Wells, H.G. — The World Set Free

New York, E.P. Dutton, 1914. Hardcover. First American edition. Twelvemo. Bound in red cloth with gilt titles. 307 pages ; 20 cm. The Last War erupts in Europe, rapidly escalating from bloody trench warfare and vicious aerial duels into a world-consuming, atomic holocaust. Paris is engulfed by an atomic maelstrom, Berlin is an ever-flaming crater, the cold waters of the North Sea roar past Dutch dikes and sweep across the Low Countries. Moscow, Chicago, Tokyo, London, and hundreds of other cities become radioactive wastelands. Governments topple, age-old cultural legacies are destroyed, and the stage is set for a new social and political order. VG. A nicely preserved first American edition. Only real fault being some minor toning to spine.