Isaac Asimov was 21 when he began his Foundation series. The first book, simply called "Foundation," was first published in 1951. Although Asimov's vision of the future was profound and expansive, his 1950s perspective made for some quaint elements in the story. Microfilm is depicted as a means of recording and nuclear power is envisioned as the height of technological success in energy production (perhaps he's right on that one, but who knows?). I can't really object to the image of humanity thousands of years in the future growing and smoking tobacco, though, considering the apparent ease with which the medicine he describes cures cancer. If the carcinogenic properties of tobacco can be annulled, would the addiction argument really be enough to keep people from smoking?
The storyline moves rapidly, but seems to cover only about 200 years. The rapidity of the decline and fall of parts of the Galactic Empire into barbarism (some planets resorting from nuclear power to chemicals, coal and even wood for energy in only 50 years) is somewhat disconcerting.
For all that, Asimov was definitely onto something. Whether "psychohistory" based on some sort of combination of sociology and mathematics could really work, it made sense in the context of the world he created. There was a sense of providence working in that Hari Seldon, a "psychohistorian" had calculated the best path through the galactic dark ages and those who lived through it needed only to act. Then again, a lot depended on individual insight and even genius, raising the age-old questions of destiny and free will, nature vs. nurture, etc.
The story was engaging and if some aspects or characters seemed incredible, the force of the narrative and the creative invocation of the reader's imagination more than made up for any perceived shortcomings.
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