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Forward the Foundation is the second prequel to the Foundation series of science fiction books by Isaac Asimov. It is also Isaac Asimov’s last published work. Summary of the Book This book returns readers to a time before the Foundation. Here, Hari Seldon begins laying the basis for his theories of psychohistory. The book explores how the Foundations came into being and how the laws of robotics control the behaviour of robots. Hari’s troubles as he struggles to develop his theory nearly hinder him, but history will not be changed. The Foundation is coming, and only Hari Seldon’s group of specially gifted people are poised to stop it. About Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov was an American novelist, short story writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. He is best remembered for his science fiction novels, including I, Robot, Foundation and Empire, Foundation and Earth and The Robots of Dawn. Considered one of the pioneers of the Science Fiction genre, Asimov also wrote under the name of Paul French. A long-time member and vice president of Mensa International, he was awarded the Hugo Award and the asteroid 5020 Asimov, a crater on the planet Mars, and a literary award are named in his honor. Series Reading Order This book is the sequel to Prelude to Foundation. If you haven’t read them already, be sure to dive into the original Foundation series after this book. Begin with Foundation and continue reading in Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation, Foundation’s Edge and Foundation and Earth. Philosophical Significance of the Series The Foundation series sits heavily on the themes of a seemingly infallible empire’s rise and fall. It was originally inspired by Edward Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Asimov devoted his story to analysing how an empire grows and ultimately meets its decay at the hands of its own progress. The series also examines the themes of individualism and a sense of rationalism so strong that it eats away at moralization, which Asimov called psychohistory.