The War of the Worlds (Bantam Classics)
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Review
"The creations of Mr. Wells . . . belong unreservedly to an age and degree of scientific knowledge far removed from the present, though I will not say entirely beyond the limits of the possible." --Jules Verne
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
Title: The War of the Worlds.
Publisher: British Library, Historical Print Editions
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the world's largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC.
The HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT WORLD collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. Titles in this series include lectures, compiled sketches, and chronological discourses on Greece, Rome, and other early European and African civilisations. The collection also has a selection of physical and classical geography texts.
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The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification:
++++
<Source Library> British Library
<Contributors> Wells, H. G.;
<Original Pub Date> 1898.
<Physical Description> viii. 303 p. ; 8º.
<Shelfmark> 012623.f.35.
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Publisher: British Library, Historical Print Editions
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the world's largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC.
The HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT WORLD collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. Titles in this series include lectures, compiled sketches, and chronological discourses on Greece, Rome, and other early European and African civilisations. The collection also has a selection of physical and classical geography texts.
++++
The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification:
++++
<Source Library> British Library
<Contributors> Wells, H. G.;
<Original Pub Date> 1898.
<Physical Description> viii. 303 p. ; 8º.
<Shelfmark> 012623.f.35.
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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First Sentence
No one would have believed, in the last years of the nineteenth century, that this world was being watched1 keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinized and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinize the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
No one would have believed, in the last years of the nineteenth century, that this world was being watched1 keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinized and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinize the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
58 of 59 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The narrator, who's name we never learn, recounts the terrible events that took place six years earlier, which alerted the people of Earth to the danger from space. Strange lights, like huge spouts of flaming gas are observed on the surface of Mars - a curiosity that stimulates much speculation in the newspapers. Later, when great cylinders begin to drop from the sky onto areas around London and disgorge weird creatures that immediately start fabricating machines of war, it becomes clear that these lights were the first signs of an invasion from Mars. Mars is a dying planet so the Martians need to find a new home. They have no thought of sharing with the indigenous inhabitants of the planet they've chosen to colonize. The initial, innocent, friendly approach by some of the residents of the village close to the first landing is repelled with lethal force. Soon their intentions become all too obvious. The Planet Earth and all its animals (including human kind), vegetation and minerals are nothing more than resources to be consumed or otherwise exploited by the Martians. Their technology is far superior to ours and they employ it with cold and shocking efficiency. How can the people of late 19th century England resist such overwhelming power? The situation is grim indeed, and once England has been vanquished, the Martians mean, of course, to conquer the rest of Britain and then the rest of the world.
When you consider that this book was first published in 1898, and that up to that time no other author had written a tale about invasion from beyond our planet, the original ideas H G Wells poured into this work are very impressive. The hoard of scientific knowledge has practically exploded since that time and also, people have read dozens of sci-fi books, watched countless sci-fi films and played a range of space invader-type computer games. It is easy to forget that when Wells wrote this book, his ideas were new - generated by him alone - and he, himself, had never had the chance to read a story about extra-terrestrial life. I'm full of admiration for this author.
