The War in the Air

This thrilling tale is H. G. Wells at his modernist, visionary best. In 1907, a naive Londoner named Bert Smallways finds himself an unwitting passenger on a fleet of German airships heading over the Atlantic to attack New York. What unfolds in characteristically Wellsian fashion is a clash of early flying machines that leaves Gotham in shambles and unleashes the terrible age of Total War. Uncannily relevant to our own era, The War in the Airremains a cornerstone of early science fiction.

H. G. Wells (1866-û1946), one of the founding voices of visionary science fiction, published more than one hundred books, including novels, histories, essays, and programs for world regeneration.
Norman Stone is professor of international relations at Bilkent University, Ankara.
Michael Sherborne is curriculum manager of English and humanities at Luton Sixth Form College.
Jay Winter is a professor of history at Yale.
Patrick Parrinder has written on H.G. Wells, science fiction, James Joyce and the history of the English novel.
Andy Sawyer is a librarian at the University of Sheffield.