And the footnotes were not the only stand-out feature of The Outline of History. They also suggested the "interpretability" and mutability of historical thought. The work was not intended as the final word on history, but only the beginning of the conversation. The footnotes made clear to the reader that Instead, he enlisted the aid of numerous experts in the various fields through which The Outline of History passed to contribute footnotes to the work, sometimes complementary, sometimes argumentative. Yet Wells was not content to state his ideas and let the public sort them out. It is on these grounds that Wells encouraged education, elevated sound philosophy and literature, discouraged sexual licentiousness (in print, if not in person), and condemned fundamentalism. The Outline of History thus served as a cautionary tale demonstrating not only how humanity had advanced, but highlighting historical figures and institutions that resisted this change. For Wells the evolution towards global unity was to be applauded, but he was aware that although change must by nature occur, there was nothing dictating that such change would be positive. He claimed that the book was an attempt to explain the truth about human nature and that that nature was one of change humankind, in other words, had been gradually evolving towards a greater social state. In writing The Outline of History, Wells had definite agendas. Ultimately, divergent works like The Time Machine and The Outline of History explore the same territory, examining the way mankind has evolved or will evolve. The impact of the natural sciences and Socialist thought is visible throughout Wells's work, informing both his fiction and his nonfiction. After earning his degree in zoology, Wells published his first book, A Text-book of Biology. Huxley, and it was during this time that he was introduced to the Socialist party. It was here that he came under the tutelage of T.H. After quitting his apprenticeship and returning to school, Wells had his break in 1884-a scholarship to The Normal School of Science in South Kensington. He continued in school, however, eventually working briefly as an apprentice draper. Wells experienced first-hand the economic struggles of those trying merely to survive. He was born in 1866 in Bromley, Kent, into a lower-middle-class family that, in 1880, would experience financial collapse, dropping into poverty. Wells's own life certainly shaped the views that would manifest themselves in The Outline of History. Wells acknowledged that history was what the historian made of it, and his own interests manifested themselves as he regarded the history of humanity as a story of inevitable change and progress towards world unification. Besides being one of the most popular histories ever written, the book was groundbreaking, a new kind of history text, arguing for a holistic look at history with a nod to the necessary subjectivity of such a project. This massive project was first published serially in 1919, and as a single volume in September of 1920, to critical and popular acclaim, initially selling an astonishing two million copies. Of all his work, none had the impact of The Outline of History. Wells worked also within the traditional forms of the novel and wrote extensive nonfiction, often with a sociological bent. In fact, science fiction made up but a fraction of his more than 80 published books. But Wells was no mere writer of fantastic tales. The anniversary of The War of the Worlds saw the proliferation of books and films consciously nodding to Wells's work. Indeed, many consider him the father of modern science fiction, and the influence of ground-breaking novels like The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, and The Island of Doctor Moreau can be seen throughout the genre. Wells is probably best known today for his forays into science fiction.
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