This article is from the Isaac Asimov FAQ, by Edward J. Seiler ejseiler@earthlink.net and John H. Jenkins jenkins@mac.com with numerous contributions by others.
In the Author's Note at the beginning of Prelude to Foundation , Asimov says:
"In any case, the situation has become sufficiently complicated for me to
feel that the readers might welcome a kind of guide to the series, since
they were not written in the order in which (perhaps) they should be read.
"The fourteen books, all published by Doubleday, offer a kind of history
of the future, which is, perhaps, not completely consistent, since I did
not plan consistency to begin with. The chronological order of the books,
in terms of future history (and not of publication date), is as follows:
"1. The Complete Robot (1982). This is a collection of thirty-one
robot short stories published between 1940 and 1976 and includes every
story in my earlier collection, I, Robot (1950). Only one robot short
story has been written since that collection appeared. That is 'Robot
Dreams,' which has not yet appeared in any Doubleday collection.
[ Robot Dreams (1986) does contain it; see also Robot Visions (1990)]
"2. The Caves of Steel (1954). This is the first of my robot novels.
"3. The Naked Sun (1957). The second robot novel.
"4. The Robots of Dawn (1983). The third robot novel.
"5. Robots and Empire (1985). The fourth robot novel.
"6. The Currents of Space (1952). This is the first of my Empire novels.
"7. The Stars, Like Dust-- (1951). The second Empire novel.
"8. Pebble in the Sky (1950). The third Empire novel.
"9. Prelude to Foundation (1988). This is the first Foundation novel
(although it is the latest written, so far).
[9a. Forward the Foundation (1993).]
[9b. Foundation's Fear (1997).] The first novel in the Second Foundation
Trilogy, it was written by Gregory Benford. Takes place after the first
chapter of Forward the Foundation .
[9c. Foundation and Chaos (1998).] The second novel in the Second
Foundation Trilogy, written by Greg Bear. Takes place at the approximate
time of Hari Seldon's trial.
[9d. Foundation's Triumph (previously titled Third Foundation and
Secret Foundation ) (scheduled for March 1999).] By David Brin.
"10. Foundation (1951). The second Foundation novel. Actually, it is
a collection of four stories, originally published between 1942 and 1944,
plus an introductory section written for the book in 1949.
"11. Foundation and Empire (1952). The third Foundation novel, made up
of two stories, originally published in 1945.
"12. Second Foundation (1953). The fourth Foundation novel, made up of
two stories, originally published in 1948 and 1949.
"13. Foundation's Edge (1982). The fifth Foundation novel.
"14. Foundation and Earth (1983). The sixth Foundation novel."
Note that this order is slightly wrong, in that Currents of Space
actually takes place *after* The Stars, Like Dust-- . Also Foundation
and Earth was published in 1986, not 1983.
 
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