Comments by "João Rita" (@jlvfr) on "The History of Sci Fi - H.G. Wells - Extra Sci Fi - Part 2" video.

  1. H.G. Wells was a visionary genious. His description of the possible start of WWII, written in 1929 , is terrifying.
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  2.  @Barrystue  (wow, 4 years... :D ). The book is called "The Shape of Things to Come", and has a new war starting in January 1940, between Germany and Poland, over questions related to Danzig. Poland holds on, and the war ends up dragging country after country after country. Ends only around 1950, with all nations pretty much wrecked. He includes the use of massive city bombing, as well as gas & virus. There's no tank warfare to speak of, at least like Bliztkrieg, which is one of the reasons why the war bogs down. Every nation is in such poor condition that there's a general breakdown of government and living conditions, compounded by a plague. There's a great british movie (Things to Come, 1936) with his own screenplay. Wells was one of the outspoken opponent to the terms of the Versailles treaty. He, like others, thought the humiliating and crippling terms would only help cause another war. The book is based on these fears, compounded by the strategic and military views at the time of writing (bombers alwats getting past defense, limited use of tanks, fears of gas & virus attack, etc.). He's also writing at a time when the world ecomony was colapsing, which fueled these fears. (btw I made a small mistake; the book came out in 1933, not 1929. That's around the date where he started to write it, and other works on politics & history)
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  3.  @Barrystue  military theory in most countries thought so. Don't forget that, in the UK at least, in 1939/40 gas masks were issued to the civilian population.
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