The Tale of the Next Great War, 1871-1914: Fictions of Future Warfare and Battles Still-to-Come

by I F Clarke (Editor)

Overview

This selection of short stories offers a return journey through the future as it used to be. Time speeds backwards to the 1870s-to the alpha point of modern futuristic fiction-the opening years of that enchanted period before the First World War when Jules Verne, H. G. Wells and many able writers delighted readers from Sydney to Seattle with their most original revelations of things-to-come. In all their anticipations, the dominant factor was the recognition that the new industrial societies would continue to evolve in obedience to the rate of change. One major event that caused all to think furiously about the future was the Franco-German War of 1870. The new weapons and the new methods of army organization had shown that the conduct of warfare was changing; and, in response to that perception of change, a new form of fiction took on the task of describing the conduct of the war-to-come.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780815603580
Publisher:	Syracuse University Press
Publication date:	03/15/1996
Edition description:	1st ed
Pages:	396
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.94(d)
Lexile:	1210L (what's this?)

About the Author

I.F. Clarke is a former professor of literature at the University of Strathclyde, Scotland.

Editorial Reviews

Jules Verne, H. G. Wells and other writers responded to the Franco-German War of 1870, and its new weapons and new methods of army organization, with their own perceptions of what future war would bring. This collection comprises 16 fictional accounts of wars-to-come, reflecting the imaginative projections of an entire generation of writers. B&w illustrations. No index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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