The Shape of Things To Come - A Science Fiction Classic (Complete Edition) (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A Prophetic Future History of War, Crisis, and World GovernmentBy H. G. Wells
Length19h 56m
About this audiobook
The Shape of Things To Come is one of H. G. Wells's most ambitious exercises in speculative history, presenting the future as a discovered record that charts humanity's passage from crisis to reconstruction. Written in a documentary, prophetic mode rather than as conventional adventure fiction, it blends political forecast, social criticism, and scientific imagination. Its visions of war, economic breakdown, air power, dictatorship, and eventual world government place it at the center of interwar science fiction and utopian literature. Wells, already renowned for The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds, was not merely an entertainer but a public intellectual deeply engaged with science, education, and global politics. His Fabian sympathies, belief in rational planning, and disillusionment after the First World War all inform this work. The book reflects his conviction that civilization required deliberate coordination, technological competence, and a new moral order if it were to survive modernity. Readers interested in science fiction as a vehicle for historical diagnosis and political prophecy will find this complete edition indispensable. It is especially recommended for those who value speculative writing that asks not only what the future may look like, but what humanity must become in order to deserve one.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- An Author Biography reveals milestones in the author's life, illuminating the personal insights behind the text.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
GenreScience Fiction, Dystopia
Length19 hrs 56 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateApr 27, 2015
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
2Introduction
3Synopsis
4Historical Context
5Author Biography
Show all chaptersShow less
6Introduction: The Dream Book of Dr. Philip Raven
7Book the First: Today and Tomorrow: The Age of Frustration Dawns
81. A Chronological Note
92. How the Idea and Hope of the Modern World State First Appeared
103. The Accumulating Disproportions of the Old Order
114. Early Attempts to Understand and Deal with These Disproportions; The Criticisms of Karl Marx and Henry George
125. The Way in Which Competition and Monetary Inefficiency Strained the Old Order
136. The Paradox of Over-Production and Its Relation to War
147. The Great War of 1914-1918
158. The Impulse to Abolish War; The Episode of the Ford Peace Ship
169. The Direct Action of the Armament Industries in Maintaining War Stresses
1710. Versailles: Seed Bed of Disasters
1811. The Impulse to Abolish War: Why the League of Nations Failed to Pacify the World
1912. The Breakdown of “Finance” and Social Morale after Versailles
2013. 1933: “Progress” Comes to a Halt
21Book the Second: The Days After Tomorrow: The Age of Frustration
221. The London Conference: the Crowning Failure of the Old Governments; The Spread of Dictatorships and Fascisms
232. The Sloughing of the Old Educational Tradition
243. Disintegration and Crystallization in the Social Magma. The Gangster and Militant Political Organizations
254. Changes in War Practice after the World War
265. The Fading Vision of a World Pax: Japan Reverts to Warfare
276. The Western Grip on Asia Relaxes
287. The Modern State and Germany
298. A Note on Hate and Cruelty
309. The Last War Cyclone, 1940-50
3110. The Raid of the Germs
3211. Europe in 1960
3312. America in Liquidation
34Book the Third: The World Renascence: The Birth of the Modern State
351. The Plan of the Modern State Is Worked Out
362. Thought and Action: the New Model of Revolution
373. The Technical Revolutionary
384. Prophets, Pioneers, Fanatics and Murdered Men
395. The First Conference at Basra: 1965
406. The Growth of Resistance to the Sea and Air Ways Control
417. Intellectual Antagonism to the Modern State
428. The Second Conference at Basra, 1978
439. “Three Courses of Action”
4410. The Life-Time Plan
4511. The Real Struggle for Government Begins
46Book the Fourth: The Modern State Militant
471. Gap in the Text
482. Melodramatic Interlude
493. Futile Insurrection
504. The Schooling of Mankind
The Greatest Science Fiction Classics of H. G. Wells (Unabridged) (Annotated)H. G. Wells98h 56m$2 · $0.00
Greatest Science Fiction Classics of H. G. Wells (Annotated)H. G. Wells98h 56m$2 · $0.00
Men Like Gods (Annotated)H. G. Wells11h 7m$2 · $0.00
Tono-Bungay (Annotated)H. G. Wells17h 8m$2 · $0.00
An Englishman Looks at the World (Annotated)H. G. Wells12h 43m$2 · $0.00
Die Insel des Dr. Moreau (Kommentiert)H. G. Wells, Felix Paul Greve6h 16m$1 · $0.00
First and Last Things - A Confession of Faith and Rule of Life (Annotated)H. G. Wells7h 45m$2 · $0.00
Select Conversations With An Uncle & 2 Other Reminiscences (The original 1895 edition) (Annotated)H. G. Wells3h 22m$2 · $0.00
