collapses, eg Terminator could not have been held together without the excellent storyline. Other examples of great science fiction stories include "Blade Runner" and "Alien" both of which had great stories without a reliance on effects which some films have done eg the extra added graphics to the original Star Wars and too much graphics in Episode 1. These stories also provide a fascinating tale of science yet to come such as psychohistory which totally fascinated me when I read about it and some other physicists I have known. The possibilities are incredible a science of probabilistic mathematics used to predict the future given historical events. In addition we are of course confronted with the politics and the usual human weaknesses including greed, corruption and the like, much akin to the degenerate aspects of the Roman Empire. The new mathematics of psychohistory developed by Hari Seldon working on Trantor and trying to set up the two Foundations to at least control the eventual collapse and fall of humanity into a dark age and the Mule the one person not predicted by the original theory who is the defeated through remarkable twists and turns in the story which is full of intrigue and mystery, simply unputdownable. I have read the books many times and will do so again although psychohistorical mathematics is beyond current attainability I believe, but then maybe not. Other books are judged next to this.
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Summary: Best Science Fiction "History"
Review: I've seen a few bad reviews of Isaac Asimov's Foundation and it grieves me, really grieves me. When Isaac Asimov first came up with the idea for his Foundation series it was planned that he would write the future history of our galaxy. It could be said that it was an experiment in a method of writing fiction. If Asimov's characterizations or scenery descriptions seem bland or garish to some readers, that's because Asimov's focus was on the story. Despite Foundation's original ad hoc nature, I have read no other series which has so intricately weaven the elements of the plot so finely together. Alone, the novel Foundation may seem mundane, and it may not be your best bet if you're seeking instant gratification. But together - together with the other two books in the trilogy, together with the two later written sequels, together with the later two written prequels, together with his other bodies of work which have been woven into an expansive interplay of stories and plot, together with three "pre"prequels written posthumously by outside authors, I know no greater complicated work that brings with it such depth and expansiveness. In short, Foundation, serves as a sounding board for a series of future historical accounts. And Asimov never fails to deliver suspense, drama, and surprise throughout them. But that's just my biased opinion ;)
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