The War in the Air

Bert Smallways, a “kind of bicycle engineer,” is creatively trying to avoid bankruptcy when he meets by chance a certain Mr. Butteridge—the inventor of a new form of aircraft. Butteridge, Bert discovers, has plans to sell his invention either to British Government—or to the Germans, if the British won’t have it. When one of Butteridge’s aircrafts is shot down whilst Bert is aboard, Bert stumbles across a secret German plot to destroy the United States. As the story unfolds, Bert finds himself in an unexpected position, called upon to perform tasks he never could have foreseen. H. G. Wells’ prophetic ideas, images and concepts are featured in this novel. His military science fiction anticipates World War I and the use of aircraft. As ever, H. G. Wells writes with both humor and a well described dystopia. The story was written in 1907 and was serialized in 1908 issues of The Pall Mall Magazine. At that time, the existence of the airplane was “merely a rumor” for many. Whilst Wells’ predictions can now be corrected at various points, his central message is that if humankind goes on with war, “the smash-up of civilization is inevitable. This remains essentially right.” (Excerpt from Preface to the reprint edition).