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    Anticipations Of The Reaction Of Mechanical And Scientific Progress Upon Human Life And Thought
    Anticipations Of The Reaction Of Mechanical And Scientific Progress Upon Human Life And Thought
    Anticipations Of The Reaction Of Mechanical And Scientific Progress Upon Human Life And Thought
    Ebook292 pages5 hours

    Anticipations Of The Reaction Of Mechanical And Scientific Progress Upon Human Life And Thought

    By H. G. Wells

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    Herbert George Wells was born on September 21st, 1866 at Atlas House, 46 High Street, Bromley, Kent. He was the youngest of four siblings and his family affectionately knew him as ‘Bertie’. The first few years of his childhood were spent fairly quietly, and Wells didn’t display much literary interest until, in 1874, he accidentally broke his leg and was left to recover in bed, largely entertained by the library books his father regularly brought him. Through these Wells found he could escape the boredom and misery of his bed and convalescence by exploring the new worlds he encountered in these books. From these humble beginnings began a career that was, after several delays, to be seen as one of the most brilliant of modern English writers. Able to write comfortably in a number of genres he was especially applauded for his science fiction works such as The Time Machine and War of the Worlds but his forays into the social conditions of the times, with classics such as Kipps, were almost as commercially successful. His short stories are miniature masterpieces many of which bring new and incredible ideas of science fiction to the edge of present day science fact. Wells also received four nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Despite a strong and lasting second marriage his affairs with other women also brought the complications of fathering other children. His writings and work against fascism, as well as the promotion of socialism, brought him into increasing doubts with and opposition to religion. His writings on what the world could be in works, such as A Modern Utopia, are thought provoking as well as being plausible, especially when viewed from the distressing times they were written in. His diabetic condition pushed him to create what is now the largest Diabetes charity in the United Kingdom. Wells even found the time to run twice for Parliament. It was a long, distinguished and powerfully successful career by the time he died, aged 79, on August 13th, 1946.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherA Word To The Wise
    Release dateJan 8, 2016
    ISBN9781785435621
    Anticipations Of The Reaction Of Mechanical And Scientific Progress Upon Human Life And Thought
    Author

    H. G. Wells

    H.G. Wells is considered by many to be the father of science fiction. He was the author of numerous classics such as The Invisible Man, The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The War of the Worlds, and many more. 

    Read more from H. G. Wells

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      Well's Anticipations published in 1902 was his first attempt to predict the future shape of the world. In his introduction he says that he has abandoned narrative fiction in favour of frank inquiries and arranged considerations; he aims to provide a rough sketch of the new millennium (the 20th century). The somewhat ponderous subtitle "the reaction of mechanical and scientific progress upon human life and thought" is reflected in some ponderous early chapters, but the book comes to life with his predictions of the coming world wars and ends controversially with his ideas of an Utopian New Republic which will embrace eugenics and euthanasia. Anticipations was a best seller and Wells' thrilling and sometimes accurate predictions of the coming century launched him on a new career in the predictions business. However his ideas of a New Republic caused offense at the time and today read like nothing less than strong armed fascism. Reading Anticipations today the reader cannot help but have a two column tick box in mind for those predictions that are fairly accurate and those that are wide of the mark; we might even have a third column of ideas that are either offensive and/or laughable. I will therefore list some of the highlights. He predicted that road transport would eclipse the railways and foresaw the motorway system as being the method to be used to move goods and services. His ideas on moving escalator like sidewalks that would have different speeds and use underground tunnels were more wide of the mark. He saw the diffusion of cities; ever spreading outwards with suburbs linked by an improved road system. He predicted the coming mechanised world war and the increasing professionalism of the soldierly, he said that trench warfare would be a living hell and saw the best supplied and mechanised army as being the one that would succeed. He saw further development in the use of accurate hand rifles and envisaged crack squads of highly mobile cyclist snipers as being battle winners. He predicted that supremacy in the air would win wars but over emphasised the importance of balloon warfare. He had a curious predilection for the use of ramming techniques for airplanes and ships in battle situations. He thought that America would lead the way in the world and that the English language centred in America would predominate. He saw the development of a more federal Europe, but Britain moving more towards America and the coming of three major power blocks: The America's, Europe and the East led by China. Wells comes across as an impatient man. He fails to understand why others are not pushing forward towards a brighter more mechanised future. He gives an example of the processes used for house building lamenting at the time and laborious processes involved. Surely he says that some prefabrication techniques could be used. He also sees the duties of the servant classes not disappearing fast enough, the endless blacking of shoes, the clearing up after coal fires, the taking out of slops and the fetching of water. In this respect Well's descriptions of everyday life at the turn of the 19/20th century are fascinating and put into perspective his predictions for the future. He takes a jaundiced view of the shaping of social elements and the business world, reserving particular spleen for the shareholder and speculator. He talks about the irresponsibility of the shareholding class, claiming that they "toil not neither do they spin". He sees the independent, irresponsible and wealthy share holder class still on the increase, but hopes that trust organised businesses organisms will develop and discover an essential unity of purpose. He also fears what he terms the abyss; a class of people left behind by the new wealth and the poor from the developing classes, but places his faith in the proportional development of educated and intelligent engineers and agriculturalist, doctors, schoolmasters, professional soldiers and intellectually active people of all sorts.It is Well's vision of a New Republic; a sort of world wide movement that gives most cause for concern: So it is I conceive the elements of a New Republic taking shape and running together through the social mass, picking themselves out more and more clearly, from the shareholder, the parasitic speculator and the wretched multitudes of the Abyss. The New Republic will constitute an informal and open freemasonary. In all sorts of ways they will be influencing and controlling the apparatus of the ostensible governments, they will be pruning irresponsible property, checking speculators and controlling the abyssward drift." However Wells takes his ideas of the New Republic into totally unacceptable waters when he says: The men of the New Republic will not be squeamish, either, in facing or inflicting death, because they will have a fuller sense of the possibilities of life than we possess. They will have no superstitions about death. They will have an idea that will make killing worth the while...... They will naturally regard the modest suicide of incurably melancholy, or diseased or helpless persons as a high and courageous act of duty rather than a crime Understandably Wells' ideas of a New Republic raised howls of protest from some of the critics, but Wells was a fast learner and soon ditched these ideas and within a couple of years he was an enthusiastic advocator of universal rights.Reading Anticipations today is a bit of a curiosity and I suppose it will only be of interest to the H G Wells enthusiast, however apart from some turgid patches there is much to enjoy. Apart from the predictions there are some excellent descriptions of life at the very beginning of the 20th century and Wells can always spring a surprise with some added interest: for example his comparisons of English and French bookshops; he says that English bookshops with their gaudy reach-me-downs of gilded and embossed covers and horribly printed novels do not compare with the vibrancy of the display and produce on offer in their French counterparts. An uneven book and at times an offensive book, but more often progressive; just hear what he has to say about God, religion and sexuality and you can grasp an impatient man with a mind active and open towards a future that he looks forward to with some longing. A three star read.

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    Anticipations Of The Reaction Of Mechanical And Scientific Progress Upon Human Life And Thought - H. G. Wells

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