I reviewed Glenn Adamson’s lively book on futurism, A Century of Tomorrows, for PopMatters:

It seems clear that many who argue that authors like H.G. Wells and Jules Verne should be read because of their supposed power of premonition don’t care for science fiction yet feel the urge to find a rationale. The joys of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea come from Captain Nemo’s achingly tragic quest for justice, not Verne’s prediction of electric submarines. Wells understood a lot about how the world’s mechanistic turn would overthrow many societal assumptions. However, his utopian enthusiasms also carried him away; see his 1936 sci-fi film Things to Come for both characteristics…