This book is so frequently mentioned among the greats of sci fi, so I had to read it. Unfortunately, I wasn't too captivated. I appreciate the epic scope, as the story spans hundreds of years of a civilization. But with neither interesting characters, prose, nor plot events, my  enjoyment while reading it was lukewarm. So much of it was a flat character existing to come up with an economic or political scheme, carrying it out, and then skipping ahead once more.

The most rewarding aspect of the book to me was seeing a conception of the future so inevitably set in its time, with an understanding of fuel and technology that is laughable now but made sense back then.  

The central concept of psychohistory was also interesting, as so much of history has been told with individual focused narratives. Foundation doesn't make an all-or-nothing case on free will vs fate, but rather positions free will as being true of individuals while the longer span of human history is simultaneously much less malleable. This view of history and society, and the outrage as people reacted to it made for the most compelling segments. The focus on ethical considerations for the future, knowing that society will regress many years past your lifetime but working for the best utilitarian outcome for many generations beyond, shows a forethought and scope real societies haven't offered, and it's interesting to see a group which does value this, working within the constraints and desires of their own time while always attempting to keep their more epic goal at the center.

So, a book with a good premise, but not all that entertaining to actually read, just a bunch of segments of dry political maneuvering.