Book Review: It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis

The story takes place in 1936 during the depression and Hitler’s rise to power.  There are the problems of high unemployment, mass and unwanted immigration, loss of morals, welfare cheats (“freeloaders”), liberals, a lack of religion, and crime.  Sound familiar?  It gets better.  A demagogue named Buzz Windrip from the Democratic party comes to dump Roosevelt. 

He appeals to the masses and gets nominated for President.  He forms his own militia called the Minute Men, or M.M. (Nazi S.S.) for short, to whip up support and deal with any despondents.  Windup wins, neutralizes the Congress and the Supreme Court, and establishes a dictatorship.  Concentration camps are set up with torture, censorship, and the system of states are abolished, replacing them with eight provinces, and terror ensues.  Ethnic groups such as the Jews and the Negroes are “put in their place,” and women are confined to the home, as housewives, nothing more.  Major institutions such as the banks and oil fields are nationalized.

The story itself takes place in Fort Beulah, Vermont, with one professional journalist, Dormeus Jessup and his family who observe all this, yet write articles and editorials condemning this.  Naturally, the regime catches on and starts to terrorize Dormeus and his family.  A resistance is formed, and one of their major operations is smuggling refugees to Canada, where they carry out their planning and operations.

This book was written in 1935 during the Depression and the rise of Hitler and the author got his plot from observing the rise of Nazi Germany.  A close friend of his was even in Nazi Germany and provided Lewis with information about the Hitler regime, becoming the basis for this book.  The story takes place in 1936 but don’t be misled.  This is NOT alternate history.  It’s of a tyrannical regime that can rise here in the United States, and this book can be right at home in 1936, 2016, or 2036 equally, and bears parallels with what is happening today in 2016, especially during the presidential election.  

An irony here is that this fictitious regime was spawn from the Democratic party rather than the Republican party, as we would see it today.  Don’t forget, most racist politicians up until the 1960s were Democrats.

You will see the same problems then as today being the cause of America’s transition to a tyranny, and you will see that things really weren’t all that different back then.  Only the names have changed.  For example, the immigration problem back in the 1930s were the Jews, Italians, and the Chinese as opposed to the Mexicans, Syrians, and Africans of today.  We are still racist, and we still have the same economic problems with the same institutions, with people making the same proposals in dealing with them.  

You will see interesting parallels to Nazi Germany:  President Windrip’s book “Zero Hour” as opposed to Hilter’s “Mein Kampf”;  the Minute Men or M.M. as opposed to the S.S.; the Corpos as opposed to the Nazis; censorship, extreme brutality, confiscation of property, concentration camps, mass slaughters, racial persecutions, and the list goes on.

I think the main point of the book shows how fragile democracy really is and how we need to remain vigilant in order to protect it.  We need to watch our government, our institutions, and our businesses, especially big business, to make sure they never get beyond our control (as if they haven’t already, but people in this institutions still go to jail if caught at certain crimes, although it’s becoming rare).  If we slack off in our vigilance and actions, we just may end up like the regime depicted in this book.

Ironically, I found copies of this book at a coffee shop, left by someone eager to “get the word out” about what is going on today, and I see the point of that person who left them.  Note the title.  Many have said in the book, and in real life today, that what happened in Nazi Germany, the swaying of the masses and them giving a country over to a tyrant could never happen here in the U.S.

It can.  This book is timeless and serves as a warning to us all, even now.  Especially now.

Should America Fall

What if America should fall?  What if the United States should be reduced to just a backwater country, or should break up into smaller countries, all separate from each other.  This essay is about how this event, should it occur, will affect the rest of the world.  The effect will be huge, adverse, and catastrophic.

Here is the scenario.  The United States has ceased to be a world power.  At this time, the U.S. no longer has any influence on the world stage.  What will happen? 

In the Middle East, Iran, the strongest and most stable country, no longer has the U.S. as an obstacle.  If they have the atomic bomb, they will either use it, threaten to use it, or allow terrorist groups to use it.  It is difficult to say if they have any territorial ambitions.  

 At present, Iraq and Syria are already divided countries with Sunni, Shi’ite, and Kurdish factions.  Tensions will escalate causing the destruction of the countries and the deaths of innumerable citizens.  The outcome will be determined by the most powerful and organized state.  Without the intervention of a powerful U.S. presence, chaos will ensure on an insurmountable degree.  

Without U.S. support, the fate of Saudi Arabia will be in the hands of an ineffective royal family and the Wahabbi extremists.

Israel will be surrounded by massive hostility and their fate will depend on their ability to withstand these hostilities.  Israel is an extremely strong and stable country, and their prospects for their future appear promising.  Israel is a country known for both brilliance and resilience.  These attributes will serve them well when dealing with the many Mid-Eastern threats in the absence of a strong U.S. support.  

Israel and Palestine will continue their unresolved dispute, and many lives, on both sides, will be lost.

Without a strong U.S. intervention, China will inevitably annex Taiwan and claim the entire South China Sea.  These actions may necessitate an alliance between Southeast Asia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and perhaps India to secure their own safety and protection.

It is not unimaginable that North Korea will attempt to attack South Korea and Japan due to the lack of a strong global superpower intervention.  

Russia will have the opportunity to take back the former Soviet republics, now independent countries of Ukraine, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and Kazahstan.  All of these states, along with the rest of Europe, will have no choice but to fight back, but they will have an unlikely ally: China.
The alliance between China and Russia will be gone, because they would no long have the U.S. as a common enemy to fight.

Russia is not strong enough to fight a two front war and this could possibly give China the opportunity and advantage to take Siberia and all of Asiatic Russia while Russia tries to take back the former Soviet Republics.  

In the event of global chaos due to the lack of a global superpower, Central and South America, along with the Caribbean Islands, will fall prey to drug lords and many other fighting fiefdoms.  The general public will be subject to atrocities on a daily basis.  The citizens will pledge their loyalties to their respective regions - they will have no choice if they want to survive.

