1. HG Wells

2. His Life
Wells was born into a very poor family; his father was a professional cricket player, but a broken leg took away their income
In addition to poverty, his family was dysfunctional; his mother worked as a lady’s maid, living with her employer away from her family
Wells broke his leg as a boy, and found the wonder of books as he lay in bed, recuperating

3. Wells tried a variety of jobs and apprenticeships, all of which ended in failure
Finally, he was able to earn a scholarship to attend college, and began his career as a scientist and journalist
Wells’ political, scientific, and social views were somewhat radical
He believed in a form of socialism; he followed Darwinism; and even believed in a certain degree of genetic control over the races – but he disagreed with Hitler and was blacklisted by the Nazis in WWII

4. Considered to be the “father of science fiction,” Wells saw his work as cautionary as he tried to warn the world of the problems it faced with the new technologies it was creating
His later work often alienated his fans because he was more concerned with social issues than creating his fascinating stories of science and fantasy
Some critics said his later work was similar to that of Charles Dickens
During WWII, Wells became interested in war games, and his books on the subject are the first that lay out rules for literally playing war games – now our video games
Wells died at the height of WWII, and witnessed the creation of many of the things he described in his books