6 h 55 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 55 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a nation's future matters more than its past—and its energy has no clear direction?
In The Future in America, H. G. Wells travels through the United States with a question: what is this country becoming? His 1906 account follows cities, money, politics, labour and race. New York stands at the centre of his picture, with towers, traffic and wealth rising side by side.
Wells admires America's drive, but he worries about growth without a plan. He considers the situation of black Americans, unrest among working people and the power of private interests. Encounters with political figures, including President Theodore Roosevelt, sharpen his question: can leaders steer a nation whose energy pulls in so many directions?
What you’ll discover
- A future-facing journey Follow an English observer who judges a country by what it might become.
- New York in motion See towers, traffic and wealth as signs of both ambition and unplanned growth.
- A promise under strain Explore how race and labour unrest test Wells's view of America's future.
- Power and private interests Consider what political leadership can achieve in a country driven by private effort.
- Admiration with an edge Meet a restless mind drawn to American energy, yet troubled by its direction.
Who will love it
For readers who love travel writing with big questions, who are curious about America in the early twentieth century, and who enjoy an opinionated, witty guide.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Judge a place by what it will become
- A nation's will counts more than its resources
- Progress feels automatic but nothing guarantees it
- New York shows great growth without a guiding purpose
- Order is growing inside the chaos of growth
- Free property breeds a few great winners
- Children, graft, and bargains show the hidden costs
- Immigration and race test whether freedom is real
- Without a sense of the state, energy is wasted
- Hope lies in minds, and the effort is worth it
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El futuro en América
by H. G. Wells · 1906
H. G. Wells sails to New York with one question: what will America become in thirty years?
Challenging5–10 hours to readEspañol
Excellent
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In short
Before H. G.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Judge a place by what it will become
Wells opens by explaining his habit of mind. He cares little for things as they are and deeply for what they lead to. He goes to America to study the seeds it is sowing.
He traces how this habit grew. As a boy he expected a sudden end of the world. Biology took that ending away and left endless years ahead, which frightened him. His early works, The Time Machine among them, answer that fear with wild pictures of the far future. Later he studied the forces at work in Anticipations. That method suits machines, but it fails with people, because law, custom and single persons resist any formula.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1906
- Language
- Español
- Reading time
- 4 h 30 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Wells, H. G. The Future in America. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-future-in-america.
Wells, H. G. (2026). The future in America. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-future-in-america (Original work published 1906)
Wells, H. G. The Future in America. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-future-in-america.
@book{wells2026future,
author = {Wells, H. G.},
title = {The Future in America},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-future-in-america},
note = {First published 1906}
}
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What is The Future in America about?
It records Wells's weeks in the United States, from the New York harbor to Chicago, Boston, and Washington. He asks what will shape America's destiny, looking at its wealth, workers, immigrants, politics, universities, and the will of its people.
Why did H. G. Wells visit America?
Wells was curious about the future, and he felt he could think properly about it only by seeing America. He wanted to judge the nation's will and purpose, and also to see his own England at a distance.
Who does Wells meet in the book?
He meets Commissioner Watchorn at Ellis Island, the Chicago alderman Hinky-Dink Kenna, the imprisoned MacQueen, Maxim Gorky, Booker T. Washington, President Eliot of Harvard, and finally President Theodore Roosevelt in the White House garden.
The author
H. G. Wells
1866–1946 · English science fiction novelist
H. G. Wells (1866–1946) was an English writer born in Bromley, Kent. He wrote novels, short stories and nonfiction. His novels included The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897) and The War of the Worlds (1898). He died in London.
More by H. G. Wells
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