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The Thrifty Reader

Foundation series books in order

Foundation series by Isaac Asimov has 7 books, published 1951–1993. Reading all of them takes about 47 hours (2,559 pages). 5 can be borrowed free from Open Library.

1Prelude to Foundati… 2Forward the Foundat… 3Foundation 4Foundation and Empi… 5Second Foundation 6Foundation's Edge 7Foundation and Earth
Spines are sized by page count. The orange dot marks a free ebook.

Reading order

  1. Book 1 · 1988

    Prelude to Foundation

    440 pages, about 8.1 hours 3.8★ (13)

    BORROW FREE

  2. Book 2 · 1993

    Forward the Foundation

    447 pages, about 8.2 hours 4.1★ (50)

  3. Book 3 · 1951

    Foundation

    240 pages, about 4.4 hours 4.1★ (313)

    BORROW FREE

  4. Book 4 · 1952

    Foundation and Empire

    253 pages, about 4.6 hours 4.1★ (153)

    BORROW FREE

  5. Book 5 · 1953

    Second Foundation

    235 pages, about 4.3 hours 4.3★ (141)

  6. Book 6 · 1982

    Foundation's Edge

    441 pages, about 8.1 hours 4.1★ (84)

    BORROW FREE

  7. Book 7 · 1986

    Foundation and Earth

    503 pages, about 9.2 hours 4.0★ (69)

    BORROW FREE

Questions people ask

How many Foundation series books are there?

There are 7 books in the series, published 1951–1993.

Which Foundation series book should I read first?

Start with Prelude to Foundation (1988), book 1. The list above is the reading order.

How long does it take to read the whole series?

About 47 hours at an average pace of 250 words a minute, or 2,559 pages in total. The longest book is Foundation and Earth at 503 pages.

Can I read Foundation series for free?

5 books can be borrowed free from Open Library with a free account. The book pages have the links.