For the first time, one book captures the story behind Orson Welles' radio adaptation of H.G. Wells' classic tale of Martian invasion and the immediacy of the 1938 Halloween eve panic broadcast itself. The Complete War of the Worlds, in words and on two audio CDs, tells how Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre drove 1.2 million people into a panic over something that never happened.

History buffs, science-fiction fans, theater enthusiasts and devotees of Orson Welles and old-time radio will want to relive the night when Martians "landed" in Grovers Mill, New Jersey. The panic created by the "news reports" of Martians destroying the Earth wakened the nation to both the incredible potential and inherent danger of broadcast media.

Drawing on the radio play itself, news reports about the panic, facts about Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre and an interview with H.G. Wells and Orson Welles, The Complete War of the Worlds explains why Wells' story took hold so strongly in the minds of listeners, and why invasion from another world has continued to fascinate and frighten people to this day. It also explores other attempts to recreate the famous Martian invasion on the radio, film, stage and television.

Included in the book is the complete text of H.G. Wells' original novel, The War of the Worlds, along with the complete radio performance by The Mercury Theatre On the Air.

Two audio CDs feature the following items and more: --The original broadcast of October 30, 1938, by the Mercury Theatre --The Orson Welles press conference of October 31, 1938 --A 1940 interview with H.G. Wells and Orson Welles --Various interviews with Orson Welles and John Houseman (cofounder and producer of The Mercury Theatre On the Air) --Clips from the 1978 disco stage musical War of the Worlds, with Richard Burton