The World Set Free
by H. G. Wells
Written in 1913, this spooky, futuristic novel was incredibly prophetic on a large scale. Wells was a genius and visionary, as evidenced by many of his other works, but this book is clearly one of the best. He predicts nuclear war years before the start of research and describes the chain reactions involved and the radiation obtained. He described a weapon used from the air and with enormous destructive power that would destroy everything for miles, and he actually used the term "atomic bomb." This book may have been at least part of the original inspiration for the development of atomic weapons, and it may also have offered many other ideas that would eventually come to fruition.
