Born on September 21, 1866, classic science fiction author H.G. Wells celebrated his birthday this week: he would have been 143 years old, had he lived in the science fiction universes he often wrote about.

Cosimo offers a selection of Wells’ work, including his masterpiece, The War of the Worlds. His archetypical story of alien invasion is set amidst an 1890s backdrop of rampant and rapid industrialization, global British hegemony, and incipient war with Europe-all of which are reflected in his tale of Martian attack. The story remains startlingly relevant today in our era wracked with worldwide concerns over terrorism and national security. Cosimo’s new edition — with an introduction by mass-psychology expert Robert E. Bartholomew and classic illustrations by Alvin-Correa — is sure to enthrall and intrigue yet another generation of readers.

Other Wells books available from Cosimo:

• A Short History of the World: This story of Earth, from its very formation and the first appearance of homo sapiens (at least as understood in 1923) through the Russian Revolution and the reconstruction after World War I, reads like the most thrilling adventure story ever told. Though it has been factually supplanted by scholarship that came after it, this remains an engaging history and a classic of science fact.

• Washington and the Riddle of Peace: In these essays, written for American and European newspapers in reaction to what Wells saw and heard at the Washington Conference to organize the post-WWI peace, Wells explores issues such as the “problem” of Russia and Japan — and how little could hope to be accomplished at this conference without their participation — to the “economic decadence” of the world and how to arrest it. Wells’s intriguing foresight shines through, making this a fascinating document of the international disaster of the World Wars.

• God the Invisible King: Wells explores the chimerical concept of a deity in this intriguing work, a bestseller in its day, laying out his “personal and intimate” belief in God, an expression of “modern religion” that, by necessity, attacks “doctrinal Christianity” by professing a belief in a “finite” God, as opposed to an infinite force, worshipped by “militant” believers, not placid ones.

• The Soul of a Bishop: This tale of intuitive tale is about a bishop haunted by strange dreams and visions that challenge his faith. Lyrical, poetic, and verging on stream-of-consciousness in places, this little-read work offers a captivating and unexpected insight into Wells’s psyche.

Cosimo books are available at Amazon.com and from other online booksellers.