Almost a decade after Forward the Foundation Hari Seldon, assistend by the loyal Yugo Amaryl, slowly makes headway with the development of psychohystory.  One day Seldon, now professor, intervenes when a speaker of the so-called Joranumites attempts to hold a rally at the University.  This brings Seldon to the attention of "Jo-Jo" Joranum, a rising political star with a populistic program.  They meet, and just like the Emperor Joranum sees how Psychohistory can be used to manipulate the people - but just like when the Emperor proposed this Hari Seldon refuses.  But Joranum has other things waiting in his political sleeve, and though it turns out rather bad for him, the result is that Eto Demerzel, old friend of Seldon, prime minister since decades and in fact a robot called R. Daneel Olivaw that is indistinguishable from humans, has to resign.  Hari Seldon is the logical choice, and now he has to combine his work on the development of Psychohistory with his duties as a prime minister.

About another decade later an unhappy and misunderstood gardener ends the life of emperor Cleon II, together with the political career of Hari Seldon.  An incompetent military junta takes over, and Seldon is relieved that he can continue the work on his science.  Another decade of hard work passes and finally the Psychohistory starts to show results that look like they might lead to something.  It seems that now is the time to start planting the seeds for what should become the core of the new empire.  But for this they need people, funds, and the cooperation of the Empirial Library, and without being able to tell anyone what they're really doing.  The decay of the empire, most visible in the increase in crime and the decrease of budgets seems to be forming an unsurpassable obstacle.  Seldon starts to become desperate, he just celebrated his sixtieth birthday and he stars to fear he won't live long enough to see real results.

His granddaughter Wanda seems to develop something that goes beyond simple intuition.  This quality which is found in a handful of other people seems to be the missing link Seldon was looking for.  But will it be enough?  Won't it be too late?

This book returns to the roots of the Foundation series, with a set of novellas that combine into a novel, but are stories on their own.  Each of the novellas is named after the person that leaves Seldon's life during a period his psychohistory jumps forward.  Somehow that combination of stories makes this book stronger than others in this series that are one big novel, despite the fact that the end is known (as chronologically the Foundation, the first book in the series, follows right after this one), and despite the fact that there are some incorrections between that same Foundation and this book.

And if you know that Isaac Asimov was near the end of his life when he wrote this book there are some remarkable parallels between his life and Seldon's.  One could compare Seldon's Psychohistory with Asimov's Foundation series, and see both worry they won't live to see it finished, for example.

Anyway, this is more than the final book in the Foundation series.  I have the impression Asimov tried to wrap up everything he created and leave us something that in his view was as finished as he could make it.  It's not a good place to start the Foundation series, one needs to know too much to fully appreciate everything.  Neither is it a good place to start any of the Robot novels.  But it sure is a good book to finalize both series.