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Re: War of the Worlds


hi

well, we know that Wells did express that Lowell's "Mars" was a source of
inspiration for "War....." (i recall the direct quote, but not the text.)

and while there was certainly more going on in the world, please consider
that the completion of the suez canal was THE event of that era.  as canal
madness was all the rage, the building of canals on mars by an ancient
civilization was an invitingly short leap for many commentators following
schiaparelli's discovery.

while the chronology you mentioned was fascinating, it is all extremely
arcane, especially when compared to what was that era's equivalent of going
to the moon. i would be most surprised (and all the more impressed with
wells) by a reliable source that indicates that wells expressed being
influenced by--or was even aware of--the items you mentioned.


anyway...

wishing everyone a nice weekend--and to those in the US who have a long
holiday weekend: make it count.  :)


best-
darryl



> I do not know for certain what was going through the mind of Wells
> when he wrote his book, but there was much more going on in the
> world than just a language problem with the word canali.
>
>A brief history:
>1834-Jons Jacob Berzelius concluded carbon compounds were present in
>meteorites, but claimed no indications of living matter were found.
>
>1857-The Kaba, Hungary meteorite fell, and  M. F. Wohler reported that a
>hydrocarbon compound he found in it was "undoubtedly of organic origin."
>
>1864-The Orgueil meteorite fell.
>
>1868-William Huggins concluded ethylene, a poisonous gas, was present in
>comets.
>
>1880-Otto Hahn published on his fossil coral in meteorites which caused an
>Internet discussion 118 years later.
>
>1889-H. G. Wells published 'War of the Worlds.'
>
>1899-Proposals to ban some chemical weapons were presented at the Hague
>conference (but defeated through US efforts (sorry about that one)).
>
>I do not know for certain what was going through the mind of Wells when he
>wrote his book, but there was much more going on in the world than just a
>language problem with the word canali.
>
>Oh, as far as reading the "Mars Owner's Manual," I have not. Who is the
>author on that one?
>
>Cheers,
>
>Martin
>
>references:
>Allen (1965): The Quest
>Burke (1986): Cosmic Debris
>Hutchison (1983): The Search for Our Beginning
>Maurette (1993): Hunting for Stars
>Sagan (1985): Comet
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