#166- Asimov's Foundation Part 1

Online Great Books Podcast

This week, the duo tackles Karl's pick— the first novel in Isaac Asimov’s classic science-fiction masterpiece.

Largely regarded as a launch pad for space-age science fiction, Foundation is a collection of five short stories which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951. The series tells the story of the Foundation, an institute founded by psychohistorian Hari Seldon to preserve the best of galactic civilization after the collapse of the Galactic Empire.

Scott says, "Asimov and all that stuff from this era is one of the reasons the boomers are the way they are. They were inculcated with a worldview that is out of fiction. They think everything is always going to improve, that science has the answer, and they see that history and the scope of time is a character and acts in and of itself so they don't have a responsibility."

Tune in to hear Part One of the duo's conversation and learn why Karl calls this "a good bad book." Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com.