Andre

By all accounts, this book should not work. It spans several centuries in just 300 pages, frequently shifting away from its central characters and only referencing them later to tie the narrative together. Yet, this structure highlights Asimov’s brilliance in world-building, resulting in a true masterpiece. In this story, the protagonist is not an individual, but the Foundation itself. Its inception and growth provide all the narrative anchor needed. Even as the characters become mere specks in the passage of time, they perfectly exemplify the core tenet of psychohistory: it can predict the future of a civilization, but never that of an individual.

If I have one critique, it is that the characters navigating the recurring Seldon crises often seem too certain of their path, rarely displaying doubt in their actions. However, perhaps this is the inevitable result of Hari Seldon’s psychohistory—a design where the course set in motion by the Foundation leads to singular outcomes, effectively limiting the agency of those caught within its wake.

The title of this book is perfectly fitting for the story Sarah Wynn-Williams recounts, as the subjects seem entirely self-absorbed, prioritizing their own interests above all else. Even the author, who frames her early work at Facebook as an attempt to change the world for the better, cannot fully escape accountability for the monster the platform eventually became—regardless of how minor her personal contribution may have been in the grand scheme. Ultimately, the book’s most compelling takeaway is that strong regulation is paramount for any emerging industry; without it, these entities risk growing into forces that are impossible to tame.