Canada and the U.S. will become closer allies vying for mutual survival.

Africa is even at the moment consumed with tribal wars and chaos.  Other countries will most likely try to take advantage of their vast mineral wealth causing yet more strife.  

Many nations feel that the powerful U.S. is policing the world, and we have made a few foreign policy blunders, the biggest being Iraq.  However, without these interventions, perhaps there would be even more political unrest .  As Colin Powell once said, “One of the fondest expressions around is that we can't be the world's policeman. But guess who gets called when suddenly someone needs a cop.”

Some important questions to consider if the U.S. should fail to remain the imminent world power are:

1. Who would take the place of the U.S.?
2. How will the political border of warring countries be decided?
3. Who will fight, or at least stand up, for the freedom of the individuals and their ruling powers?
4. How will the global community deal with the valuable resources of the planet?
5. What will happen to the citizens whose freedoms are infringed by extremists, facists, and totalitarian regimes?
   

There are so many more questions that will need to be addressed.  The U.S. government may have made many political errors, both by accident and by personal gain, but another question is, what is the alternative?  

This is a question that should be asked by everyone.  A unified planet is perhaps the only answer without the greed and selfishness of petty minded politicians.  Co-operation is the only true solution whether the U.S. remains the chief superpower or not.  

Here in the U.S. there are many problems to address both within and without the borders of this country.  Doing nothing is not an option.

Alastair Browne

edited by Rachel Maloney

An Appeal to Philanthropists and the Immensely Wealthy: Use Your Excess Wealth to Save America, Starting with Flint, Michigan

As we all know, the people of Flint, Michigan are suffering lead poisoning in their water supply system.  Between six and 12 thousand children drank this contaminated water with these higher level of lead, causing health problems, both physically and mentally, especially mentally.  Their development slows down, sometimes permanently and they also develop behavioral problems.

Today, the people of Flint are relying on bottled water, many donated from the outside, for all their needs, from cooking, to washing, to drinking.  Even though it has faded from the news, the crisis has not ended.

How did this come to pass?

The entire piping system in Flint, both residential and industrial, was installed between 1901 and 1920.  In those days, cast iron water pipe were used, and iron was the general element used.  Lead pipes were used to pipe water into the home, because they were cheaper.  I’m sure they knew that the leaching of lead would occur, but back then, it was considered acceptable.  They knew little of the adverse effects back then.

In 1967, water treatment plants considered a certain amount of the leaching of leading into drinking water acceptable.  Today, no amount is acceptable, because we now know what happens when even small amounts of lead is absorbed into the human body.  

Now to the present.  Before this present problem started, the water source for Flint was Lake Huron.  The water was treated and able to flow through Flint’s present piping system uncontaminated.  There was an idea in the city council for the City of Flint to save $5 million over two years, so it was decided to switch the water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River.  So, in April, 2014, that is what the city did, with disastrous results.

The water from the Flint River was contaminated, and corrosive to metal pipes.  Pipes, especially lead pipes, corroded, and more lead seeped into the drinking water, and the residents drank it, unwittingly poisoning themselves, and their children.  

The city council knew about this early, but did nothing.  They even covered it up for two years.  This news reached all the way to Governor Rick Snyder.  They did nothing.

When the news broke, all hell broke loose.  The scandal made national news, the residents found out they were poisoned, and the whole city reverted to drinking bottled water.  Naturally, a lot of anger fill the air, and rightly so.  Many of these residents are poor and are unable to leave the city for any amount of time.

There have been proposals to coat the lead pipes, and repair the old system.  But we know what’s really involved.  People don’t want to spend a huge amount of money to replace its piping system. 

The entire piping system in Flint, and the outskirts, has to be replaced, and it will cost billions of dollars.  High quality water pipes must be installed, old pipes need to be removed, and there is no other solution to this problem.

The problem is money.  City, state, and federal funds are low, one no one entity can pay for the entire process of ripping out old pipes and replacing them with new ones, including all pipes to lead to each individual house.  We can no longer borrow the money, from anyone or anything, to finance this massive project.

Who is going to pay for it?   Where are we going to get the money?  The job HAS to be done!

May I suggest the extreme wealthy?  Those who have made money off of Wall Street, those who have an excessive amount of money they can’t even begin to spend, stored in a vault in Switzerland or the Cayman Islands?!  There are also movie stars, sports figures, rock musicians, and CEOs.  All those who are rich, but especially those who live in the Flint area, or anywhere in Michigan.  

Now to speak directly to them.

The City of Flint needs your help!

If you have all that money, money that you will never spend, what do you plan on doing with it?  Do not spoil your children, for they will end up becoming lazy and non-productive, with nothing to show for it but empty lives.

You don’t seem to pay taxes on it.

Why not put that wealth somewhere where it can do humanity some good.  Do America some good, since it was this country that provided you with the freedom and opportunity to produce all your wealth.

Give back to your community!  Give back to your country.

The U.S. government, because of its massive debt, can no longer afford to rebuilt the entire infrastructure:  Bridges that need to be replaced;  Tunnels that need to be reenforced;  Roads that need to be repaired;  an electrical grid that needs to be upgraded, to a new, and smart grid;  Railroads need to be improved;  and piping systems in cities that need to be replaced, completely.

The piping system in Flint, Michigan is one place to start.  All pipes need to be replaced with stronger and safer pipes for water.  If the City of Flint, or the State of Michigan, or even the United States cannot afford to do so, I suggest that the very rich come in and help pay for a brand new piping system.  We ask all of you to DONATE money to replace it.  

Especially those who live either in Flint, or near the city, or even in Michigan proper, can anyone with a huge amount of money step in and donate the money to completely replace the piping system?

