Other editions of book The Foundation Trilogy

The Foundation series is a science fiction series by Isaac Asimov. For nearly thirty years, the series was a trilogy: Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation. It won the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966. The premise of the series is that the mathematician Hari Seldon spent his life developing a branch of mathematics known as psychohistory, a concept of mathematical sociology. Using the laws of mass action, it can predict the future, but only on a large scale. Seldon foresees the imminent fall of the Galactic Empire, which encompasses the entire Milky Way, and a dark age lasting 30,000 years before a second great empire arises. Seldon also foresees an alternative where the interregnum will last only one thousand years. To ensure the more favorable outcome, Seldon creates a foundation of talented artisans and engineers at the extreme end of the galaxy, to preserve and expand on humanity's collective knowledge, and thus become the foundation for a new galactic empire. When the Galactic Empire began dying, the great psychohistorian Hari Seldon set up the Foundation to preserve human culture & shorten 30,000 years of chaotic barbarism to a mere millennium. Located on a bleak world at the edge of the galaxy, it seemed helpless before the greed of neighboring warlords. But somehow, by science & wit, it had survived & even gained control of a small federation of planets. Yet it was still small. And against it stood the greatest power of all--the huge power of the Empire, mighty even in decay. When an ambitious general turned an Imperial fleet toward the Foundation, the only hope lay in the prophecies of Hari Seldon. But even Hari Seldon could not predict the birth & mutant talent of the Mule--one small man with power greater than a dozen battlefleets. Between big & little, the Foundation seemed doomed.