This book contains three terrific novels in which Wells showcases his predictions for the future. The novels are presented in the chronological order for Well's Predictions. When the Sleeper Awakes takes place in the year 2100. A Story of Days to come is in 2103 and 2104. The Time Machine is in the 800,000's and beyond. All three novels predict a grim and dark future beset by class struggle. Wells believes that the future will be a time where the capitalists dominate over the laborers of society. The Capitalists will own all of the material and intellectual property in the world, and they will subject the masses to a life of degradation and servile labor. The wealthy will build massive glass cities where they will live a life of privilege and ease, while the vast majority will live in abject poverty underneath these cities. Wells is a tremendous storywriter that makes it hard to put this book down. I highly recommend this to any fan of science fiction.

This is a marvelous collection that takes the reader through three science fantasy works arranged in a chronological order as to the subjects of the novels. Each possess Wells' marvelous ability to send the reader ahead in time to what might become of our future generations. When the Sleeper Wakes unfolds as a visually stunning, action-packed and thought-provoking page turner. A Story of Days to Come focuses on the hazards they may be found in a loving relationship if the future were to further segregate the classes found in Wells' day. This collection also boasts the first complete publication of Wells' classic The Time Machine. If you've read The Time Machine and are not familiar with "the kangaroo rat people" then you will need to go back and read the whole story as Wells originally envisioned it. This collection was worth every penny I spent on it.

The three books are:

The Time Machine, A Story of Days to Come, and When the Sleeper Wakes.

Ths work written in 1914 is not one of Wells' great works, but is of interest because it is reputedly the first use of the words "atomic bomb", and recognises the dangers of warfare with a weapon of enormous destructive power delivered from the air. It is remarkably prescient in the light of the date of writing.

H. G. Wells is not usually given enough credit for this particular book (in my opinion, his best). The focus is usually upon one of his other works such as The Time Machine. The World set Free is truly staggering in its scope, scale, and vision of the future. It is interesting to note how much Wells got correct about the future, and to see how much he did not. The fact that this book was written before World War I indicates his genius at seeing what might be possible and how this might come about. I cannot recommend this book more highly than by saying AN EXCELLENT, FASCINATING, GRIPPING PAGE-TURNER. A quick point about the original year of publication - if my memory is correct, it was originally published in 1910, rather than 1914.

In this book, Wells describes nuclear warfare and begins the descriptions of a possible future. He named uranium, "Carolinum" and talked about a chain reaction that would leave radiation behind so that nothing would survive afterwards, even if they did escape from the weapon itself. Dr. Szilard, the man who came up with the idea of splitting the atom with a nuetron, did so after reading, "The World Set Free". I say, NO KIDDING! Wells lays the idea right out in front of the world's face, laughing! It then goes on to describe future events that have occured, though in different times, and some which have yet to occur. He spoke of Carolinum (uranium), the atomic theory and its increadible source of power. He spoke of robotics and computers replacing people in the work place. This is where it all started folks. AND THIS IS JUST IN THE FIRST 100 PAGES! Trust me... it gets better :) If you wish yo know more on the theory and the bombs' construction, I refer you to Richard Rhodes. If you want to know the mind and the story that began this whole deal, read this book!!!!

The Time Machine and the Invisible Man by Herbert Gershwood wells is a very exciting and entertaining book. It combines two of H.G wells best books into one exciting novel. Everyone¡¦s first impressions would be thinking that it¡¦s a really boring book. But its not boring it¡¦s the complete opposite it¡¦s really exciting and fun to read.

The first book, The Time machine, is about a man they call the time traveler. He invents a time machine and uses it to travel through time. His main point of doing it is to explore the future and discover what new and fascinating discoveries he can find. So he travels eight hundred million years into the future. But traveling that far into the future doesn¡¦t come easy. He encounters mythical creatures that hate the light name morlocks. Who try and steal his time machine. He also discovers a friendly, kind helpful race of human / octopus like creatures he names the elois.

The Second book, The Invisible Man, portrays the life of a man named Griffin. He is a scientist who discovers a way to turn himself invisible. He then checks into a hotel in a local town named Iping where residents find him a little suspicious. When residents start suspecting something of him or betraying him he goes insane and starts attacking people. Residents then ban together and find ways to stop him. Like not leaving food out or locking doors. The whole town starts panicking. But most of them are determined to stop his terror throughout out the town.