This particular version of "The War of the Worlds", the Penguin Classics publication, has a few extras that I found helpful and interesting. There are Biographical Notes by Patrick Parrinder that briefly describe the life of Herbert George Wells and mention some of his other books, of which there were many. There is a fairly long Introduction by Brian Aldiss which actually repeats some of the information offered in the Biographical Notes and then provides a much fuller description of Wells, his life, his relationships, his motivations and how the War of the Worlds expresses some of his feelings about how technologically advanced societies have subjugated or exterminated more primitive cultures. The Martians' murderous colonization of England could be a metaphor for England's equally destructive colonization of Tasmania for example. Wells subtly hints to the reader that the Martians' lack of moral sense or compassion does not distinguish them from us. Patrick Parrinder then suggests Further Reading and provides Notes on the Text and, finally "The War of the World" begins. The story itself takes up less than 180 pages so it's relatively short. But then there's more: at the end of the book there's an Appendix with a Note of Places in the Novel, including a map, and then, absolutely finally, there are further Notes relating to each individual chapter.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys science fiction.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
First published in 1898, The War of the Worlds was the first of many tales concerning good old God-fearing planet Earth and alien invasion. Modern stories of alien invasion or human annihilation, like Independence Day or Alex Garland's 28 Days Later, are but mere hand-me-downs in comparison, sloppy seconds that owe everything to the unquenchably creative imagination of the original Sci-Fi master, H.G Wells. The scenes of desolation that confront Garland's lonely antagonist as he walks the empty streets of London in 28 Days Later are taken straight from the final chapters of Wells' original. How many times have we seen 'laser beams' on screen in a million B movies and dozens of Hollywood rip-offs? How many episodes of Star Trek have we to put up with? How many more sci-fi plagiarists will have their second rate books published on the back of Mr Wells's masterpiece? On the plus side, without The War of the Worlds, there may never have been a Star Wars. There may never have been a Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
What is most astonishing about this book is the fact that it was written in the nineteenth century; post Verne, but pre-Hitler. The themes explored in the book - the notion of invasion, of social disruption, war and domination -, are all themes associated with the subsequent World Wars. Wells was not only dealing with his own notions of extraterrestrial life and the choices man faces in his slow path toward earthly extinction; he was also perhaps toying with the notion that mankind, in its fin-de-siecle obsession with technology, could indeed bring about its own, premature destruction through the war of nations. In this sense, the book also has much in common with Orwell's '1984'.
As the world awaits the release of Spielberg's 2005 film, the sheer inventiveness of Wells' original story becomes clearer with every day that passes. Inevitably, Spielberg has set his story in America - how inventive, how novel! -, thus, in my opinion, totally undermining the potential of a modern cinematic interpretation. Why not set the story in Georgian London? Having the multitudes escape the aluminium tripods of the "big greyish rounded" aliens in horse-drawn carriages, as Wells describes it, would surely provide a greater cinematic aesthetic juxtaposition. Instead, Tom Cruise will look upon the wreckage of a destroyed white house, perhaps, or a red-weed encrusted Statue of Liberty; images that have been played with before, therefore diminishing the impact that a ruined Westminster or a wounded St. Paul's would provide.
At 180 pages, it is a short book; but Wells manages to build the tension from the very first page. Those first few words, made even more famous by the irrepressible Orson Welles during his hysterical radio transmission of the story to an unexpecting American public in the 1950s, continue to send shivers up the spine. "No one would have believed, in the last years of the nineteenth century, that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligence greater than man's."
The majority of the story is written away from the glare of the Martian 'Heat-Rays', and instead plays with the impact that invasion has on ordered society. But the threat of the invaders instils a suspense throughout that has the reader racing through each chapter in order to look again upon the alien intelligence. Perhaps the most thrilling episodes are those where man displays his own ability to fight back. But the finale, and the images described in the final chapters, make the book an undeniable classic.
What is most astonishing about this book is the fact that it was written in the nineteenth century; post Verne, but pre-Hitler. The themes explored in the book - the notion of invasion, of social disruption, war and domination -, are all themes associated with the subsequent World Wars. Wells was not only dealing with his own notions of extraterrestrial life and the choices man faces in his slow path toward earthly extinction; he was also perhaps toying with the notion that mankind, in its fin-de-siecle obsession with technology, could indeed bring about its own, premature destruction through the war of nations. In this sense, the book also has much in common with Orwell's '1984'.
As the world awaits the release of Spielberg's 2005 film, the sheer inventiveness of Wells' original story becomes clearer with every day that passes. Inevitably, Spielberg has set his story in America - how inventive, how novel! -, thus, in my opinion, totally undermining the potential of a modern cinematic interpretation. Why not set the story in Georgian London? Having the multitudes escape the aluminium tripods of the "big greyish rounded" aliens in horse-drawn carriages, as Wells describes it, would surely provide a greater cinematic aesthetic juxtaposition. Instead, Tom Cruise will look upon the wreckage of a destroyed white house, perhaps, or a red-weed encrusted Statue of Liberty; images that have been played with before, therefore diminishing the impact that a ruined Westminster or a wounded St. Paul's would provide.
