The War in the Air, an H. G. Wells novel notable for its prophetic ideas, images, and concepts, in this case, the use of the aircraft in warfare during World War I. The novel's hero is Bert Smallways, a "forward-thinking young man" and a "kind of bicycle engineer of the let's-'ave-a-look-at-it and enamel-chipping variety." Immediately after the Wright Brothers's first successful flight in 1903, the world's major powers became aware of the decisive strategic importance of air power, and embarked on a secret arms race to ...
Read More
The War in the Air, an H. G. Wells novel notable for its prophetic ideas, images, and concepts, in this case, the use of the aircraft in warfare during World War I. The novel's hero is Bert Smallways, a "forward-thinking young man" and a "kind of bicycle engineer of the let's-'ave-a-look-at-it and enamel-chipping variety." Immediately after the Wright Brothers's first successful flight in 1903, the world's major powers became aware of the decisive strategic importance of air power, and embarked on a secret arms race to develop this power. The general public is virtually unaware of this arms race, until it finally bursts out in a vastly destructive war which destroys civilization.
Read Less
Add this copy of The War in the Air to cart. $15.02, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2013 by Bottom of the Hill Publishing.
Add this copy of The War in the Air to cart. $35.01, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2013 by Bottom of the Hill Publishing.
Bert blunders into the first wave of attack in the first war in the air and goes through an exiting and imaginative series of adventures. But it is much more than inviting entertainment. The most impressive is Wells' insight into the future. The story was published in 1908 but what it tells comes very close to our present world... You can force a country on its knees with a large airforce, but what to do after that? We know that all too well, reading about the wars in Iraq and Afganistan in our newpapers every day: trouble starts. And we have to deal with that somehow. Wells already knew before the first world war, before the first bomb ever came tumbling out from the sky.
