Amazon.com description: Product Description: H. G. Wells is one of the pioneers of science fiction and probably one of the most influential authors of that genre. Whether involving alien invasion, time travel, biological manipulation, technology gone awry, or dystopian future societies, most contemporary science fiction themes can in one way or another be traced back to an H. G. Wells novel. As big part of H. G. Wells' appeal the fact that his stories explore many of the most fundamental human desires and fears. They also were laced with a significant dose of social criticism. These are just a few of the reasons why Wells novels, which have aged remarkably well, are still read today. Nowhere is the the timelessness of Well's fiction better illustrated than in "The Sleeper Awakes"--a short novel about a 19th century Englishman who falls in a deep sleep only to awake over 200 later. The world has changed beyond recognition, and "The Sleeper" finds himself in a remarkable predicament - he has become the owner of the entire planet. This state of affairs was made possible because no one really expected him to wake up, so for the most part his ownership of all the World's resources was thought only to be nominal. His awakening profoundly shakes this state of world affairs. Suddenly, he finds himself at the very center of revolutionary social upheavals and a struggle for the ultimate power. This struggle is the main focus of the larger part of the novel.