Men Like Gods

H. G. Wells

Jul 2016 · Courier Dover Publications

About this ebook

In the summer of 1921, a disenchanted journalist escapes the rat race for a drive in the country. But Mr. Barnstaple's trip exceeds his expectations when he and other motorists are swept 3,000 years into the future. The inadvertent time travelers arrive in a world that corresponds exactly to Barnstaple's ideals: a utopian state, free of crime, poverty, war, disease, and bigotry. Unfettered by the constraints of government and organized religion, the citizens lead rich, meaningful lives, passed in pursuit of their creative fancies. Barnstaple's traveling companions, however, quickly contrive a scheme to remake the utopia in the image of their twentieth-century world.
A century after its initial publication, H. G. Wells's novel offers an enduringly relevant look at an ideal society. Conceived in the aftermath of World War I, it reflects the failings of human nature but offers hope for the future, when men and women may live like gods.

Ratings and reviews

It's a bit odd how parts of this novel(published January 1923; set in 1921) still resonate with modern times. In some ways, Wells was also prescient about modern telecommunication. The 2nd Act was probably the best of the Three but this utopian fiction overall was a good read.

About the author

A pioneer of science fiction, H. G. Wells (1866–1946) wrote thrilling adventures about time travel, space exploration, alien invasion, and scientific experiments gone awry. His tales of obsession, revelation, and discovery remain compellingly readable and relevant.