Decades before Hiroshima, H. G. Wells imagined the weapon that would make war unwinnable — and gave it a name history would later borrow.
Written in 1913, The World Set Free follows the discovery of a new source of energy powerful enough to end civilization: the "atomic bomb," a term Wells coined here first. As nations race to weaponize this power, a catastrophic world war brings humanity to the brink of total destruction — and, from the ashes, forces the survivors to build a fragile new order out of the ruins of the old.
Equal parts warning and blueprint, Wells's novel is one of science fiction's most eerily prophetic works — read today, it feels less like a story and more like a forecast.
- The book that gave the world the phrase "atomic bomb," decades before it existed
- A haunting companion to The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine
- Equal parts apocalyptic warning and utopian hope
Some predictions are entertainment. This one came true.
