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Foundation: Audiobooks in Reading Order

The Foundation audiobook series runs 7 books in reading order, narrated by 2 narrators, about 76 hours total (estimated) in our catalog. We cover 7 Foundation audiobooks with live pages here, in the retailer's reading order, carrying 810 listener ratings between them. Back to back at an hour a day that is about 76 days of listening. Per-book length, rating and narrator are below, with a finish-time calculator for the whole series.

7books in order
76total hrs (est.)
810listener ratings
4.07★avg rating

The reading order

  1. Foundation by Isaac Asimov

    Book 1 · 7.1 hrs est. · 4.1★

    7.1 hrs est. · about 8 days at an hour a day · narrated by Scott Brick.

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  2. Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov

    Book 2 · 7.5 hrs est. · 4.1★

    7.5 hrs est. · about 8 days at an hour a day · narrated by Scott Brick.

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  3. Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov

    Book 3 · 7 hrs est. · 4.4★

    7 hrs est. · about 7 days at an hour a day · narrated by Scott Brick.

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  4. Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov

    Book 4 · 13 hrs est. · 4.1★

    13 hrs est. · about 13 days at an hour a day · narrated by Scott Brick.

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  5. Foundation and Earth by Isaac Asimov

    Book 5 · 14.9 hrs est. · 4.0★

    14.9 hrs est. · about 15 days at an hour a day · narrated by Larry McKeever.

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  6. Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov

    Book 6 · 13 hrs est. · 3.8★

    13 hrs est. · about 13 days at an hour a day · narrated by Scott Brick.

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  7. Forward the Foundation by Isaac Asimov

    Book 7 · 13.2 hrs est. · 4.1★

    13.2 hrs est. · about 14 days at an hour a day · narrated by Larry McKeever.

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The instrumentHow long to finish the whole series?

Based on 76 hours across all 7 books (some estimated).

Days to finish all 7 books at common listening paces
Your paceYou'll finish all 7 in
30 min / day152 days
1 hour / day76 days
2 hours / day38 days
1 hour / day at 1.5×51 days

What our data says about the series

  • 2 narrators across the 7 books: Scott Brick, Larry McKeever.
  • Longest: Foundation and Earth (14.9 hrs est.). Shortest: Second Foundation (7 hrs).

How this reading order is sourced

Reading order and series membership come from the audiobooks.com catalog, confirmed against each book's author on its own product page (we never guess). We list the 7 books this series carries with live pages in our catalog, positions 1 to 7, in order. Total listening time sums our per-book hours, some estimated from page counts at a typical narration pace. Dataset build 2026-07-24; the list recomputes with every data refresh. Full methodology · All science fiction audiobooks we measured

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Questions listeners ask

What order should I listen to the Foundation audiobooks in?

In reading order: 1. Foundation; 2. Foundation and Empire; 3. Second Foundation; 4. Foundation's Edge; 5. Foundation and Earth; 6. Prelude to Foundation; 7. Forward the Foundation.

How long are all the Foundation audiobooks together?

The 7 books we cover total about 76 hours (estimated for some). At an hour a day that is roughly 76 days; at 1.5× speed about 51 hours.

Who narrates the Foundation audiobooks?

Across the 7 books: Scott Brick, Larry McKeever.

Can I listen to the Foundation series free?

Yes, with the audiobooks.com free trial. Start the trial, get the books included, and cancel anytime; the trial stays free.