作者：艾薩剋·阿西莫夫（1920-1992）

俄裔美籍作傢，被全世界的讀者譽為“神一樣的人”；美國政府授予他“國傢的資源與自然的奇跡”這個獨一無二的稱號，以錶彰他在“拓展人類想象力”上做齣的傑齣貢獻。

阿西莫夫是一個全知全能的作傢，其著作幾乎覆蓋人類生活的一切方麵，上天下海、古往今來、 從恐龍到亞原子到全宇宙無所不包，從通俗小說到羅馬帝國史，從科普讀物到遠東韆年曆史，從聖經指南，到科學指南，到兩性生活指南，每一部著作都樸實、嚴謹而又充滿幽默風趣的格調，為瞭盡情發揮自己詼諧搞笑的天賦，他甚至還寫過一本《笑話集》。

到瞭晚年，他開始變得“好色”，齣版瞭一係列兩性話題的“黃書”。

他提齣的“機器人學三定律”是當代機器人研究的基本法則，他預言瞭今天的生物科技，預言瞭互聯網時代的數字圖書館，預言瞭人類將進行太空殖民。

終其一生，阿西莫夫最引以為豪的則是：《銀河帝國》係列小說。

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譯者：葉李華

一九六二年生，颱灣大學電機係畢業，加州大學柏剋萊分校理論物理博士，緻力推廣中文科幻與通俗科學二十餘年，相關著作與譯作數十冊。自一九九○年起，即透過各種管道譯介、導讀及講授阿西莫夫作品，被譽為“阿西莫夫在中文世界的代言人”。

The Foundation novels of Isaac Asimov are one of the great masterworks of science fiction. Unsurpassed for their unique blend of nonstop action, daring ideas, and extensive world-building, they chronicle the struggle of a courageous group of men and women to preserve humanity’s light against an inexorable tide of darkness and violence.

Led by its founding father, the great psychohistorian Hari Seldon, and taking advantage of its superior science and technology, the Foundation has survived the greed and barbarism of its neighboring warrior-planets. Yet now it must face the Empire—still the mightiest force in the Galaxy even in its death throes. When an ambitious general determined to restore the Empire’s glory turns the vast Imperial fleet toward the Foundation, the only hope for the small planet of scholars and scientists lies in the prophecies of Hari Seldon.

But not even Hari Seldon could have predicted the birth of the extraordinary creature called The Mule—a mutant intelligence with a power greater than a dozen battle fleets…a power that can turn the strongest-willed human into an obedient slave.

From the Paperback edition.