Foundation, 1951
Isaac Asimov
(1920-1992)

Foundation was the first novel in Isaac Asimov‘s original Foundation trilogy:

• Foundation
• Foundation and Empire (1952)
• Second Foundation (1953)

Many years after he wrote the original trilogy, Asimov added four more books to the series: two sequels and two prequels. The “chronological” order of the Foundation series (chronological in the fictional universe in which it is set, not in order of composition or publication) is:

• Prelude to Foundation (1988)
• Forward the Foundation (1993)
• (original Foundation trilogy)
• Foundation’s Edge (1982)
• Foundation and Earth (1986)

I enjoyed the original Foundation trilogy immensely when I was young, and read these books several times. When the sequels and prequels came out in the 1980s and 90s, I enjoyed these as well, although not to the same extent as the originals. I also enjoyed Asimov’s Robot series very much – these books are a fun blend of the SF and mystery genres:

• I, Robot (1950)
• The Caves of Steel (1954)
• The Naked Sun (1955)

I, Robot is a collection of stories first published in magazines, and the two books that follow are novels first published originally as serials (also in magazines). Asimov went on to write more sequels to the series in the 1980s, as he did with the Foundation books. Also related to the Foundation and Robot books are Asimov’s Galactic Empire novels:

• The Stars, Like Dust (1951)
• The Currents of Space (1952)
• Pebble in the Sky (1950)

All of these books were influential on the development of science fiction and were widely read. Asimov was one of the most prolific authors in history – he wrote or edited over 500 books! In addition to his monumental contributions to science fiction, he also wrote mysteries and a great deal of nonfiction, especially popular science books and articles.

I remember seeing Isaac Asimov on television as a child, and thinking something like “so that is what a science fiction writer looks like!”

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