Published in the grim middle of World War I, H.G. Wells's What is Coming? is a unique piece of writing. It's not a novel but a serious, public attempt by one of the era's most famous thinkers to map out the future. With the war's outcome still unknown, Wells uses his platform to argue, persuade, and speculate about the shape of the post-war world.

The Story

There's no traditional plot here. Instead, Wells builds a case, chapter by chapter. He starts by diagnosing what he sees as the failures that led to the war, like nationalism and outdated empires. Then, he makes his forecasts. He predicts the collapse of the German and Austro-Hungarian empires, the rise of America and Russia as superpowers, and the creation of a kind of world government to prevent future conflicts. He even gets into the nitty-gritty, guessing at changes in how we work, travel, and treat women in society. The whole book is driven by a urgent question: How do we rebuild so this never happens again?

Why You Should Read It

The thrill isn't in whether Wells was 'right' or 'wrong'—it's in following his logic. You see his brilliant mind at work, connecting dots in real time. His push for a unified world order feels incredibly modern, almost like a blueprint for ideas that would come later. But you also see his blind spots and the biases of his time. Reading it feels like sitting with a very smart, very worried friend who's trying to chart a path out of a nightmare. It's a raw, immediate document of hope and anxiety that most history books smooth over.

Final Verdict

This book is perfect for history buffs and anyone interested in how we think about the future. If you enjoy 'alternative history' or political science, you'll love seeing a master speculator tackle the biggest 'what if' of his life. It's also a great pick for Wells fans who know him only from his novels; this shows the passionate, real-world thinker behind the fiction. Be ready for a thoughtful, argumentative read—it's less about action and more about ideas. But for the right reader, it's absolutely captivating.