What I suggest is that any one individual, or even group of individuals, go to Flint City Hall and talk to the Mayor and the City Council about this.  After that, go to the state capitol in Lansing to announced it to the governor and the state senate and representatives about funding, or sponsoring a project such as this.  

The results will be phenomenal, with many others inspired to do the same thing in other places.  If a rich person lives in a small town, and the town’s bridge needs to be replaced, or roads need to be repaired, perhaps that person can step in and offer to pay for a new bridge or to fix the roads, saving both the save and federal government money.  Jobs would also be created, though they be temporary in some cases.  

This also applies to cities like New York, that need tunnels, bridges, railways, and roads to be replaced.  There are enough of the rich living in New York alone to collaborate on the financial aspects of a project such as this.  

This could be a way to help rebuild the country, by setting off a positive chain reaction in the wealthy helping to rebuild their localities all over the U.S.

In the early 1900s, Andrew Carnegie, founder of Carnegie Steel (renamed U.S. Steel) wrote “The Gospel of Wealth.”  In it, he wrote that when one has acquired a massive fortune, he should give it away, to help benefit humanity.  If one were to keep it, they would indulge and overindulge in it, basking oneself in luxury, drinking, and drugs, and, as previously mentioned, spoil their children.  

Neither Carnegie nor myself are Socialists, and this is not a socialist doctrine.  We are not saying to give one’s wealth to anyone on the street who has their hands out, for they would spend it on drugs and alcohol to their own detriment.  No, one uses it to benefit society by going to the right places, building libraries, schools, theaters, parks, and, with the problems we have now in the 21st century, help rebuild our infrastructure.

A word of caution:  beware on scam artists, for they may find ways to take advantage of this by setting up dummy organizations (corporations, charities, etc.).  There is that side of the coin, so go into places like city hall and state capitols and talk to the right officials.

Also, one does not have to give ALL their money away, just the excess amount that they will never spend or even invest.  Use the bulk that just sits in a bank, doing nothing and benefitting no one.  One can still keep a sizable chunk of their fortune to live comfortably, have a home in an exotic part of the world, and enjoy life, doing what one likes to do.

This is the problem with America’s wealth.  We may have economic problems, with the deficit and massive debts, but the U.S. remains the richest country in the world.  The problem is that our wealth sits in a bank somewhere, either in the U.S., or in offshore banks such as the Cayman Islands or Switzerland, doing nothing, benefitting no one, with no plans for it in the future.  

If we were to reinvest all that money into not only infrastructure, but new industries, technologies, and medicines, to name a few, the U.S. and its people, of all classes, would get out of the rut we are all in, economically and otherwise, and soar to new heights of prosperity, competing with countries like Germany, Japan, China, and South Korea, giving them all a run for their money.

All I’m saying is to take your excess wealth stashed away and put it to good use, serving your community, state, and country.

You (We) can start with Flint, Michigan.  You will be honored greatly by the people of Flint, and be remembered with greatness, for saving a town and the lives of its people.

I’ll end with a quote by John F. Kennedy:  “Ask not what your country can do for you.  Ask what you can do for your country.”

Alastair Browne

Book Review: Prelude to Foundation

After 35 years of the original “Foundation Trilogy” and a few years after the two sequels, we go back to the origin, meeting Hari Seldon as a young man as he presents his thesis of psychohistory, and “predicting” the future.  Note the quotes.  He doesn’t exactly predicts, but sees the future based on present circumstances, based on mathematics and history.  Here, he is not quite so confidant in his new theory or thesis, not so sure if it will work, he is not yet aware of the downfall of the galactic empire, and that’s how the situation is as he arrives to Trantor, from his home world of Helicon, to meet with the emperor of the galaxy, Cleon I.

You will note the differences from the original trilogy, written in the early 1950s, to this book, released in 1988.  In the trilogy, Trantor is just one big city covering the entire surface of the planet.  In this new book, Prelude to Foundation I’ve noticed that Trantor is covered with glass domes on different sections of the planet, and Seldon ventures on top on one of them.  You would never imagine this in the original trilogy.  There are open oceans, originally though to be completely covered with all the water in pipes.

Also, new characters and friends of Seldon are introduced:  Dors Venibili, the historian Seldon needs for his discipine; and a very tough woman, Raych, a little street wise urchin in one of the sectors (Dahl, a very hot section of Trantor, with the heat used for an energy source), and we meet Yugo Amaryl for the first time, a mathematician later to be of great value to Seldon.  At the end of the book, we meet one more character by surprise, someone familiar is Asimov’s other books.

Other than this, we see how Hari Seldon journeys from being very unconfident of himself and his works and gaining the knowledge he needs to pursue his discipline, the hard way.

As Seldon presents his theory to Cleon I, the emperor wants to use Seldon to make predictions to keep him and his family on the throne indefinitely.  Seldon tells the truth, but not what Cleon wants to hear, so Cleon and his aide Eto Demerzel (note the name, it become vital in the story) dismisses Seldon from his palace.  Seldon runs into Chetter Hummin, and leads him on a flight across the planet, to different sectors and cultures, some having strange customs.  

He is also warned by Hummin that the empire is dying, the main theme of the book.  The question is how and when.  As Seldon travels across Trantor to see these cultures and their people, he slowly learns how they, and all 25 million planets, are connected, and examines their attitudes and the infrastructure of these places, and the planet as well.  Many of these are parallel to what the United States is experiencing today.  Asimov states that this series is based on the fall of the Roman Empire, not the U.S.

There is plenty of action in Prelude.  One cause is that other than Cleon, one mayor of a sector wants Seldon to use psychohistory for her own benefit.  That is, having Seldon tell both her and Cleon what they want to hear, which is one of the main plots of the story.

