I have to admit to a bias. I've enjoyed Asimov's works since I was a kid, and it was his works that really got me started in science fiction. The quality of the recording is excellent, and sounds just as if you were listening to it on an old radio in the parlor. This recording seems to have been taken from one of the earlier broadcasts (See the wikipedia article here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Foundation_Trilogy_(BBC_Radio) for information). If, like me, you enjoy listening to a good story while doing other things, pick this one up. Lovely Radio Show bucketoclams 2008-10-05 14:49:05 2008-10-05 14:49:05 4 it's always a delight to find a clear and easy to understand recording. A good, very complete, version of this classic story. The sound effects are vintage BBC sound labs.. a charming "dating" of the work. good recording scottmi 2009-01-14 04:38:41 2009-01-14 04:38:41 4 The three novels which make up the original Foundation trilogy were written as a magazine serial between 1940 and 1950, for a science fiction magazine edited by the legendary John W Campbell. They were thus composed as a series of short stories, giving them a number of advantages over the later books by which Asimov added to the story forty years afterwards. The short story format of the initial books, which are the ones adapted for this dramatisation, mean the tale continually builds toward a dramatic climax, for several magazine serials were included in each book. Thus the story reaches a frequent dramatic cliffhanger, not merely at the end of each novel: a significant advantage when it came to adapting the trilogy in eight parts for broadcasting. The linking "story arch" in the trilogy was guided by John W Campbell, the legendary S-F editor and publisher, and himself a celebrated author. Campbell's powerful influence, coupled with the limited page space available in the magazine format, forced a discipline upon Asimov that his later books lack; and in literary terms this was a very significant benefit. The production values of the BBC's radio adaptation are impressive. The production also benefits greatly from having eight hours of air time, enabling most of the key plot elements to be included. Even so, a good deal of background detail does have to be omitted. Some of that detail is noteable in its absence, leaving the characters struggling a little for motivation. One compelling theme of the trilogy is missing: namely the constant awareness the central characters have of the dead hand of Seldon, and of events running out of their control. And the guiding principle of the trilogy, that each situation is going to culminate in a 'Seldon Crisis', tends not to be emphasised enough. Perhaps no adaptation can be wholly satisfactory to someone familiar with the books upon which it's based, if those books have genuine literary merit, which this trilogy surely does. Yet someone who has not read them will probably notice nothing amiss. These matters notwithstanding, this is surely one of the best of adaptations. Impressive adaptation Ed 999 2010-01-02 21:21:39 2010-01-02 21:21:39 4 3 4.00