A science fiction work on the subject of bacteriological weapons. In a story “The Stolen Bacillus” Herbert George Wells, an English science fiction author, described an anarchist, who had stolen pathogenic organism from the scientific laboratory, intending to infect the city water of London with cholera. As it occurred, the scientist farsightedly substituted the virus for harmless bacteria.
Though the problem at issue is rather important, Wells, master of details, bright characters and a collision of the unbelievable and the usual, makes the reader laugh. The time passes, some of the forecasts come true, and generations follow one another, often forgetting the old “idols”. But the interest for Wells and his books is still growing, in spite of the age of his works.