Main characters of the book include, The Time Traveler, and the Invisible Man. They are both brave and exciting characters of the book. They both demonstrated the habit of risk-taking through the book. Some other characters in the book were Weena, which was the time travelers sort of girlfriend. Other characters include the morlocks. Which are kind of doglike creatures. And the elois which I already explained earlier.

The Time Machine and The Invisible Man had a ton of action. It was exciting and very interesting to read. I would recommended it for all ages of readers.

The Invisible Man and the Time Machine were born to be with each other. They are like peanut butter and jelly. It is science fiction but there is more to it, like action, suspense, and a little bit of drama.

Griffin, the Invisible Man, turned himself invisible because he thought it would be cool. Little did he know, there would be many problems resulting from that.

When Griffin is stuck to invisibility, he has no one to turn to. He finds Mr. Marvel, a hobo that needs a home, food, and a place to stay. Griffin freaks him out, has a little fun, then realizes he's weak. He promises to give him money in return for getting the invisible man some things he needs. His journals of how to turn invisible were stolen by some guys, so the invisible man has to go get them. He snuck in and had a long talk with the guys, knocked them out, then took his journals. He hands the journals to Mr. Marvel because holding journals would defeat the whole purpose of being invisible. Then, when all looks well, Mr. Marvel tried to steal from the invisible Man because Griffin had looted a lot of people's houses. After that, Griffin tried to kill Mr. Marvel, but he took refuge in a city. Griffin went to Kemp's house, an old college professor, and stayed there. He informed him on how he became invisible. Kemp then tried to kill him, but failed. He was chased by the invisible man. Who will die first, Kemp, or Griffin?

Another book in this two part book is the Time Machine. It's a very nice piece of science fiction teenagers call explosive, off-the-cover, tremendous, and downright superb. It's one book to be awesome by itself, but combined like Siamese twins to the Invisible Man, it's like peanut butter and jelly.

The Time Traveler brought many people to his house to show them some thing. They had been called to witness time travel. The Time Traveler came out of his room to the living room with a model time machine and sent it into time. He then got into a big time machine and was thrown into the future. He lost his time machine. Will he ever get it back?

That these two novels were written over a hundred years ago makes them all the more amazing. HG Wells was the first person to pen the concept of time travel and imagine the complications the power of invisibility would bring. The writing in both of these novels is captivating (those who were first exposed to Wells in The War of the Worlds will most likely find these two more readable) and the story taut. Additionally, John Calvin Batchelor's introduction gives a necessary insight into the larger social implications of the book as well as some musings on what made these as popular as they were, and are. Wells' thoughts have been used as the basis for plays and movies for years; read these two books so you understand why.

This book contains the best-known short stories of H.G. Wells, as well as a lesser-known work called The Crystal Egg. The Time Machine, The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Invisible Man, and War of the Worlds make up the heavy hitting line-up in this book. Wells wrote most of these stories in the 1890's, which solidified his position as grandfather of the science fiction genre. His work still holds up amazingly well today.

As I worked my way through these stories, I quickly came to realize that I was adversely affected by seeing film versions of the stories. It was impossible to read The Island of Dr. Moreau without seeing Brando in that outrageous get up. I didn't enjoy The Time Machine nearly as much as I would have if I hadn't seen that old film version. Despite this, I still enjoyed the stories. My favorite tale was The Island of Dr. Moreau, when we see the horrible effects of what happens when man decides to play God with nature. My least favorite tale was the Invisible Man, which I thought moved slowly and didn't have as much of the technological aspects as the other stories had. War of the Worlds is good as well, although a map of England would certainly come in handy, as Wells drops location names all over the place. A surprise was The Crystal Egg, which was the shortest work in the book. It made me think of Lovecraft with its bizarre plot of looking in on another world.

I won't go into detailed plot outlines, but it is sufficient to say that a person could do much worse than reading this book. If you like science fiction, this is must read material. I would certainly read other stories by Wells, and he wrote some very serious material that would probably be profitable to peruse.

This collection houses the best of (or at least MOST of the best of) H.G. Wells's work. His three undeniably classic novels are here: The Time Machine, The War of The Worlds, and The Invisible Man. All early science fiction classics that still stand up today. Indeed, they do more than that, they put most of today's SF to shame. Also included is the notoriously underrated and controversial Island of Dr. Moreau, which is a very thought-provoking read, and one of Wells's best books. Also included is the good, but not great short story The Crystal Egg. A must read for any Wells fan.

