The Shape of Things to Come
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Penguin English Library features the best novels in the English language. Get lost in the amazing stories, browse the Penguin English Library. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Book Description
A prescient look at mankind's future.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Product Description
When Dr Philip Raven, an intellectual working for the League of Nations, dies in 1930 he leaves behind a powerful legacy - an unpublished 'dream book'. Inspired by visions he has experienced for many years, it appears to be a book written far into the future: a history of humanity from the date of his death up to 2105. The Shape of Things to Come provides this 'history of the future', an account that was in some ways remarkably prescient - predicting climatic disaster and sweeping cultural changes, including a Second World War, the rise of chemical warfare, and political instabilities in the Middle East.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the story of mankind upon this planet undergoes a change of phase. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the story of mankind upon this planet undergoes a change of phase. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
HG Wells has always been a bit of a guilty pleasure for myself, I've loved his War of the Worlds, I thoroughly enjoyed The Time Machine and have been entertained many a time by The Island of Dr Moreau. So when this title was rereleased in hardback by Gollancz, I felt it was time to reacquaint myself with this prolific author and to see what this title was about.
Whilst I hadn't read this book before I was wondering exactly what I was letting myself in for with this title from his later period of writing and whilst a number of events had an echo within our own history you can see the authors political views coming through quite strongly as well as his idealised version of society. It is well written, the characters engaging and the concepts discussed will generate quite a varied number of discussions amongst readers and whilst many feel that they can avoid reading this due to the films that have been released they don't do this title any real justice for the work that's within. Definitely a title that I'd suggest that you read once as it is not only the shape of things to come (at least genre wise) but a title that will have influenced a great many of today's writers who have taken Well's torch and carried it proudly.
Whilst I hadn't read this book before I was wondering exactly what I was letting myself in for with this title from his later period of writing and whilst a number of events had an echo within our own history you can see the authors political views coming through quite strongly as well as his idealised version of society. It is well written, the characters engaging and the concepts discussed will generate quite a varied number of discussions amongst readers and whilst many feel that they can avoid reading this due to the films that have been released they don't do this title any real justice for the work that's within. Definitely a title that I'd suggest that you read once as it is not only the shape of things to come (at least genre wise) but a title that will have influenced a great many of today's writers who have taken Well's torch and carried it proudly.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
You either love Wells or you hate him. The Shape of Things to Come is a fascinating book and I found a good read. There are plenty of reviews from other contributors and I would suggest reading those.
I would point out though that I read the Kindle version and, whilst I am a lover of the Kindle, here is yet another example of the publishers failing to properly proof read their Kindle versions of books before releasing them. The formatting of 'years', of which there are many in this book,is appalling eg z000 instead of 2000, zoi6 instead of 2016 etc etc. One gets used to the failure and quickly compensate for it but I find it very annoying when paying for a book (including VAT in the case of Kindle versions)to find sloppy editing and poor proof reading. From reading reviews of other Kindle versions of books it would appear that this is becoming a common problem which is a great shame as it will undoubtedly put some readers off buying Kindle and Kindle books.
However, this is a good read and I would not wish to put anyone off reading it.
I would point out though that I read the Kindle version and, whilst I am a lover of the Kindle, here is yet another example of the publishers failing to properly proof read their Kindle versions of books before releasing them. The formatting of 'years', of which there are many in this book,is appalling eg z000 instead of 2000, zoi6 instead of 2016 etc etc. One gets used to the failure and quickly compensate for it but I find it very annoying when paying for a book (including VAT in the case of Kindle versions)to find sloppy editing and poor proof reading. From reading reviews of other Kindle versions of books it would appear that this is becoming a common problem which is a great shame as it will undoubtedly put some readers off buying Kindle and Kindle books.
However, this is a good read and I would not wish to put anyone off reading it.
Format:Paperback
For anyone who follows or cares about Wells, this is an essential book, but sadly the Penguin edition is a mess. There are typographical errors on every page. Penguin seem to be establishing a firm reputation for this kind of exploitation. It is a really sad falling-off for a once serious company.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
One to read with caution
As a fan of H.G. Wells' writings, I was keen to read "The Shape of Things to Come", since it dealt with Wells' prediction of a Second World War, which did eventually come to pass,... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Andrew Norris
boring
this was a painful and boring read , very disappointing seeing as i am a huge h g wells fan . certainly his worst book
Published on 30 Jan 2010 by Ben Simons
Asks blindingly obvious questions which no one ever asks...
This is without doubt one of the major works of speculative fiction of the 20th century, and the fact that it is still so little known and so hard to get hold of is ample fuel for... Read more
Published on 16 May 2007 by S. J. Newton
Wonderful Wells!
I really enjoyed The Shape of Things to Come and it should be read in conjunction with Wells' 1927 equally prophetic but lesser known, A Story of the Days to Come, set in London. Read more
Published on 27 Sep 2006 by A BookReader
The Shape of Things to Come
This book has changed my life with its exsquisite insightfulness and determination to unveil the logic behind featured prophesies. Read more
Published on 11 Jan 2005 by David Brent
amazing how it has come to be.
i only remember parts of the book. i read it in high school over 50 yeras ago.i,ve saw a lot of it come to pass.
Published on 17 Oct 1998
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Fiction > Classics
- Books > Fiction > Literary Fiction
- Books > Science Fiction > Classics
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
