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Isaac Asimov
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The Foundation Trilogy (Adapted by BBC Radio) This book is a transcription of the radio broadcast Paperback – August 30, 2010

by Isaac Asimov (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,429 ratings
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NOTE: THIS IS NOT THE ACTUAL BOOK. THIS IS THE BBC RADIO TRANSCRIPTS
This was the BBC radio transcripts


FOUNDATION begins a new chapter in the story of man's future. As the Old Empire crumbles into barbarism throughout the million worlds of the galaxy, Hari Seldon and his band of psychologists must create a new entity, the Foundation-dedicated to art, science, and technology-as the beginning of a new empire.

FOUNDATION AND EMPIRE describes the mighty struggle for power amid the chaos of the stars in which man stands at the threshold of a new enlightened life which could easily be destroyed by the old forces of barbarism.

SECOND FOUNDATION follows the Seldon Plan after the First Empire's defeat and describes its greatest threat-a dangerous mutant strain gone wild, which produces a mind capable of bending men's wills, directing their thoughts, reshaping their desires, and destroying the universe.

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  1. Part of series
    Foundation
  2. Print length
    312 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Snowball Publishing
  5. Publication date
    August 30, 2010
  6. Dimensions
    7 x 0.65 x 10 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1607962748
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1607962748
  9. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Snowball Publishing (August 30, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 312 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1607962748
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1607962748
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.65 x 10 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,429 ratings

About the author

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Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov

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Isaac Asimov (/ˈaɪzᵻk ˈæzᵻmɒv/; born Isaak Yudovich Ozimov; circa January 2, 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was prolific and wrote or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. His books have been published in 9 of the 10 major categories of the Dewey Decimal Classification.

Asimov wrote hard science fiction and, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, he was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers during his lifetime. Asimov's most famous work is the Foundation Series; his other major series are the Galactic Empire series and the Robot series. The Galactic Empire novels are explicitly set in earlier history of the same fictional universe as the Foundation series. Later, beginning with Foundation's Edge, he linked this distant future to the Robot and Spacer stories, creating a unified "future history" for his stories much like those pioneered by Robert A. Heinlein and previously produced by Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson. He wrote hundreds of short stories, including the social science fiction "Nightfall", which in 1964 was voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America the best short science fiction story of all time. Asimov wrote the Lucky Starr series of juvenile science-fiction novels using the pen name Paul French.

Asimov also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as much nonfiction. Most of his popular science books explain scientific concepts in a historical way, going as far back as possible to a time when the science in question was at its simplest stage. He often provides nationalities, birth dates, and death dates for the scientists he mentions, as well as etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Examples include Guide to Science, the three-volume set Understanding Physics, and Asimov's Chronology of Science and Discovery, as well as works on astronomy, mathematics, history, William Shakespeare's writing, and chemistry.

Asimov was a long-time member and vice president of Mensa International, albeit reluctantly; he described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs". He took more joy in being president of the American Humanist Association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, a crater on the planet Mars, a Brooklyn elementary school, and a literary award are named in his honor.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Phillip Leonian from New York World-Telegram & Sun [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
1,429 global ratings
Classic Bait and switch by WeBuyBooks-UK
1 Star
Classic Bait and switch by WeBuyBooks-UK
If it looks 'too good to be true....' I ordered three old books, with dust jackets, from WeBuyBooks-UK. These are Used books, not "valuable," but interesting to a casual book collector- wife calls my collection "Clutter." I received a single volume containing the three books. It was probably published as a 'book of the month club,' selection. Probably worth $1.99 in any used book shop. The photo of the product was a deliberate lie.
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Top reviews from the United States

D. Arnett
5.0 out of 5 stars If no other SF is read, this would be enough
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2023
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I love science fiction (SF) and know that the Foundation Trilogy is one of the best examples of well written SF (SIDE NOTE: While I never even touched it, my alma mater UMBC has one of the rough drafts in its special collections.) I fortunately chose it to introduce my teen son to SF and afterwards he agreed that it was a great read. My other recommended (both my opinion and ratings from groups ranking "top ten" [supposedly] "good" SF books and short story (probably the best format for SF) collections were not so well received, so I didn't win him over to being an SF-addict. Surprisingly, only one of the three public libraries (in different counties) that I go to has the trilogy on its shelves. NOTE: The TV series based upon the whole Foundation series (both the original trilogy and the decade-later Asimov approved follow-ups) shouldn't be used to gauge the original trilogy.
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Martin
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful edition
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2024
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A very nice hardcover edition of Asimovs classic.
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Heston E. Van Evera
5.0 out of 5 stars The Basis of Modern Sci-Fi
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2013
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Asimov is one of the best authors I have ever read. Part of his brilliance is the complete degree with which he creates a very real world for the reader. But another crucial part is that the people you read about are real people. Sometimes sci-fi can do silly things, like "and then he pulled out his super-gun and blew up the evil space-ship." Asimov never settled for silly or second rate endings. The endings feel real--the sci-fi element just adds another dimension to the tale. This book can be kind of a slow starter--especially if you've read any of Asimov's Lije Baley novels--but the depth of this book is entirely worth it. It also has a bit of a lull in the middle for some readers. Keep going. It ties up so well at the end, that you wonder why you ever doubted Asimov.

The trilogy is best read as a trilogy. The books are good individually, but amazing all together. I almost feel like the trilogy would have been better divided into two books instead of three... but I'm not the brilliant writer here.

Reading the Foundation Trilogy is also great because much of today's science fiction takes it's cues from this earlier work. The galactic empire of Star Wars is perhaps a darker reflection of the galactic empire of the Foundation trilogy. Star Trek also takes a number of cues from this series. Yet one of the way it differs is that there are no extra terrestrials in the universe of Foundation. This makes it an unusually intimate exploration of humanity. (Much in the way Firefly has no aliens.)

