The War in the Air
First edition, first printing, in publisher’s binding of one of Wells’s masterpieces.
8vo of VII, 389, [1], [2 ] pp. 16 illustrations by A.C. Michael.
Publisher's blue cloth, gilt title.
190 x 126 mm.
WELLS. THE WAR IN THE AIR and Particularly How Mr. Bert Smallways Fared While it Lasted.
London, G. Bells and Sons, 1908.
First edition, first printing in publisher's binding (type "A" binding after Currey).
Wells Soc. 36; Hammond B11; Currey p. 526.
“The War of the Worlds is not the only masterpiece H.G. Wells wrote with the word ‘war’ in the title. The War in the Air is certainly a lesser-known title by this great author, but most certainly, in my humble opinion, a masterpiece nonetheless. In this prophetic book, Wells not only predicts the First World War—which would not begin for another six years—but he also predicts how the advent of navigable balloons and heavier-than-air aircraft would make this war inevitable.”
(S. Ferber)
In this book, Wells recounts the misadventures of Bert Smallways, a cycling engineer from Bun Hill, England, who witnesses the German air attack on the United States, which leads to a world war.
The world war leads to the collapse of civilization based on finance and science.
Copy preserved in its publisher's binding.
