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What books should everyone read before they die?Add Book
Foundation: The Foundation Trilogy, Book 1
Isaac Asimov
Fantasy & Science Fiction
James Mustich
Aug 9, 2018
As a writer, Isaac Asimov’s reputation rests solidly on his ambitious Foundation Trilogy, which was awarded a special Hugo Award in 1966 as best science fiction series of all time. And although he would bow to fan pressure and resume the franchise nearly thirty years after publishing its initial installments, the seminal impact of Asimov’s imaginative enterprise relies on the original three books composed in the 1940s and early 1950s: Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation. First published in bits and pieces in John W. Campbell’s Astounding magazine, the premier showcase of its era, the Foundation stories chronicled “the decline and fall of Rome, writ large,” using Edward Gibbon’s classic books on that subject as a template, as Asimov himself confessed. But the interstellar scope and temporal span of this history of the future, the intense melancholy engendered for the failure of an era yet unborn, the quiet heroism and intellectual byplay, the elements of mystery and detection—all of these components unite to create a sense that the writer (and the reader) is not anticipating things to come. Instead, we look back with providential omniscience from a vantage point even further forward in the stream of time.
I became a science fiction fan when I was around 7 or 8 years old, in the late 60s, and once I turned 10, I was often found gorging myself on Azimov and Sturgeon and Clarke and Heinlein at the local library. You can't claim to be a fan of SF unless you've read the entire foundation series.
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I used to read a lot of science fiction, not sure if I ever read any of this trilogy, but i just don't know that at age 87 I should include this one in my bucket list. Maybe if i finish all the others.
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When I was younger, I was captivated by Science Fiction books; now I've moved on to other stuff, but always enjoyed the imagination used to visualise a future scenario by these authors. So much of the distopian views that were expressed are highly likely to occur here, what with ratbag politicians, warmongerers and those who don't care that humans are going to destroy our planet. Asimov's works were landmark stuff in that theme.
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Sweeping epic combining a grounded view of human nature with the author's characteristic hope that sufficiently rational people can save society from itself.
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First read in college, I was blown away by the metaphorical truths in this trilogy.
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The first Asimov book I read and one of the reasons I’ll fell in love with sci-fi
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I had no interest in fiction -- any fiction -- until I was "forced" to read Asimov's Foundation in high school. It was a watershed event. What a gift Asimov was. To every section of the library!
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I really enjoyed this book. I am going to continue with the whole series. I was surprised by the time jumping aspect. I wanted to see what they did after each crisis but it was not to be. This is the first time I've ever read Asimov. I like fantasy more that sci-fi usually but this book is making me rethink that.
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This book is pretty much the foundation of science fiction tomes that followed, such as Dune.
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Asimov builds a fascinating galactic empire on edge of which the characters explore what it takes for a empire to collapse or to be reborn.
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"1,000 Books To Read Before You Die" is a registered trademark of Workman Publishing, Inc. Based on the book: 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die by James Mustich, (Workman Publishing Co., Inc.: © 2018 James Mustich)
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