At the end, you will see how this all comes together, leading the way to the original trilogy, but rounded out with Seldon having an (adopted) family and how it was decided to have two Foundations rather than one.  Other novels outside of the trilogy are also referred to, such as “The Robots of Dawn.”

After Prelude, Asimov continues the story, published after his death, in “Forward the Foundation.”

Book Review: Forward the Foundation

This is Isaac Asimov’s last science fiction novel, completed, and released one year after his death in 1992.  It is the final volume of the Foundation Series.  Chronologically, it’s really the second book in the series, if you count “Prelude to Foundation” as the first, and “The Foundation Trilogy” as the third, fourth and fifth books.  You will not be disappointed.  The questions of how the two foundations were formed, especially that of the Second Foundation, are answered.

The story opens 12 years after “Prelude,” and Professor Seldon is settled at Streeling University, on Trantor.  He has not perfected Psychohistory, and he is trying to perfect the Prime Radiant, the complex mathematical formula that can predict how humanity, throughout the entire galaxy, will react in certain crisis as the Galactic Empire falls and a long period of interstellar barbarism takes place.

This book is divided into four sections, four separate stories that are connected, one happening right after another as Seldon, and his family, lives at Streeling.  Each section revolves around a certain character, and at the end of each, reveals their fate.   Does Venabili is now Seldon’s wife.  Their adopted son Raych is now in his twenties, and Eto Demerol, a.k.a. R. Daneel Olivaw is now first minister, and friends with Seldon.  The Emperor Cleon I also develops a kinship with Seldon.  

Seldon, however, is not without his enemies, and that’s the plot of the book.  His Psychohistory has become well known, and many people think that is not only predicts the future, but the use of it by the right would place control of the future into their hands, so they go after Seldon for the “secret,” never realizing that there is none.   They never know until it’s too late for them.  

Laskin Joranum is the first villain, a cult like figure with his followers who think that by getting control of Psychohistory, they could rule the galaxy.  Even after his downfall, his followers do not give up on his plan.  The military thinks the same thing, and later, thugs are sent after Seldon, with the law supposedly on their side.

Seldon, meanwhile, tries to get help with his complex equations, and discovers the key to the Second Foundation (Terminus is already assigned to the First Foundation, supposedly to write the Encyclopedia Galactica, composing of all human knowledge.  What’s wrong with the library at Streeling University, I might ask?!  That question is answered in “Foundation.”).  

His own granddaughter accidentally finds out the answer to the Prime Radiant and discovers that she has a gift of controlling minds in making certain decisions, and Seldon capitalizes on this.  She soon discovers other people with the same abilities, and that is the birth of the Second Foundation.

There is action in this book, although they don’t travel around Trantor like in the first, but I think that’s the idea.  The adventures are over, and now it is time to get down to work, but other people, greedy for power through Seldon’s psychohistory still have to be dealt with and stopped, and many pay the ultimate price.  

The book ends, where “Foundation,” the first book of the trilogy, begins, except for the Epilogue.  

This is the link between “Prelude to Foundation” and “Foundation,” and should be included in reading the series.

Book Review: Foundation

This is not Star Wars by any means, and it involves a lot of psychology and strategy.  The plot is almost like a chess game, thinking two or more steps ahead of the game.

The Foundation Trilogy was written in the early 1950s, and some of the standards of that time, i.e. the position of woman have greatly progressed since that time, and the age of atomics, greatly featured was just beginning, but this remains a science fiction classic.  This is the first book.

It steps when a young Mathematician named Gaal Dornick travels to Trantor, capital planet of the galactic empire encompassing the entire Milky Way galaxy, with Trantor being on giant city covering the whole planet.  It is there he meet Hari Seldon, a dying man who, though his equations and psychoanalysis of humanity, predicts the fall of the galactic empire, while nobody else has a clue.  Seldon introduces the concept of psychohistory, the prediction of the reaction of the masses of humans when confronted with a crisis.  The greater the mass, the more accurate the prediction.  This concept, incidentally, is being examined today, in real life.

With this downfall will come 30 thousand years of barbarism throughout the galaxy.  It is too late to stop the fall, but, with the right strategy, the period of barbarism can be reduced to 1,000 years.  With that, Hari Seldon sets up two foundations at opposite ends of the galaxy to help control this period and help set up a new empire.

In this book, Seldon gathers up all the best minds of the empire, covering all academic disciplines, and settles them on the planet Terminus, an outlying planet on the periphery of the galaxy, with little or no natural resources.   An “Enclopedia Galactica,” is to be written an encyclopedia that will literally consists of all human knowledge in existence, a massive project.  This is so that when the new empire is form, humankind will be able to refer to it, reclaim knowledge that all of humanity will lose during the barbaric times.  Every so often, an image of Hari Seldon will appear in a vault advising them during a crisis.

Spoiler alert!  The encyclopedia turns out to be a hoax.  Dr. Seldon gathered the best minds on Terminus for a higher, more strategic reason.  The Foundation will form that new empire by taking the new “kingdoms” one by one, and uniting them.  Foundation will have a power that no one else has and everyone fears, and they will have what everyone else needs and will do anything to get it.

In this case, since Terminus has no resources, they will have to import raw materials and miniaturize everything.  This is their secret to power.  “Knowledge is power,” is a great application.  In this case, they miniaturize atomic power, having an atomic reactor literally fit into a walnut, and they use this talent, along with a new religion, to play kingdoms against one another until the Foundation absorbs them.  

The book is divided into five parts, and each part is in its own time period where a crisis erupts, Seldon comes in the form of a hologram to advise them, and then Foundation realizes what kind of power that have at the moment.  Threatening kingdoms come in to attempt to conquer the planet, but the Foundationers think ahead, and instead, defeats them, but with little or no violence.  They use what is needed at the time;  i.e.  a religion is formed in one era, flourishes, use it to control other planets, but then declines, as the Foundationers see fit.  Other philosophies and technologies then come in to take its place in usefulness.

