The World Set Free, with eBook, H. G. Wells
The World Set Free, with eBook, H. G. Wells
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The World Set Free, with eBook

Author: H. G. Wells

Narrator: Shelly Frasier

Unabridged: 6 hr 35 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/25/2009

Categories: Fiction, Classic

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

The Last War erupts in Europe, rapidly escalating from bloody trench warfare and vicious aerial duels into a world-consuming atomic holocaust. Paris is engulfed by an atomic maelstrom, Berlin is an ever-flaming crater, and the cold waters of the North Sea roar past Dutch dikes and sweep across the Low Countries. Moscow, Chicago, Tokyo, London, and hundreds of other cities become radioactive wastelands. Governments topple, age-old cultural legacies are destroyed, and the stage is set for a new social and political order.

The World Set Free is H. G. Wells's chilling and prophetic tale of a world gone mad with atomic weapons and of the rebirth of humankind from the rubble. Written long before the atomic age, Wells's novel is a riveting and intelligent history of the future that discusses for the first time the horrors of the atomic bomb, offering a startling vision of humanity purged by a catastrophic atomic war.

About H. G. Wells

Herbert George Wells, better known as H. G. Wells, was a novelist, journalist, sociologist, and historian who wrote over 100 books. His novels are among the classic works of science fiction. His works, which go beyond ordinary adventure stories, are thought-provoking, forcing the reader to examine the future of mankind.

Wells was born in Bromley, Kent, in 1866. His father was a shopkeeper and a professional cricketer until he broke his leg. Wells studied biology at the Normal School of Science in London and later taught in several private schools. In 1893, he became a full-time writer. He married one of his brightest students, Amy Catherine, in 1895.

Wells earned his reputation with a string of science fiction novels, including The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and The Invisible Man. In 1938, his realistic portrayal of a martian invasion in The War of the Worlds caused a panic across the United States when it was performed as a radio broadcast by actor Orson Wells. His science fiction stories have since become some of the most filmed works of all time.

Between the two world wars, Wells lived mainly in France. Beyond his literary career, he was the president of an international peace organization (PEN) from 1934 to 1946. In this capacity, he had discussions with both Stalin and Roosevelt, trying to recruit them to his world-saving schemes. However, he later became disillusioned with the cause of peace when global war broke out for the second time in a generation. Throughout the Second World War, Wells lived in his house on Regent's Park, refusing to let the blitz drive him out of London. He died there on August 13, 1946.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Manny on March 21, 2012

I read this when I was about 11 and I can't remember a thing about it, except that Wells predicts atomic weapons and they finally turn out to be a good thing. I suddenly feel I should re-read it! _________________________________________ Looking for something else, I just made a startling discovery.......more

Goodreads review by Warren on June 03, 2023

This is one of the more unsettling pieces of sci-fi I've read. I say "unsettling" not because of the early predictions of use of atomic power as energy, and (as most often cited by other reviews) nuclear war, but by the future echoes of Brexit, Marine LePen, and the question of a viable European uni......more

Goodreads review by MJ on June 26, 2019

As Iran and America ramp up nuclear war, it is time to reappraise this 1914 novel predicting the atomic bomb. In the wake of the worldwide nuclear catastrophe, Wells envisions a form of world state, a global government, to prevent complete armageddon, not unlike the formation of the UN after WWII. T......more

Goodreads review by Brian on May 24, 2022

H. G. Wells is recognised as one of originators of science fiction. His remarkable novels, written around the start of the twentieth century, set the bar extremely high. The Time Machine, The Island of Dr Moreau, The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds and The First Men in the Moon, for example, ar......more

Goodreads review by Vicky on January 12, 2014

Who’s Watching Now? I undoubtedly will be spoiling the entire book, (including and not limited to the last paragraph) so if you want to read The World Set Free spoiler-free, then save my review for later. But, Wells’ ideas are not trivial and beg to be discussed.Though his writing was remarkably in......more