7 h 20 minAudiobook2 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the power to transform human life also gives nations the means to destroy it?
In H. G. Wells’s The World Set Free, the scientist Holsten discovers how to release the energy within atoms. His work promises an immense new source of power, but governments turn that promise into a weapon. Rival nations send aircraft carrying atomic bombs over cities, and scientific progress becomes a threat to civilization.
Published in 1914, this science fiction novel imagines atomic bombs before they exist. Wells explores a widening gap between human power over nature and the institutions meant to govern it. As destruction spreads, rulers and reformers face a hard question: can nations keep their independence when they can no longer keep their people safe?
What you’ll discover
- A discovery with consequences Follow Holsten’s breakthrough as atomic energy changes the foundations of industry and warfare.
- Cities under atomic threat Encounter weapons that keep releasing destructive energy, leaving cities dangerous long after an attack.
- Power without safety See why governments able to order attacks cannot protect their own countries.
- The cost of independence Weigh national sovereignty against the need for shared authority in a world of devastating weapons.
- Politics tested by science Explore Wells’s argument that new scientific power demands a different way to govern.
Who will love it
For readers who love early science fiction, the history of nuclear ideas, and bold arguments about how technology should change politics.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
Who’s who
- HolstenThe scientist whose discovery makes atomic energy available and changes the foundations of industry and warfare.
- Atomic energyA vast source of power that promises material abundance while disrupting established economic life.
- Atomic bombsWeapons that continue releasing destructive energy, leaving cities dangerous long after an attack.
- National sovereigntyThe right of nations to act independently becomes a threat when their weapons can destroy civilization.
- World governmentWells presents shared political authority as a necessary response to the dangers created by modern science.
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Il mondo liberato
by H. G. Wells · 1914
Holsten’s discovery unlocks atomic energy, putting the future of rival armed nations at stake.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 5
Human beings gain more power over nature, but their ways of governing themselves lag behind. That gap drives The World Set Free. Wells begins with a broad account of humanity’s growing command of energy, from early tools and fire to the machines of the industrial age. Each advance changes what people can do, and each puts pressure on the society built around older limits.
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Did H. G. Wells predict the atomic bomb in The World Set Free?
Wells imagined atomic bombs in this 1914 novel, decades before actual nuclear weapons. His weapons use energy released from atoms, but their prolonged burning differs from real nuclear explosions. The remarkable prediction is the connection between atomic science, devastating weapons, and a transformed political world.
What is The World Set Free about?
The novel follows the consequences of discovering usable atomic energy: economic upheaval, catastrophic warfare, and efforts to establish a world government. Wells links these developments through one argument: humanity cannot safely possess enormous scientific power while remaining divided into rival armed nations.
How do the atomic bombs work in Wells’s novel?
Wells imagines bombs containing an artificial radioactive substance called Carolinum. They continue releasing energy and causing destruction rather than ending with one brief blast. This lingering danger makes the attacked areas hard to reclaim and helps undermine the idea of a manageable war.
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.
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