The author, Isaac Asimov, stated that this series is based on The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and here, you see many similarities, but also differences.  Ancient Rome was known as Terminus, and the religion established to control the masses was none other than the Roman Catholic Church.  There was no “Foundation” or the gathering of intellectuals to preserve knowledge, and they could not set up a new empire.  

Many of these signs we see in the novel do apply to our society today, and in a way, the United States is declining, but it could change course and go on the up and up again, but with a lot of effort, money, and perhaps, a gathering of the best minds to see how our present day crises can be handled.

The book ends with the defeat of another threat that thought could overpower foundation, but the next book, Foundation and Empire, will have a new surprise.  Things can't go smoothly forever!

Book Review: Foundation and Empire

The Foundation, through trade, continues to expand its influence.

The Empire, even though it loses many of its sectors, continues to disbelieve its downfall.  This is a very common thought in any civilization in decline.

Now the Empire takes notice of the Foundation, and turns its attention to it.  The Galactic Empire wants the Foundation destroyed, and assigns its best general, Bel Riose, to do it.  The General makes his plans, and takes control of Foundation’s worlds, loosely connected by trade, one by one.  The Foundation takes notice, and defends itself with the smaller fighting ships, and it appears its losing, until the very end.  

Have a strong general and a strong ruler, the Foundation sees its threat, but pits them against each other. 

What was said loudly by an unnamed person in a bar, “you watch ol’ Foundation.  They wait for the last minute then— pow!”  This has been the strategy of the Foundation in both Foundation and the first half of Foundation and Empire.  The step back, examine the opponent, watch their behaviors and weaknesses, then go in for the kill.

Until the advent of the Mule!  The Mule has a power to mold’s men’s emotions and shape their minds.  His worst enemies become his most loyal allies, and nobody would fight him, so he conquers the outer edges of the galaxy, and even destroys Trantor, the capital planet.  

Foundation itself, the planet Terminus, is conquered by the Mule, and Seldon’s plans are seemingly laid waste.

This was one event Hari Seldon did not foresee, and it severely alters his plans for the new empire.  The Mule plans to completely take over the galaxy.

Two characters, Bayta Darell and her husband Toran, with a psychologist Ebling Mis, pick up and befriend a clown who was a fool of the Mule himself, and was running away from him.  They flee across the galaxy to Trantor, with the Mule and his conquests following.  The clown is to be watched here because there is a surprise in store involving him.

They try to find the Second Foundation to overpower the Mule, but it remains hidden, and is said to also possess mental powers like that of the Mule.  The Mule himself wants to find it, and destroy it.

It is here you begin to see that the second proposed empire may not be physically governed like that of the first, or any other government in history.  The Second Foundation seems to have something kept secret, so as the public could not even guess at its plans, so they keep their location, and its existence under wraps.

No matter how well one plans a strategy, some unknown factor will always intervene.  How it is to be handled will be answered in the third book, Second Foundation.

Book Review: Second Foundation

In this review, it is assumed that you have read the first two books of the Foundation Trilogy, “Foundation” and “Foundation and Empire” and are familiar with the story up to the end of the second book.

Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy is very easy to read, but there are many clues that you have to pick up in between the lines in order to fully understand the gist of the story, and this is especially true in the third book of the trilogy.   You have to read deeply as to the how and why of the story, why the Mule, and then later, the Foundation itself wants to search for the Second Foundation.  This book also explains the difference between the two Foundations, and why the First sees the second as an enemy.

The story begins with the Mule in his palace, after conquering a good portion of the Milky Way galaxy, being the Kalgan sector and the Foundation itself.  It was planned by Foundation’s founder, Hari Seldon, to avert 30,000 years of barbarism in the galaxy after its unavoidable downfall, reducing it to 1,000 years before another Empire arises, and the Foundation slowly organized the breakaway regions into a unified sector with the Foundation running things for 300 years for one crisis to another with Hari Seldon’s hologram guiding them, until the Mule appears, who successfully conquers a good portion of the galaxy.  The Mule had the ability to use his own mind to take and control other people’s emotions and turning his most bitter enemies into loyal allies.

The Mule, physically small and weak, with a miserable childhood, looks in the sky at the stars he conquered, but he is dissatisfied.  He wants them ALL!  There is only one obstacle that he has to encounter, the mysterious Second Foundation, supposedly at the opposite end of the galaxy from the First Foundation, a place no one knows where exactly, and no one has ever been, and no one has knowingly ever met a citizen of that institution.  It is totally unknown, the only thing known about it is that unlike the First Foundation, that deals in the physical sciences and the predictions of the human masses, this Second Foundation deals with the psychological aspect of the human individual, and it members have mental powers equal to that of the Mule.  For this reason, the Mule must search for it, and destroy it, for the rest of the galaxy to be his.

As the Mule makes his plans, there are Interludes after the first six chapters of a meeting of Second Foundationers “in a dark room” with a meeting of individuals who communicate with each other by mind reading, and here, you start to get what the Second Foundation really is.  It is a meeting of the minds, using psychology, as opposed to physical science.  They make their plans on how to deal with the Mule.

The Mule sends out two of his followers: Hans Pritcher, a Foundationer who fell under the Mule’s control, and the freely uncontrolled Bail Channis, and they go from planet to planet at the other end of the galaxy to search for the Second Foundation.  But the Second Foundation knows of this search and devises a way to outwit the Mule at his own game.

The story then switches over to the First Foundation, on the planet Terminus, where we met a rambunctious 14 year old girl name Arcadia Darell, granddaughter of the famous Bayta Darell, who outwitted the Mule by killing Ebling Mis who almost revealed the location of the Second Foundation to the Mule, thus depriving him of his long sought for prize.   Arcadia ends up running away with a visitor, Homir Munn, who visits Kalgan to meet the “successor” of the Mule, and his “partner” and through Acadia’s influence, visits the Mule’s sacred palace to gather information for a book about the Mule.  Homir Munn is arrested while Arcadia escapes, having the Kalgan empire searching for her.

