The Complete War of The Worlds [Hardcover]

Brian Holmsten (Author), Alex Lubertozzi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2001

In 1898, H.G. Wells wanted to find out what it would be like if an intelligent race of Martians turned the tables on Victorian England by conquering and colonizing the world’s greatest empire. For readers around the world, The War of the Worlds elicited their darkest, deepest fears.
In 1938, Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre on the Air adapted the H.G. Wells novel to radio and used that medium’s immediacy, along with a series of realistic “newsflashes” as part of the story, to drive more than a million people mad with terror. Orson Welles said he “wanted people to understand that…they shouldn’t swallow everything that came through the tap, whether it was radio or not.” He succeeded beyond his wildest expectations, while claiming absolute innocence the next day. The “Panic Broadcast,” as it would be known, became the most notorious radio broadcast in history.
The Complete War of the Worlds tells the story behind the story-how H.G. Wells’ tale of Martian invasion captured the imagination of Orson Welles, and how the book and the broadcast went on to inspire hundreds of imitators.
In this book and audio CD, you will hear the actual 1938 Orson Welles broadcast, read the original book by H.G. Wells and the radio play by Howard Koch, and see the people, places and things that turned a story into a legend.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Here's a nifty pairing H.G. Wells's classic 1897 SF novel, The War of the Worlds, including the original magazine illustrations, together with Howard Koch's radio play adaptation made famous by Orson Welles in his October 30, 1938, broadcast, which fooled thousands of listeners into thinking the East Coast was under Martian attack. In addition to a foreword by Ray Bradbury and an afterword by Ben Bova, Sourcebook editors Holmsten and Lubertozzi supply an absorbing account of the broadcast's impact, which puts the hoax in historical context; an article on Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater; a survey of both imaginary and actual space flights to and from Mars and a succinct profile of H.G. Wells. It is interesting to learn that Wells at first resented the radio broadcast, believing Welles was going to read the novel, not dramatize it. Like other Sourcebook books (We Interrupt This Broadcast; And the Crowd Goes Wild; etc.), the package comes with an audio CD, which is keyed to relevant portions of the text. The CD features not only the original Mercury Theater broadcast but also the press conference Welles gave the next day and the KTSA radio interview of H.G. and Orson from 1940. The many b&w photos are particularly well chosen. (Apr.)Forecast: With a 50,000-copy first printing, this multimedia package should sell well to popular culture fans, not just SF buffs.SF/Fantasy/Horror

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-An introduction by Ray Bradbury includes historical and literary references about the radio performance of Howard Koch's adaptation of The War of the Worlds, read by Orson Welles and cast on October 30, 1938. Part one discusses events of the times and why so many people took the broadcast to be true. Part two delves deeper into the "urban legend" materials about "Moon Men" and "Martians" that appeared in print as early as 1835. It also covers other broadcasts of the adaptation with accompanying results. Part three includes a short biography of H. G. Wells, with comments about his life and work. The text of The War of the Worlds, as it first appeared in Pearson's magazine in 1897, follows and includes the illustrations by Warwick Goble. An accompanying CD includes the original broadcast along with Welles at the press conference the next day, an interview with H. G. Wells and Orson Welles together, an excerpt from a later broadcast, and an interview with Welles 40 years after the original broadcast. With all of this information gathered into a neat package, young adults have an opportunity to read, listen, and learn about one of the most important events of radio history and a science-fiction classic.

Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks MediaFusion (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570717141
• ISBN-13: 978-1570717147
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 9.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,432,307 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE edition to buy, July 8, 2005

By 

Brian P. Hudson "Writer@Large" (Dearborn, MI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The War of the Worlds With Audio CD: Mars' Invasion of Earth, Inciting Panic and Inspiring Terror from H.G. Wells to Orson Welles and Beyond (Audio CD)

With Spielberg's new film adaptation of WAR OF THE WORLDS in theatres, more attention is being paid to both the original Wells novel, and the infamous 1938 Welles radio broadcast. If you're interested in both, why not treat yourself to the best presentation of either version available today?

THE COMPLETE WAR OF THE WORLDS is an excellent book. It reprint the complete, unedited novel; prints the entire script to the radio play; and comes with a CD containing the entire radio play broadcast, plus archival materials such as the only interview Wells and Welles did together on the topic. [The recording sound quality is the best I've ever discovered for this play, BTW.] In addition, the book has lots of great historical and biographical material, including articles looking at the lives of both Wells and Welles; the story of the radio broadcast and the panic it caused; and a survey of the many incarnations of WotW in literature, film, and television.

If you have any curiosity about the book or the radio play, do yourself a favor and buy this book. It's worth it!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly full of everything War of the worlds, June 26, 2005

By 

baseball lover101 (CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete War of The Worlds (Hardcover)

This book is incredible. I got it for my birthday 5 years ago and I still love reading it today. It holds everything about war of the worlds you could want. it has the original story with all the pictures, it has the writing of the terrifying 1938 Orson Welles radio broadcast, (as well as peoples reactions to it), biographies of orson welles and H.G. wells and much more observing every movie, book, musical you could imagine. it also includes and audio CD where you can hear: orson welles horrifying radio bradcast, the only meeting between orson welles and H.G. wells, the press conference the day after the broacast with orson, another radio bradcast by a different station 30 years later, and much more. when i got it, it cost 40 dollars. you should buy it from amazon cuz its a lot cheaper. its a really excellent book that any fan of anything war of the worlds would love for many years. buy it today, you wont regret it!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Martians Continue to Wage War on Planet Earth, March 18, 2002

By 

Jim Reed (birmingham, al United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete War of The Worlds (Hardcover)

War of the Worlds enthusiasts continue to love, emulate and draw new stories from this, the original outer-space invasion novel. The story has been filmed twice--once as a television series and once as a 1950's sci-fi epic--but it's been copied and re-told many times in other films, INDEPENDENCE DAY included. What would Hollywood do without this original, one-of-a-kind horror story? This new book has everything, including a CD and excerpts from a recorded discussion between H.G. Wells and Orson Welles, as well as the original 1938 Welles broadcast, and two press conferences with Welles. What's missing is the fascinating story of how and why Wells wrote this story (it's truly a horror tale--our hero has to sit in an abandoned house for days, listening to the Martians eating live humans, for instance), which contains many of the same suspenseful elements you'll find in other classics that will not die--such as FRANKENSTEIN, DRACULA and SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES. When I traveled to England to attend a meeting of the H.G. Wells Society in 1998 (the centenary of War of the Worlds' publication), I was treated to a walking tour of the actual Martian landing site, the sand pits of Woking. Then, we followed the same path that the Martians traversed during their campaign against the world. A small, polished pebble lifted from the sandpits sits before my writing desk, a relic of a fictitious war for which, like the recent attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, no-one was prepared. Wells was living in a time of unrest, when anarchists (terrorists?) might strike at any time at the powerful and arrogant British Empire, and the portent of war was everywhere. War of the Worlds was a wake-up call! Ray Bradbury's foreword is worth the price of the book. He is truly Wells' successor--a behavioral optimist who in every way is the kind of writer Wells tried to be. Incidentally, Bradbury once told me that he missed his chance to meet H.G. Wells when he lectured in L.A. Bradbury was a high school student and didn't have the price of admission. Besides, he told me, "I was afraid I'd die of a heart attack if I met him!" Wells dominated the first half of the 20th Century, Bradbury the second half. Both were believers in the potential and unrealized greatness of humankind. Both are worth reading. --Jim Reed, author of DAD'S TWEED COAT: SMALL WISDOMS, HIDDEN COMFORTS, UNEXPECTED JOYS