H G Wells

Anticipations H G Wells

In 1901, the great writer and social critic attempted to predict the future in this book, a fascinating mix of accurate forecasts - development of cars, buses and trucks, use of flying machines in combat, decline of permanent marriage - and wild misses, including the prediction that submarines will suffocate their crews and founder at sea. Taking the revolution in transport facilitated by the "mechanical revolution" as his point of departure, Wells told readers they were living through a reorganization of human society that would alter every dimension of life. An academic biographer has described the degree of accuracy of Wells's predictions as "certainly phenomenal."