The story switches again over to the Second Foundation, and here, they work on a new concept of ruling the galaxy by Mental Science, a concept never before used by man.  Since time began, any society only achieved a maximum of 55% stability, (no corruption for example, which is impossible) and would eventually, but always fail.  This new concept would keep everything in line, just as the Second Foundation, when the First Foundation goes off the track by unpredictable forces like the Mule, the Second Foundation would push it back on track again, to continue on the Seldon Plan of new galactic rule.

The First Foundation starts to see what the Second Foundation is doing, and fears it, even more so than the Mule.  So, they set on a mission to search and destroy it, so they will have the final say in the Seldon Plan.  

Conflicts with the Kalgan Sector start to flare up, and there is a search for the main culprit, Arcadia Darell herself, who, for the first time in her life, starts to fear what is chasing her and runs into the arms of a Preem Palver, and at the end of the book, there is a surprise ending.  

War between Kalgan and Foundation ensues.  

At the end, the Second Foundation is located, or so they think.  The real location of the Second Foundation comes as a surprise to the reader.

The secret of Arcadia Darell’s personality and influence is also revealed, for she played a major role in the story.  The end of the Foundation Trilogy is sort of a surprise ending in a sense that you don’t expect the concept of Mental Science in the story, especially with the control of emotions like that of the Mule, or beyond like the Second Foundation.  What was expected, especially in the first two books was simply a new empire in a thousand years being run like the way any civilization was also run, by physical science, laws, and basic human behavior in the form of “normality.”  Asimov, however, start to go beyond this and delve into Mental Science, in the form of insuring mental stability in each human being, or so I believe.

Thirty years after this trilogy, Asimov released a fourth book, “Foundation’s Edge,” which delves into this even deeper.

Book Review: The Foundation Trilogy

Author's note:   This book is what I have based in entire page, FOUNDATION on, so I have finally written a review.  Maybe not the best, and I try not to summarize it.  When you compare the downfall the the galactic empire in the first two books (Foundation;  Foundation and Empire), to that of the United States today, you will get a clearer picture on why I have used this theme.  One more thing:  my own page, Facebook and this blog, is NOT a "fan club" of the book, just a comparison.

This is Isaac Asimov’s masterpiece.  This is about the fall of the Galactic Empire, consisting of the entire Milky Way galaxy.  In the story, there are twenty five million inhabited planets, with a population in the quintillions, set 50,000 years in the future.  The planet of origin had long been forgotten, and the citizens of the galaxy knew of no other form of government.  Nobody in the galaxy was aware of what was to happen.

Nobody, except one man, a psychologist named Hari Seldon.  He invented the concept of psychohistory, predicting the behavior of human masses.  The behavior of one human being is unpredictable, but the behavior of masses of people can be predicted in their reactions to any event.  The greater the mass, the easier it is to predict their reactions. 

In predicting the fall of an empire, Dr. Seldon foresees 30,000 years of barbarism, a dark age, ahead for humanity.  The fall of this empire could not be averted, but the period of barbarism could be reduced from 30,000 years down to 1,000 years, so Dr. Seldon sets up two foundations, “at opposite ends of the galaxy” in order to observe and intervene when necessary when a major crisis arises, and for the Foundation, the First Foundation in this case, can deal with it and move on with its work.

Dr. Asimov himself has stated that this trilogy is based on the book, “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.”  You can see the resemblances here.  Rome itself was also known as Terminus back in the days of the empire.  When Rome fell, it did split apart into feudal kingdoms before the Renaissance, and then the nation-state came into being.  Don’t forget the Barbarians, the Germanic tribes to the North of Europe.

With this, you have an interesting book.  Little kingdoms are formed as the empire falls apart, all trying to be the top power, with several battles taking place here and there.  There are different planets with different physical features;  one planet always faces its sun, with the inhabitants living on the border day/night (twilight) zone.  Another planet being cold nine months of the year, and, of course, Trantor, the capital with one gigantic city covering the whole planet, until it gets sacked.

What is different is that the two foundations, in the book, try to minimize the barbarous, or chaotic, era to 1,000 years, controlled by the First Foundation, which is openly displayed for all to see.  The Second Foundation was a lot more mysterious, with no one knowing where it is.

Terminus is a planet with no natural resources, so the people, especially the scientists, placed there have to use their ingenuity to come up with ways to control the masses in the galaxy by way of a religion, the Galactic Spirit (similar to Christianity) and also come up with miniature technology, i.e. atomic weapons and power plants the size of a golf ball (my example).  Whenever Terminus, of the Foundation is threatened, the image of Hari Seldon appears in a room, where the top echelon of the Foundationers gather, and Seldon tells of the crisis he predicted and tells the Foundationers what they should do about it.  Terminus rises from a threatened entity to an indispensable society, with the other kingdoms highly dependent on it.

All goes well, and the First Foundation starts to rise as a new force in the galaxy, until the coming of an unforeseen conqueror, the Mule.  The Mule has a way of controlling minds from afar and uses it to establish his own empire.  He could turn his most bitter foes into his closest allies through mind control.  (One person pointed out to me that this is similar to the coming of Islam, but this is very different).

This is where the mysterious Second Foundation comes in, and both the Mule and others start to search for it, to destroy it, but the Second Foundation uses deception to lead these searcher off the track.  They also have a “counter mind control” that threatens the Mule himself.

This book will take you to planets and lead you into battles, battles that were started by those you would not suspect for reasons that you would never guess.  In a way, this book could be a psychology book, teaching you the reactions of the masses whenever a crisis occurs.  Psychohistory is becoming a new and important discipline in our society today. 

