 Isaac Asimov's foundation stories are considered some of the most important in science fiction and deservedly so. The first book is actually a collection of five short stories, some of Asimov's earliest work, and the stories themselves are not great, but the ideas are great. The first three stories are very interesting and very important. The last two stories were so uninteresting I didn't even finish them. But this is important stuff. Any real fan of science fiction needs to be familiar with these stories.