The complete War of the Worlds – Mars’ Invasion of Earth from H.G. Wells to Orson Welles (2001) by Alex Lubertozzi, Brian Holmsten, John Callaway
In 1898, H.G. Wells wanted to find out what it would be like if an intelligent race of Martians turned the tables on Victorian England by conquering and colonizing the world’s greatest empire. For readers around the world, The War of the Worlds elicited their darkest, deepest fears.
In 1938, Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre on the Air adapted the H.G. Wells novel to radio and used that medium’s immediacy, along with a series of realistic “newsflashes” as part of the story, to drive more than a million people mad with terror. Orson Welles said he “wanted people to understand that […] they shouldn’t Swallow everything that came through the tap, whether it was radio or not.” He succeeded beyond his wildest expectations, while claiming absolute innocence the next day. The “Panic Broadcast”, as it would be known, became the most notorious radio broadcast in history.
The Complete War of the Worlds tells the story behind the story – how H.G. Wells’ tale of Martian invasion captured the imagination of Orson Welles, and how the book and the broadcast went on to inspire hundreds of imitators.
In this book and audio CD, you will hear the actual 1938 Orson Welles broadcast, read the original book by H.G. Wells and the radio play by Howard Koch, and see the people, places and things that turned a story into a legend.