The original trilogy was written in the early 1950s, but it is not dated by any means.  All of these situations could be applied today.  For example, look at the condition of the United States and see what could be ahead for them.  Look at the masses of people and how they react to the present crisis we are in, and will find a lot of similarities.

Asimov has written two sequels to this trilogy, and two prequels after that, leading you to other series of books, including the robot novels, but this trilogy is the core of his writings, and it is a good stand along book, or books, since there are three of them.

If you decide to get into his “Foundation series,” read this trilogy first, then delve into the robot novels and others, then reread this trilogy.

Reading The Qur'an (or The Koran)

In reading and watching events of the Middle East unfold in this day and age, one would be curious about The Holy Qur’an, or The Koran, being the holy book of the entire Islamic faith.  We call the book holy, yet we see so many Muslims killing those of other faiths, sects, and themselves, all in the name of Allah.  I have finally gotten myself to read this book, and what I have found both will and will not surprise you.  There are many acts that many Islamic radicals are practicing that goes against the teachings of Muhammed and this book that he has written, dating from 610 to 635 C.E. (Common Era, the same as A.D.).  The main question that we want to ask ourselves, which many Muslims claim is “Is Islam a religion of peace?”

I am aware that there are many different sects of Islam, but this essay only covers the holy book itself, so please bear with me on this.

This particular edition was translated by Maulana Muhammad Ali in 1917.  This book has an introduction covering several topics, including war, peace, customs, and women’s rights (4:19, 4:32-35).  Basically, it tells that Islam, in reality, is a religion of peace and tolerance (2:136, 137).  The text has the original Arabic writing and script on the right hand side of the page, (sensible, because Arabic writing is from right to left) with the English translation on the left.  There are 114 chapters in all, in order from the longest to the shortest, and footnotes are provided to explain the meaning of certain passages.

This is easy reading, but in order to fully understand the Koran, one must know the history of the region around the Arabian peninsula at the time when Muhammad founded the Muslim faith, and to what he was referring to in certain verses.  There is a lot of ambiguity here.

This book is not in chronological order in terms of history.  It is more in order of the size of each chapter, with as many as 286 verses on the second chapter (the first chapter, being the introduction has seven verses) and a few as three verses on the 110th chapter.  Many of the teachings are repeated throughout the book as he writes for certain tribes in certain place, similar to the epistles of Paul in the New Testament.  

Each chapter begins with an introduction by the translator, explaining the time and situation of the Muslims.  Depending on the time and place, these Muslims were in conflicts with tribes of other beliefs.  The purpose of that chapter was to tell them that they will prevail

There are footnotes explaining the historical significance behind certain verses, meaning that they don’t apply to everyday life, especially in these modern times.  What I would recommend in reading this book is that there be a college course in studying it, along with the history of those times, and the biography of Muhammad himself, along with what the Arab culture was like before the advent of Muhammad and Islam.  I would also recommend that you know the Bible, for much of it is mentioned in The Qur’an.

This book makes many references to The Bible, in both the Old Testament (and the Torah) and the New Testaments which they refer to as the Gospel.  All of these prophets in all these scriptures are looked upon with the utmost respect.  They are called the messengers of God, from Adam up to Jesus, with Muhammad being the last and final messenger, to which the Qur’an and the Islamic faith is based.  In a way, the Qur’an and the Bible are a lot more similar than they are different.

One example is that in creation, rather than six days, the Qur’an says it took six periods (11:7), but it says that in the Bible that one day to the Lord is a thousand years to man (II Peter 3:8).

The prophets/messengers mentioned from the Bible: Adam, Noah, Lot, Abraham and his two sons Isaac (father of the Hebrews) and Ishmael (father of the Arabs), Isaac’s son Joseph, along with Moses, David, Jonah, and Jesus, and they are all highly respected (3:84, 85), but their stories here vary from the Bible.  As an example, Lot’s wife did not leave Sodom and turn into a pillar of salt, she was simply left behind when it was destroyed due to her lack of faith (29:31-33).  

Jesus was born of a virgin, not in a manger, but in an oasis, alone, as Mary sat against a palm tree  A river was created by Allah/God just for her to quench her thirst, and dates dropped from a palm tree.  When she return to her people, Jesus, as a baby, talked to the unbelievers (19:23-33).  As a prophet, Jesus is looked upon as a messenger of God/Allah, but not the savior.  He predicted the coming of Muhammad, who would be the last and foremost (61:6).  They also believe that, although Jesus was crucified, he did not die on the cross, but was taken down after a while and survived (4:157)

Islam IS preached as the only true religion (3:19; 33:40), the religion of truth, and that it will spread.  The Hebrews had their chance with Allah, but they failed, as did the Christians, so the “complete truth” was given to the Muslims.  The Muslims also don’t like fact that the Jews are said to be the “chosen ones” to the exclusion of everyone else (62:6).

The Qur’an does tell a Muslim not to be friends with Christian or Jews (5:51), but has later been found to be in times of war only.  It does permit friendship with non-threatening non-Muslims (60:8).  The Qur’an does harshly criticize both the Jews and the Christians, however.  It also preaches that Allah has no son, so that excludes Jesus (thought he is looked upon as Allah’s messenger, foretelling the “prophet coming after me,” being Muhammad (61:6).

It has to be remembered up until this time, 600 C.E., the Arabs had no monotheistic religion for the spread of Christianity during that time did not come into their part of the world.  Muhammed felt that his people needed a monotheistic religion to establish their own identity.  They were also fighting the Jews and the Christians during this era, so, in their own eyes, they were the persecuted, and the heroes.  No tribe or individual is ever a villain in his own eyes.  That must always be remembered.

What does the Qur’an really teach?  How is it prevalent today?