All in all, if you like Science Fiction, you will love this book. If you like books that make you think about things from a different perspective, you will like this book. If you like books with unexpected plot twists, you will love the ending of the trilogy. If you like books that explore human nature, you will like this book.
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W.T.Hoffman
5.0 out of 5 stars FOUNDATION TRILOGY -themes and influences considered
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2016
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If you love Scifi, you can't wait 40 years to read this, like I did. When you read Stanislaw Lem, Arthur C Clark, Bradbury, and Herbert, you just have to realize that the Foundation Trilogy must also be read. The first question I had, was how does the trilogy fit into the larger framework of the Foundation Series? Well, if you consider the 7 book series, know this: the first two, and last two books were written much later. Of all the later books, read FOUNDATION'S EDGE. Definitely do NOT read PRELUDE TO FOUNDATION and FORWARD THE FOUNDATION before you read the trilogy. Prelude has spoilers that refer to the end of the last book, FOUNDATION AND EARTH. There are parts of the FOUNDATION TRILOGY which I absolutely love, and other aspects which seemed to me aggravating. For starters, if you're looking for a character to stretch thru these books, you'll be disappointed. The central character is the historical dialectic itself, in fact an idea, that of a renewed civilization after the Galactic Empire ruled by aristocracy falls. This new civilization will be founded by a confluence of two factors, the FOUNDATION, composed of scientists, traders, and politicians, and the SECOND FOUDATION, which is made up of psychologists, empaths, and philosophers. During the Trilogy, we watch as the Galactic Empire falls, while the FOUNDATION takes control of the trade, scientific advancements, and the social infrastructure, such as nuclear power, and intergalactic travel

Part of the construction of this trilogy, is the reason why some people find fault with the book. Originally Asimov released the Trilogy as a series of 5 novellas, plus an added introduction story. Hundreds of years separate most of these stories, at least until you reach the part of the tale that concerns The Mule, who attempts to conquer the Galactic Empire thru his ability to supplant the will of others, with his own. The MULE will take up most of the second book, and the first half of the third. The other theme in the books is PSYCHOHISTORY as a scientific discipline, and HARI SELDON as a sort of prophet of the coming New Age. (He invents PSYCHOHISTORY in the PRELUDE TO FOUNDATION book.) So if you can handle a story that's more about theme than character, this is your book. Most of Asimov's characters seem a bit cliché, sometimes analyzing a situation for pages, or engaging in long conversations with other intellectually strong characters. That's not to say there is no action, or conflict. Its just you won't read pages of exposition about space battles, or ground battles, or love stories. The action is more of a political intrigue type, with Hari Seldon's psychohistory attempting, and sometimes failing, to predict the outcome of every "Seldon Crisis". I've never read a book much like this, although if you view Tolkien's Silmarrillion as a historical narrative centered around the attempt of the Morgoth-Sauron hegemony to destroy the world of Elves, men, and all free folk, then that would be the obvious parallel.

A final note, concerns what Asimov's influences for the Trilogy might have been. It was written at the end of WWII, when the final death blow to European aristocracy occurred, and civilization was almost destroyed for a thousand years (the length of the Nazi Third Reich), I would believe that is his main influence. I often wondered if Marxist theory's dependency on the Historical Dialectic pushing us into a utopian communist society, was also influencing him. Marxism was a strong intellectual movement in the USA during the first half of the 20th century. Although Psychohistory as a utopian society isn't much bandied about, its obviously central to the book's theme, though of course we never know the outcome of Foundation's watch on historical trends, since the last book in the series (FOUNDATION and EARTH) ends 500 years before the new Empire. However, the goal of a society to hang onto the knowledge of the past, while evolving into a future utopia, seems to be the fundamental theme. Also, that the intelligentsia must rule the political process, if we don't want 30000 years of chaos, instead of a 1000 year interregnum between the fall of the Galactic Empire, and the Foundation run Second Empire. These questions will haunt you, as you read Asimov's work. Once you've read the trilogy, you might as well read the other books in the Foundation Series, though at least read FOUNDATION'S EDGE, since the Trilogy doesn't really end at a place which would wrap up the themes very well. You're left dangling, about whether the Galaxy ever reaches the hoped for utopian vision of order, discipline, and scientific progress.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great condition and really beautiful binding
Reviewed in Canada on December 1, 2021
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This is one of my favorite science fictio series, i just recently watched the series on Apple plus, and wanted to reread the novels, since its been so long since I read the book.

This book covers three books in the series which is awesome, but the book itself is really beautifully bound and will look incredible on the shelf in my library.
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FRANCISCO J
5.0 out of 5 stars La trilogía original de la Fundación en una edición bestial
Reviewed in Spain on March 7, 2024
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Muy buena edición de la trilogía original de Asimov, cumple sobradamente.
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Mr. R. Stockdale
5.0 out of 5 stars Asimov at its very best.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 16, 2023
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This radio play covers the Foundation Trilogy books though adapts them a little to get through the book content in just 8 hours of pure magic. Its sound effects have been criticised a little over the years but don't forget that they were from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop from 40 to 50 years ago. (Remember Doctor Who?)

This adaptation complements the books and I listen to it most nights as I drift off to a time long past.
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AK
5.0 out of 5 stars Collection
Reviewed in India on August 25, 2023
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Must have collection for all the book readers.
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Marco Maj
5.0 out of 5 stars Un bellissimo libro da tutti i punti di vista
Reviewed in Italy on November 26, 2022
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Nonostante gli anni continua ad essere un classico della fantascienza mondiale. Fisicamente il libro è ben fatto, curato, buona carta e bella stampa. Vale la pena.
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