At 180 pages, it is a short book; but Wells manages to build the tension from the very first page. Those first few words, made even more famous by the irrepressible Orson Welles during his hysterical radio transmission of the story to an unexpecting American public in the 1950s, continue to send shivers up the spine. "No one would have believed, in the last years of the nineteenth century, that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligence greater than man's."
The majority of the story is written away from the glare of the Martian 'Heat-Rays', and instead plays with the impact that invasion has on ordered society. But the threat of the invaders instils a suspense throughout that has the reader racing through each chapter in order to look again upon the alien intelligence. Perhaps the most thrilling episodes are those where man displays his own ability to fight back. But the finale, and the images described in the final chapters, make the book an undeniable classic.
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I won't go into the socio/political debates about this book as I am sure most of you won't be reading this book for them. Most of you will be thinking about reading this because of the recent Speilburg / Cruise movie adaption.... Now whilst I have seen the movie and did enjoy it (well apart from the last 5 min which where a real let down, oh and a couple of holywood science moments).
I am a huge Sci Fi fan and have over the last year or so started to read a lot of "clasic" sci fi, I had yet to read any of Wells' books, after watching the movie (and listening to Jeff Waynes musical) I decided to get hold of the book and read it, boy was I in for a suprise...
This book felt to me like modern sci fi, it had none of the quaintness or clichies that I have grown used to when reading clasics, it grabbed me from the 1st page and led me on a roller coaster of emotions, it created a geniune sense of fear and forboding for the characters and it left me scratching my head as too its age. I know this was written over a hundred years ago but it honestly doesn't feel that it was.
The science was good and too my mind still holds water, I fail to see why other people question the heat rays, lack of wheels, or the microbobes / bacteria.... Wells said in his discusion of the Martians that they had either out evlovled these or they had never existed on Mars (yes I know with my knowledge of how life started on Earth this seems unlikely) but we are talking about an author who was in his day talking about cutting edge science, and who says that life has to evolve elsewhere the same as it did on Earth....
Mind you nevermind that, if you haven't read this book I would HIGHLY recomend that you do, this is a book that truely is a Classic.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Very good stuff!
This was the first Wells book that I read and initially it took me a little while to get into the book. This is because I am a lazy reader - it is really well written. Read more
Published 8 days ago by A9000
H G Wells = War of the worlds
Amazing vision for a man writing in the 1800's. Loved it - can't believe it's taken me until I'm over 50 to read it. Bought it for my Kindle 'cos it was cheap.
Published 1 month ago by Backspace
Pure Poetry
Never having read a Wells book before, i was excited to get into WOTW.
It was not what i expected, it was even better than that. Read more
It was not what i expected, it was even better than that. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Alexandra
Excellent Service
Bought for my 9 year old son who was desperate to read the book after hearing Jeff Waynes musical version of The War of the Worlds, I was very pleased to find this childrens... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Jillian Andrews
Perfect sci-fi
This is a classic truly worthy of the name. Lavish story, great characters and a perfect plot. If you haven't read this book then you must, must buy it!
Published 5 months ago by Colin Dexter
Better than the films you might have seen
I bought this after hearing good reports on Radio 4's 'A Good Read'. I found it interesting and immensely enjoyable from the start and finished it inside two days. Read more
Published 9 months ago by N. Towers
Not the first novel of alien invasion
The cover blurb for this edition says that The War of the Worlds is the first novel that deals with alien invasion. Not quite true. Read more
Published 10 months ago by John Moseley
One of the better Sci-Fi books
I read this recently as I'd gotten hold of a copy for my Kindle and couldn't find anything else on there I felt like reading (it was too far to go back downstairs to pick up a... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Cuban Heel
undelivered item
ordered the book for xmas after seeing the show. didn't arrive within timescale stated. new delivery arranged and arrived within days. Read more
Published 16 months ago by anne
Really great!
Ive had to read this for school, but what an enthralling tale. Excellent service from Amazon and at a great price too - well pleased!
Published 17 months ago by Luis A
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