6 h 55 minAudiobook4 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 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 an argument in it, and anyone curious about America around 1900 as an outsider saw it, from its cities and politics to its labour disputes and racial divide.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A visitor asks where America is heading
- Great cities show energy without a plan
- Race and labour test the nation's promise
- Politics needs ideas as well as energy
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The Future in America
by H. G. Wells · 1906
In the streets of New York, Wells weighs America's power against its purpose and asks where its energy leads.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A visitor asks where America is heading
Wells comes to America in 1906 with a particular habit. In his fiction and in books such as Anticipations, he had tried to reason from present trends to future shapes of society. He brings that habit to the trip, and the book is built around forecasting more than around description.
He is aware that many travellers before him had written about American manners and had stopped there. Wells wants to look beneath manners at the forces that are moving the country. He asks what its people believe about themselves, and whether those beliefs are enough for the tasks ahead.
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What is The Future in America about?
It is H. G. Wells's account of his 1906 visit to the United States. He studies cities, business, labour, race and politics, and uses them to ask what kind of nation America is likely to become.
When was The Future in America written?
It was published in 1906, after Wells travelled in the United States that year. It is a work of nonfiction, based on his own observations and conversations rather than on invented events.
Is The Future in America science fiction?
No. Wells is famous for science fiction, but this is travel writing and social commentary. It does share his habit of reasoning from present trends to likely futures.
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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