H. G. Wells
The comical Wheels of Chance was written in 1896 at the height of the golden age of the bicycle, when practical and affordable bicycles led to profound social shifts in England. Suddenly people of modest means could travel greater distances for work or even for pleasure, without the limitations of rail schedules, weakening England's rigid class structure and strengthening the movement towards the liberation of women. In the novel, the poorly-paid
...68) Die Zeitmaschine
Though best remembered as an important early figure in the development of the genre of science fiction, H. G. Wells was a intellectually voracious thinker and writer who used his novels and short stories as a means of getting at significant, timeless truths. In this lecture, Wells discusses the ways that certain types of thinking are better suited to helping to usher in a new era of advanced science and technology.
Though today best remembered as a science fiction writer, H. G. Wells was a keen observer of social and geopolitical trends who mined his era's headlines as fodder for his creative work. The writer was deeply shaken by the destruction and death wrought by World War I, and in this volume of passionate essays and observations, Wells lays out his suggestions for avoiding global conflict in the future.