cover image THE COMPLETE WAR OF THE WORLDS: Mars' Invasion of Earth from H.G. Wells to Orson Welles

THE COMPLETE WAR OF THE WORLDS: Mars' Invasion of Earth from H.G. Wells to Orson Welles

, OUR UNIVERSE: The Magnetism and Thrill of Extragalactic Exp. , $39.95 (200pp) ISBN 978-1-57071-714-7

Here's a nifty pairing—H.G. Wells's classic 1897 SF novel, The War of the Worlds, including the original magazine illustrations, together with Howard Koch's radio play adaptation made famous by Orson Welles in his October 30, 1938, broadcast, which fooled thousands of listeners into thinking the East Coast was under Martian attack. In addition to a foreword by Ray Bradbury and an afterword by Ben Bova, Sourcebook editors Holmsten and Lubertozzi supply an absorbing account of the broadcast's impact, which puts the hoax in historical context; an article on Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater; a survey of both imaginary and actual space flights to and from Mars and a succinct profile of H.G. Wells. It is interesting to learn that Wells at first resented the radio broadcast, believing Welles was going to read the novel, not dramatize it. Like other Sourcebook books (We Interrupt This Broadcast; And the Crowd Goes Wild; etc.), the package comes with an audio CD, which is keyed to relevant portions of the text. The CD features not only the original Mercury Theater broadcast but also the press conference Welles gave the next day and the KTSA radio interview of H.G. and Orson from 1940. The many b&w photos are particularly well chosen. (Apr.)

Forecast:With a 50,000-copy first printing, this multimedia package should sell well to popular culture fans, not just SF buffs.