The Invisible Man is a classic science fiction novel, having an incredibly strong plot and being written in a way that utilizes it to the utmost. Through suspense and conclusion it keeps you thinking and, of course, wanting to complete it. It was hard to put down to go to bed.

This Penguin Classics audiobook is actually a three-hour, two cassette UNabridged presentation of Wells' novel, despite Amazon's listing of it as "abridged".

Paul Shelly gives an excellent reading. His narration is eloquent and melodious, and his remarkable voice talent captures the individual essence and quirks of each character. This rendition preserves every bit of the suspense and drama of Wells' classic moral tale of science without scruples, and it bears up well under repeated listening. I keep my copy in the car, and at times it has left me reluctant to arrive at my destination. Very highly recommended.

Although most famous for his sci-fi, Wells' best work often deals with ordinary people having big thoughts in picturesque settings. The Passionate Friends is a fine representative example of this. Wells uses the changing relationships among childhood friends as the media for his thoughts on human relations on personal and global scales, and of what it all means. Wells was one of his generation's great thinkers, and this is one of his best stories--snatch it up.

The Passionate Friends is for passionate people. Anyone who feels life deeply will feel this book deeply. I've never had a book so mirror my own inner life. Wells' exquisite description of the whole range of human emotion rates with the greatest classics of fiction. His summary command of the English language is almost daunting; words for him become ivory under the fingers of a Cliburn. I admit almost a sense of violation at the ease with which he is able to slip inside my head and heart and tell me my own secrets. His characters reveal human nature in all its glory and complexity, and in all its attendant manifestations: spirituality, religion, politics, science. And while one may not always agree with Wells' opinions on such matters, it's impossible to not appreciate the lucidity of his thought and the brilliance of his presentation. As a writer myself, I have relearned the meaning of the word "humility." Breathtaking.

Having read H.G. Wells' classics WAR OF THE WORLDS, THE INVISIBLE MAN, THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON, THE TIME MACHINE, and THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU, I looked forward to reading what is often claimed to be his "best" work. TONO-BUNGAY is completely different than any of his Sci-Fi classics. TONO-BUNGAY is more of a study of class structure and class struggle in England during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The story follows the life of a young man, George, and his Uncle Edward. Edward invents an elixir called TONO-BUNGAY and hires his nephew George to help build the company. As the book goes George and Edward become quite wealthy. Throughout the book George makes numerous comments on his varying places on the social ladder. It seems that no matter how wealthy George becomes, he will never be accepted in certain circles because he is newly rich and not "old money." The story is well written and is generally easy to follow. I would, however, recomm! end the World's Classics edition of this book (published by Oxford U. Press and available from Amazon.Com) because there are some instances in which Wells makes comments about European literature, art, languages, colleges and phrases that may be of little meaning to the average reader, but for the six pages of end notes provided in the World's Classics edition. The World's Classics edition also claims to be the most accurate edition of the story, taking into account all of Wells' revisions of the story, many of which were made after the book was initially published in 1909 (TONO-BUNGAY was revised by Wells and re-released in 1925).

"Tono-Bungay" is an alleged tonic with dubious medical benefits; and the story is one of the brief fortunes of someone who manages to turn the worthless substance into a formidable fortune - for a while. By the time Wells wrote this novel he had already written books which might or might not be science fiction (witness "The War in the Air") and, all in all, "Ton-Bungay" probably isn't science fiction. But I should mention a substance called "quup" which is introduced towards the end of the book. (I'm not giving anything important away.) "Quup" is the first mention I know of of what we would now call radioactive waste, except that it's naturally occurring, and ... well, perhaps I should be discrete, but I can say that the scenes involving quup have a peculiar flavour which writers would find impossible to capture nowadays.

So you get an excellent double deal with this book: the best of Wells's social fiction of the 1910s, plus a dollop the fresh science fiction he wrote the previous century.

When the sleeper wakes is a fairly good book, but not something I would choose to read again. The book doesn't exactly give either a realistic or creative idea for the future, when 'The Sleeper' ends up in 2010. There are barely any things that change in those two hundred years, which is an odd concept to handle. How they refer to people is the same as in the beginning of the story when he's in the 1800's.

Another of Wells' dark futuristic visions, this novel is about a man who falls into a deep sleep in the Victorian age and wakes up early in the 22nd century. Wells predicts much of the technology that would be invented in the 20th century. This story is not just a fascinating read but a poignant social commentary.

