Walter Warren Wagar (June 5, 1932,

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

– November 16, 2004,

Vestal, New York Vestal is a town within Broome County in the Southern Tier of New York, United States, and lies between the Susquehanna River and the Pennsylvania border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,110. Vestal is on the southern border of the ...

), better known as W. Warren Wagar, was an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

and

futures studies Futures studies, futures research, futurism or futurology is the systematic, interdisciplinary and holistic study of social and technological advancement, and other environmental trends, often for the purpose of exploring how people will l ...

scholar.

Life

A specialist in alternative society futures and an expert in the work of pioneering

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

writer H.G. Wells, Wagar served as history professor at Binghamton University, State University of New York, for 31 years, after graduating from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. His courses on the history of the future and World War III earned him the title of Distinguished Teaching Professor at Binghamton. Wagar began writing science fiction in 1984, publishing nine stories in various magazines and anthologies. He wrote four articles for The Futurist, contributed to a discussion on

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

in the January–February 2002 issue, served on the editorial board for ''Futures Research Quarterly'', and spoke at several World Future Society conferences. Wagar published 18 books.

Work on H. G. Wells

Wagar's work on H. G. Wells began with his doctoral dissertation, which was published as ''H. G. Wells and the World State'' (1961), a study of Wells's

political philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, ...

. He subsequently collected a volume of Wells essays and extracts in ''H. G. Wells: Journalism and Prophecy'' (1963), edited a critical edition of Wells's ''The Open Conspiracy'' (2001) and finally published ''H.G. Wells: Traversing Time'', which traces Wells’s philosophies on

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

, and

modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

, focusing on his nonfiction and general fiction as well as his science fiction. For these, and many essays on Wells in such scholarly journals as ''

Science Fiction Studies ''Science Fiction Studies'' (''SFS'') is an academic journal founded in 1973 by R. D. Mullen. The journal is published three times per year at DePauw University. As the name implies, the journal publishes articles and book reviews on science fic ...

'' and '' The Wellsian'', Wagar was made a vice-president of the H. G. Wells Society.

Single works

''The City of Man''

''The City of Man'' (1963) sees the imminent collapse of world civilization, which he regarded as an excellent opportunity: "There is no more opportune moment for radical change than in the aftermath of a world catastrophe".

''A Short History of the Future''

In '' A Short History of the Future'' (1989), a narrative account of the imagined events of the next 200 years, Wagar foresaw the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

enjoying another 200 years of existence. In the second edition of the book he ruefully recounted how the first edition had only just gone to press when the Soviet Union collapsed.

Quotes

Editions

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Entry at World Cat
* * * *
Entry at World Cat
*

References

External links

Photographs of Wagar and his family
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagar, W. Warren 1932 births 2004 deaths Writers from Baltimore 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Binghamton University faculty American futurologists State University of New York faculty Historians from Maryland 20th-century American male writers