First and foremost are the two foundations of Islam:  

1. Pray to Allah.  When praying, you have to be sincere.

2. Helping the poor.

Looking at radical groups such as ISIS and Al Qadea, and warring factions of Islam, such as the Shi’ites, the Sunnis, the Wahhabis, and others, that preach hatred, violence, revenge, it is surprising that none of this is in the Qur’an.

The Qur’an does not preach “an eye for an eye,”  or capital punishment, no matter what the crime.  It does, however, preach to cut off the hands of thieves (5:38), a custom that is still in practice today.  It also preaches to whip adulterers and adulteresses (24:2), but these two are as far as severe punishments goes.

Alcohol and pork are forbidden.

Killing would be for self defense only, in times of war (2:190, 191;  22:39, 40), never in times of peace, never innocent people, and never people of other faiths.  Also, show mercy to those who surrender (2:192, 193).  Yes, The Qur’an taught religious tolerance, (2:136-137) and it was practiced in Istanbul in the Ottoman Empire, but Islam was still the top religion.  This empire always looked to the west, as does Turkey today, though this may change.

What is surprising in this book is that it taught respect towards women, along with equality or near equality.  Women can inherit property almost equal to that of men (4:7), and men are forbidden to beat women, especially their wives (2:231).  Divorced women have to be respected and provided for by their ex-husbands (64:17). 

A true Muslim must do good deeds every day (4:124), to dedicate your life to serving and helping others (76:9) in Allah’s name.

The Qur’an preaches that Allah is merciful and forgiving (42:39, 43).  Each chapter, except Chapter 9, begins with “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.”

The main point that is stressed is to believe, do good, and serve ALL (emphasis mine) of humanity (76:9).  If one gives to Allah, meaning the poor, he will get twice as much in return (64:17).

What the Qur’an does not teach is:  praying five times a day (though it does say that Mecca, or Makkah, is to be the spiritual center of the world), women wearing burkas from head to toes, forcefully converting others to the Islamic faith, nor does it condone rape, and beating women in general.  Nor does it mention killing people of other religions, suicide bombers (the book was written around 620 C.E.), and it does not mention that if you die in a suicide attack, you will go to Heaven having 72 virgins waiting for you.

The Qur’an says nothing about Sharia Law, or anything similar to it.

One Christian teaching is that Abraham took his son Ishmael (as opposed to Isaac in Christian and Hebrew doctrine) to be sacrificed.  It doesn’t say that, anywhere in the book.

There is revelation and judgement.  This is the promise that in the last days, the faithful will go to the Garden (Heaven) and the unbelievers will go to Hell, just like in The Bible.

Chapter Nine of the Qur’an is called The Immunity, also known as Ultimatum.  It is also known as Abrogation, meaning that war and killing non-Muslims is now acceptable and that religious tolerance, as well as equal treatment for women are now null and void.  According to the author, this is incorrect.

This chapter was Muhammad’s last chapter, written in 631 C.E., one year before he died.  During this time in Arabia (the Arabian Peninsula, what is now Saudi Arabia and Yemen) Muslims were battling idolators and made peace treaties with them, but they were constantly broken, with idolators (I assume tribes that still worshipped pagan gods) continually attacking and terrorizing Muslim tribes.  Because of these treaty violations, these Muslims were forced to defend themselves and their religion.  Where it say “Islam will triumph,” means that the Muslim tribes will win out over the idolators, and the Islamic faith will spread far and wide, which eventually, it did.

So there you have it.  The Qur’an mainly preaches religious tolerance, peace, and good works along with respect for women, although it does  harshly criticize both the Jews and the Christians, and it does say that Islam is the one true faith and carries the complete truth.  It tells Muslims to fight and defend themselves, and to spread the word of Allah, but it does not tell them to kill others that are not at war with them, including non-Muslims.

Here are the questions, and an attempt to answer them.  

Is Islam a religion of peace?  It can be.  Although many radicals use the scriptures to justify violence by saying that the people they terrorize are at war with them, even though most of these people say they’re not, nor has war been declared.  The solution here is for the mainstream Muslims, who are law abiding citizens in the Middle East, Europe, the United States is for them to become more vocal, to drown out the radicals and condemn the violence these radicals Islamists are committing.  It also must be said that these radical Muslims, being ISIS and Al Qaeda and other groups, are not true Muslims because they are not following the teachings of Muhammad.

There have been times in history, such as the Ottoman Empire, where Muslims lived side by side with Jews and Christians, and it can be so again.  Although in the Ottoman Empire, Islam was the true religion, and that attitude must change.  Perhaps there can be among the Muslims an equivalent to a “Vatican II” or a Muslim Martin Luther arising from the crowd.

As for women’s rights, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries that require women to wear burkas head to toe, to always be accompanied by a man when outside the home, and forbidding them to drive must change.  Some countries still forbid young girls to go to school, and they have a lot of potential for their society.

One final thought.  In an Islamic society, does the government of that country have to abide by Islamic Law, or should there be a complete and total separation of Mosque and  State, like we have the separation of Church and State in the United States.  

Well, first of all, do not mistake the preceding paragraph for the Muslim world should be like America, it doesn’t mean that at all.  What I’m saying is that religious law can be strict, going way beyond what scripture, any scripture, says.  One reason why many people want religious law is that their society has been so corrupted is that they feel that “God’s Laws/Allah’s Laws” would straighten it out and make life better for everyone.

There is no mention of government in the Qur’an.  That should be left to each individual country whether they want that or not.  I have seen throughout history, and today’s societies I might add, that any Church or Mosque ruling a country is never good, it makes life difficult for everyone, and it does not end corruption.  I would say that it isn’t necessary.  You can have a secular society in a predominantly Muslim country, just like in any predominantly Christian country.

All Muslims, if they want to be devout Muslims, must read the Qur’an thoroughly and understand what it really means.