Order [book in series=yearoffirstbook.book# (eg 2014.01), stand-alone or one-author collection=3333.pubyear, multi-author anthology=5555.pubyear, SFM/MM=5000, interview=1111]: 1908

The War in the Air by H.G. Wells

The War of the Worlds wasn’t the only masterpiece that H.G. Wells wrote with the words “The War” in the title. The War in the Air, which came out 10 years later, in 1908, is surely a lesser-known title by this great author, but most certainly, in my humble opinion, a masterpiece nonetheless. In this prophetic book, Wells not only predicts World War I — which wouldn’t start for another six years — but also prophesies how the advent of navigable balloons and heavier-than-air flying craft would make that war inevitable.