The Time Machine by H.G. Wells Summary
Overview of The Time Machine
H.G. Wells' 1895 masterpiece invented modern time travel fiction. Influencing Tolkien, Asimov, and spawning countless adaptations, this Victorian critique of industrialization asks: What horrifying class divide awaits humanity's future? The answer still haunts readers today.
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Key takeaways
A Glimpse Through Time's Window
In the twilight of the Victorian era, a brilliant inventor proposes something that violates every known law of physics-that time is merely a fourth dimension through which one might travel. To his skeptical dinner guests, he demonstrates a small model that vanishes at the press of a lever, then reveals a larger machine nearing completion in his laboratory. None truly believe him-his brilliance has always made serious things seem like tricks. Yet a week later, these same gentlemen arrive to find their host absent from his own dinner party. When he finally appears, he's disheveled, limping, with bloodstained clothes and a half-healed cut on his chin. After devouring his meal with ravenous hunger, he begins an extraordinary tale of eight days unlike any human has experienced before. What could reduce such a brilliant, confident man to this desperate state? What horrors or wonders await humanity in the distant future? His story begins with the sensation of helpless motion-day and night flapping like black wings as he hurtles through time at over a year a minute, watching buildings rise and pass like dreams, snow flashing across the world followed by brief green springs, all while wondering: has mankind evolved into something inhuman and unsympathetic?
Paradise Lost
Stranded in Tomorrow
The Abyss Beneath
The Terrible Revelation
The Final Journey
Warnings Unheeded, Flowers Preserved
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"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
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