It is the story of the Galactic Empire, crumbling after twelve thousand years of rule. And it is the particular story of psycho-historian Hari Seldon, the only man who can see the horrors the future has in store: a dark age of ignorance, barbarism and violence that will last for thirty thousand years. Gathering together a band of courageous men and women, Seldon leads them to a hidden location at the edge of the galaxy where he hopes they can preserve human knowledge and wisdom against all who would destroy them. Asimov went on to add numerous sequels and prequels to the trilogy, building up what has become known as the Foundation series, but it is the original three books (books #3 to #5 in chronilogical order), first published in the Forties and Fifties, which remain the most powerful, imaginative and breathtaking.

Author Biography

Asimov was born in Russia in 1919, his family moved to the USA where his father owned a succession of sweet shops. Asimov graduated from Columbia University and, after a brief period in the army, he joined the Boston University school of medicine and thereafter took to full time writing, until his death in 1992 Introducer biography: Michael Dirda is a book critic on the Washington Post.