H.G. Wells is perhaps one of the greatest modern writers, and his stunning book "When The Sleeper Wakes" is the embodiment of his incredible prohpetic writing. This is an essential book, if for no other reason than it's frighteningly close-to-home predictions of the future. The story follows a modern day Rumplestiltskin, named Graham, after he sleeps a couple of centuries and wakes up to find himself owner of over half of the earth. The story itself is well-crafted, as Wells demonstrates a strong command of the English language. But this book is not merely a "good read". The most amazing aspect is that H.G. Wells predicted the widespread use of airtravel over a hundred years ago, along with mega-corporations that dominate a single industry, and roadside billboard advertisements. These are just a few of the remarkable, and accurate, predictions H.G. Wells made. It's hard to believe this book was written in the 1890's. The story is engaging as well, even if your not concerned with the social and political warnings of this tale. Only a few of the characters are extensively, namely Ostrog and Graham. But since it's a short story, this doesn't detract from the overall plot. The setting and tone of the story are the most important elements, and these are expertly developed. There is little wrong with this book. It's a little on the short side, but it still makes for an excellent choice.

The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells is a classic science fiction/fantasy novel. It is based in England around the late 1800's and also thousands of years into the future. It is an epic tale of a journey through time. Every one of the Time Traveler's friends and colleagues doubted him. They didn't believe that he had gone into the future. But he did. He visited a gentle breed called the Eloi. They were all alike. They dressed the same, walked the same, looked the same, and even reacted to life's conflicts in the same way. These identical "people" served him gratefully, giving him all the fruit he could ever want. He tried to learn the Eloi language, but their short attention spans caused him to not learn very much. The Time Traveler began to dream as to why this race of people was so alike. He couldn't figure it out. He decided that he had found himself in a utopian society, where neither reason nor strength was needed. He didn't find the real reason out, until he had discovered his time machine to be missing. Night fell and all he could do was search. When he found it he also discovered a horrifying secret about the reason as to why the Eloi were so perfect. It was a terrible secret, one that you will only know if you read this book. Believe me, it's quite a twist. All in all, I would have to recommend this book to anyone. It has elements of every genre in it: horror, science fiction, fantasy, drama, and comedy. It is just a really well rounded book that all can enjoy.

What can i say about this book? It's a classic, and that sums everything up. As a young science fiction fan, i couldn't put this book aside and last weekend decided to read it. It was everything i hoped for.

A scientist builds a time machine. Why? Because of mere scientific curiosity. I know that's not enough for the modern fans, but putting the book in its historical contet, we go back to a time where the advancements of science were increasing every day, each scientific field being researched. Of course, Time wasn't the exception.

The time machine leads the scientist and the reader to a dark, bleak future, where the enthusiasm for knowledge has been exchanged by the pleasures of a dull, easy life withou work or preocupations, an utopia for a small group called the Eloi.

But underneath their feet live the Morlocks, a group of cave men who toil for the Eloi and are paid with their meat, for they are cannibals.

Wells surely wasn' an optimist regarding the future of our earth, for the time traveller ends his dark journey at the end of earth's existence, no longer inhabitted by men but by gigantic creatures such as crabs and butterflies.

Most readers might complain about the lack of characterization, thence my four stars, the weakness of the plot, nowadays very common,and even the lack of scientifical explanations, that makes today's science fiction novels so wonderfully complex. but this was a classic among the classics, that gave birth to so many books... A lot of people owing a lot to H. G. Wells, who never got anything for his unique book.

OK, we've all seen at least one of the movie versions of H.G. Well's The Time Machine, but none of them truly compare with the oringinal Sci-Fi classic. The book tells the story of the Time Traveler's journey nearly a million years into the future and the very unexpected and disturbing society he finds there. The Time Traveler formulates various theories based on what he observes of the society, which each, in turn, prove to be oh, so wrong! [Warning: mild spoiler] In the end, his realization of the future is especially terrifying considering it is the result of our current social structure (or H.G. Well's, anyway).

I especially recommend this book for those of us with short attention spans - it's only 140 pages (and that's the large print version). But don't get the wrong idea, this book still has more depth and creativity than most 500 page books i've read and is a great read, even compared with today's science fiction standards.

This book has to be considered a classic considering it spawned a whole genre of time traveling books, movies, and tv shows whcih imitated it. Get a hold of a copy and read it today!