The War of The Worlds - A Science Fiction Classic (Complete Edition) (Annotated)H. G. Wells8h 27m$2 · $0.00
The Wheels of Chance (Complete Edition) (Annotated)H. G. Wells8h 7m$2 · $0.00
The Door in the Wall and Other Stories (Annotated)H. G. Wells6h 7m$2 · $0.00
THE PORTAL OF TIME: Sci-Fi Time Travel Collection (Annotated)H. G. Wells, Ayn Rand, Mark Twain, H. Beam Piper, Philip K. Dick, Fritz Leiber, Andre Norton, Lester Del Rey, August Derleth, Frederik Pohl53h 17m$2 · $0.00
La guerra de los mundos (Anotado)H. G. Wells8h 9m$2 · $0.00
Die Zeitmaschine (Kommentiert)H. G. Wells5h 40m$1.50 · $0.00
The Dream (Annotated)H. G. Wells10h 18m$2 · $0.00
H. G. Wells: Collected Works (Annotated)H. G. Wells427h 28m$2 · $0.00
Collected Novels, Short Stories, Essays and Articles (Annotated)H. G. Wells431h 30m$2 · $0.00
The Stolen Bacillus and other incidents (Annotated)H. G. Wells6h 21m$2 · $0.00
What is Coming? A Forecast of Things After the War (The original unabridged edition) (Annotated)H. G. Wells8h 37m$2 · $0.00
The Greatest Science Fiction Novels of H. G. Wells in One Volume (Annotated)H. G. Wells98h 58m$2 · $0.00
Sponsored Apocalypse 2Blaise Corvin10h 3m$25
Coup D’EtatC. R. Daems9h 12m$20
The Greatest Works of Jules VerneJules Verne246h 57m$2 · $0.00
Judgment DayRick Partlow10h 44m$20
ViniumS. H. Jucha14h 7m$23
AdventSeth Ring13h 20m$27
Sons of War 4: SoldiersNicholas Sansbury Smith, Tom Abrahams12h 54m$25
Hell to PayMichael Anderle7h 50m$20
A Civil CampaignLois McMaster Bujold18h 49m$32
Warrior’s FateWalt Browning10h 37m$20
The RisenErica Stevens10h 17m$20
100 Years to ExtinctionPeter Solomon14h 48m$27
Amazing Tales Volume 1Max Williams et al.4h 5m$2.30
H. G. Wells: Collected Works (Annotated)H. G. Wells427h 28m$2 · $0.00
Scars of RebellionAnthony J. Melchiorri12h 56m$25
The Galaxy, and the Ground WithinBecky Chambers9h 56m$29 · $0.00
AvengerBlair Howard9h 54m$23
Core’s AttackS.E. Smith5h 57m$17
TimelessR. A. Salvatore12h 30m$33 · $0.00
The Extinction New Zealand Series Box SetAdrian J. Smith23h 7m$30
Enemy of GodBernard Cornwell18h 12m$40 · $0.00
The Road to Gundagai (The Matilda Saga, #3)Jackie French12h 31m$33 · $0.00
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd & The HollowAgatha Christie14h 6m$33 · $0.00
Les MisérablesVictor Hugo57h 49m$35
The Lincoln MoonMichael Price Nelson7h 38m$17
The Rose CodeKate Quinn16h 2m2.0 (1)$33 · $0.00
Crack in the SkyTerry C. Johnston21h 57m$35
The Castilian PomegranateAnna Belfrage15h 35m$23
My Dear HamiltonStephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie23h 7m$46 · $0.00
Sweet Home Highland ChristmasMay McGoldrick, Jan Coffey2h 54m$7 · $0.00
Better Lucky and GoodLarry Jeram-Croft8h 7m$23
Red ClayCharles B. Fancher10h 35m$25
Philip K. Dick: SF Boxed SetPhilip K. Dick29h 38m$1 · $0.00
The Act of DisappearingNathan Gower12h 23m$8 · $0.00
Beyond the Crescent SkyA. L. Sowards13h 6m$27
The Consequences of FearJacqueline Winspear10h 28m$29 · $0.00
At the Foot of the Cherry Tree: The bestselling, heart-warming novel based on a true story of forbidden love & heartbreak SHORTLISTED FOR THE DYMOCKS 2023 BOOK OF THE YEARAlli Parker10h 8m$29 · $0.00
When Nietzsche WeptIrvin D. Yalom MD15h 26m$23
The Oceans and the StarsMark Helprin21h 37m$30
The Extinction Cycle Boxed Set, Books 1–3Nicholas Sansbury Smith25h 30m$30
You may also like
Last and First Men (Annotated)Olaf Stapledon14h 9m$2 · $0.00
Darkness and the LightOlaf Stapledon6h 50m$2 · $0.00
The World Set FreeH. G. Wells7h 13m$2.30 · $0.00
The New World OrderH. G. Wells3h 49m$13 · $0.00
The World Set FreeH. G.7h 19m$3.50 · $0.00
Darwin ContagionWalt Browning10h 30m$25
The Essential Works of Olaf StapledonOlaf Stapledon91h 9m$2 · $0.00
Terran TomorrowNancy Kress10h 58m$23
The Lost World Classics - Ultimate CollectionH. G. Wells, Abraham Merritt, Arthur Conan Doyle, Jules Verne, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, George MacDonald, H. Rider Haggard, Gertrude Barrows Bennett, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Francis Bacon, C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne167h 21m$1 · $0.00
The Critical Writings (Annotated)George Orwell38h 58m$2 · $0.00
Plan of AttackDale Brown14h 10m$33 · $0.00
The Salvaging Of CivilisationHerbert George Wells5h 25m$2.30
Nordenholt's MillionJ. J. Connington10h 26m$1 · $0.00
Underground ManGabriel Tarde2h 50m$9 · $0.00
The ChrysalidsJohn Wyndham8h 58m$1 · $0.00
Looking Further Backward (Political Dystopia) (Annotated)Arthur Dudley Vinton5h 1m$2 · $0.00
After AmericaSteyn, Mark15h 10mFree
The Essential Works of Olaf Stapledon (Annotated)Olaf Stapledon90h 53m$2 · $0.00
LOST WORLDS: Ultimate Sci-Fi Boxed SetH. G. Wells, Abraham Merritt, Arthur Conan Doyle, Jules Verne, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, George MacDonald, H. Rider Haggard, Gertrude Barrows Bennett, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Francis Bacon, C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne166h 17m$2 · $0.00
The End is Always NearDan Carlin7h 55m$26 · $0.00