A consummate storyteller, the author made fantastic creatures and machines entirely believable; and, by placing ordinary men and women in extraordinary situations, he explored, with humor, what it means to be alive in a century of rapid scientific progress A consummate storyteller, the author made fantastic creatures and machines entirely believable; and, by placing ordinary men and women in extraordinary situations, he explored, with humor, what it means to be alive in a century of rapid scientific progress. Biographical Note vii Introduction xiii Further Reading xxiv Note on the Texts xxvi The Lord of the Dynamos 3(9) The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes 12(10) The Moth 22(11) A Catastrophe 33(9) The Cone 42(12) The Argonauts of the Air 54(13) Under the Knife 67(14) A Slip under the Microscope 81(19) The Plattner Story 100(20) The Story of the late Mr Elvesham 120(17) In the Abyss 137(16) The Sea Raiders 153(11) The Crystal Egg 164(18) A Story of the Stone Age 182(57) The Star 239(12) The Man who could work Miracles 251(18) A Dream of Armageddon 269(27) The New Accelerator 296(15) The Truth about Pyecraft 311(11) The Country of the Blind 322(26) The Empire of the Ants 348(17) The Door in the Wall 365(17) The Wild Asses of the Devil 382(13) Appendix: H. G. Wells's Introduction to The Country of the Blind and Other Stories 395(6) Wells's London and Surrounding Region 401(3) Glossary 404(8) Notes 412