“I could not have written this book forty--or thirty, twenty, or even ten--years ago. That is because, piece by piece, over the years, I have been working back to Foundation’s source: Hari Seldon. Today I enjoy the gift given to me by time: Experience (some might call it wisdom, but I will refrain from such bald self-aggrandizement). For it is only now that I am able to give my readers Hari Seldon during the most crucial, creative years of his life ...You see, over time, Hari Seldon has evolved into my alter ego... In my earlier books Hari Seldon was the stuff of legend--with Forward the Foundation I have made him real.”

            --Isaac Asimov, June 1991

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ISAAC ASIMOV began his Foundation Series at the age of twenty-one, not realizing that it would one day be considered a cornerstone of science fiction.  During his legendary career, Asimov penned over 470 books on subjects ranging from science to Shakespeare to history, though he was most loved for his award-winning science fiction sagas, which include the Robot, Empire, and foundation series.  Named a Grand Master of Science Fiction by the Science Fiction Writers of America, Asimov entertained and educated readers of all ages for close to five decades.  He died, at the age of seventy-two, in April 1992.