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The Complete War of The Worlds
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Product Description
For the first time, one book captures the story behind Orson Welles' radio adaptation of H.G. Wells' classic tale of Martian invasion and the immediacy of the 1938 Halloween eve panic broadcast itself. The Complete War of the Worlds, in words and on two audio CDs, tells how Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre drove 1.2 million people into a panic over something that never happened.
History buffs, science-fiction fans, theater enthusiasts and devotees of Orson Welles and old-time radio will want to relive the night when Martians "landed" in Grovers Mill, New Jersey. The panic created by the "news reports" of Martians destroying the Earth wakened the nation to both the incredible potential and inherent danger of broadcast media.
Drawing on the radio play itself, news reports about the panic, facts about Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre and an interview with H.G. Wells and Orson Welles, The Complete War of the Worlds explains why Wells' story took hold so strongly in the minds of listeners, and why invasion from another world has continued to fascinate and frighten people to this day. It also explores other attempts to recreate the famous Martian invasion on the radio, film, stage and television.
Included in the book is the complete text of H.G. Wells' original novel, The War of the Worlds, along with the complete radio performance by The Mercury Theatre On the Air.
Two audio CDs feature the following items and more: --The original broadcast of October 30, 1938, by the Mercury Theatre --The Orson Welles press conference of October 31, 1938 --A 1940 interview with H.G. Wells and Orson Welles --Various interviews with Orson Welles and John Houseman (cofounder and producer of The Mercury Theatre On the Air) --Clips from the 1978 disco stage musical War of the Worlds, with Richard Burton
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #848119 in Books
- Published on: 2001-04-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 256 pages
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
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.SF/Fantasy/Horror
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-An introduction by Ray Bradbury includes historical and literary references about the radio performance of Howard Koch's adaptation of The War of the Worlds, read by Orson Welles and cast on October 30, 1938. Part one discusses events of the times and why so many people took the broadcast to be true. Part two delves deeper into the "urban legend" materials about "Moon Men" and "Martians" that appeared in print as early as 1835. It also covers other broadcasts of the adaptation with accompanying results. Part three includes a short biography of H. G. Wells, with comments about his life and work. The text of The War of the Worlds, as it first appeared in Pearson's magazine in 1897, follows and includes the illustrations by Warwick Goble. An accompanying CD includes the original broadcast along with Welles at the press conference the next day, an interview with H. G. Wells and Orson Welles together, an excerpt from a later broadcast, and an interview with Welles 40 years after the original broadcast. With all of this information gathered into a neat package, young adults have an opportunity to read, listen, and learn about one of the most important events of radio history and a science-fiction classic.
Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From the Publisher
The story that inspired THREE major motion pictures!
Customer Reviews
THE edition to buy
With Spielberg's new film adaptation of WAR OF THE WORLDS in theatres, more attention is being paid to both the original Wells novel, and the infamous 1938 Welles radio broadcast. If you're interested in both, why not treat yourself to the best presentation of either version available today?
THE COMPLETE WAR OF THE WORLDS is an excellent book. It reprint the complete, unedited novel; prints the entire script to the radio play; and comes with a CD containing the entire radio play broadcast, plus archival materials such as the only interview Wells and Welles did together on the topic. [The recording sound quality is the best I've ever discovered for this play, BTW.] In addition, the book has lots of great historical and biographical material, including articles looking at the lives of both Wells and Welles; the story of the radio broadcast and the panic it caused; and a survey of the many incarnations of WotW in literature, film, and television.
If you have any curiosity about the book or the radio play, do yourself a favor and buy this book. It's worth it!
Incredibly full of everything War of the worlds
This book is incredible. I got it for my birthday 5 years ago and I still love reading it today. It holds everything about war of the worlds you could want. it has the original story with all the pictures, it has the writing of the terrifying 1938 Orson Welles radio broadcast, (as well as peoples reactions to it), biographies of orson welles and H.G. wells and much more observing every movie, book, musical you could imagine. it also includes and audio CD where you can hear: orson welles horrifying radio bradcast, the only meeting between orson welles and H.G. wells, the press conference the day after the broacast with orson, another radio bradcast by a different station 30 years later, and much more. when i got it, it cost 40 dollars. you should buy it from amazon cuz its a lot cheaper. its a really excellent book that any fan of anything war of the worlds would love for many years. buy it today, you wont regret it!
Martians Continue to Wage War on Planet Earth
War of the Worlds enthusiasts continue to love, emulate and draw new stories from this, the original outer-space invasion novel. The story has been filmed twice--once as a television series and once as a 1950's sci-fi epic--but it's been copied and re-told many times in other films, INDEPENDENCE DAY included. What would Hollywood do without this original, one-of-a-kind horror story? This new book has everything, including a CD and excerpts from a recorded discussion between H.G. Wells and Orson Welles, as well as the original 1938 Welles broadcast, and two press conferences with Welles. What's missing is the fascinating story of how and why Wells wrote this story (it's truly a horror tale--our hero has to sit in an abandoned house for days, listening to the Martians eating live humans, for instance), which contains many of the same suspenseful elements you'll find in other classics that will not die--such as FRANKENSTEIN, DRACULA and SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES. When I traveled to England to attend a meeting of the H.G. Wells Society in 1998 (the centenary of War of the Worlds' publication), I was treated to a walking tour of the actual Martian landing site, the sand pits of Woking. Then, we followed the same path that the Martians traversed during their campaign against the world. A small, polished pebble lifted from the sandpits sits before my writing desk, a relic of a fictitious war for which, like the recent attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, no-one was prepared. Wells was living in a time of unrest, when anarchists (terrorists?) might strike at any time at the powerful and arrogant British Empire, and the portent of war was everywhere. War of the Worlds was a wake-up call! Ray Bradbury's foreword is worth the price of the book. He is truly Wells' successor--a behavioral optimist who in every way is the kind of writer Wells tried to be. Incidentally, Bradbury once told me that he missed his chance to meet H.G. Wells when he lectured in L.A. Bradbury was a high school student and didn't have the price of admission. Besides, he told me, "I was afraid I'd die of a heart attack if I met him!" Wells dominated the first half of the 20th Century, Bradbury the second half. Both were believers in the potential and unrealized greatness of humankind. Both are worth reading. --Jim Reed, author of DAD'S TWEED COAT: SMALL WISDOMS, HIDDEN COMFORTS, UNEXPECTED JOYS
