Foundation by Isaac AsimovMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Groundbreaking Sci-fi from the 1940s, Foundation imagines a powerful Galactic Empire in decline (a parallel to the Roman Empire as told by Gibbon). Hari Seldon is a psychohistorian who employs mathematics to predict the future and to create a new civilization. To prevent a 15,000 year dark age of barbarism, Seldon sets up a small society (the foundation) on a planet at the fringes of the galaxy.
Different sections deal with geopolitical issues like trade, balance of power, and empire building. While most of the novel consists of characters simply talking, I found the story imaginative and never dull. Complex questions are raised. How does a weak power become a great power? What role does technology and innovation play? What about religion? Seldon reminds me of a "lawgiver" figure out of the bible.
Foundation has had real world influence on the sciences, specifically the idea of applying mathematics to predicting different futures. A central theme in the novel is how a civilization plans for long term issues. Climate change, misuse of technology, and poverty come to mind for our own time. At the same time Foundation is a page turning intellectual adventure full of suspense and plot twists.
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