“The War in the Air” was written in 1907, and published in January 1908 in the Pall Mall Magazine. It was published as a book later in that year. The novel was written before flying machines got their popularity - the great French aviator Louis Bleriot flew across the English Channel only in 1909, which makes it not only an amazing prediction of the use of airships in military operations, but also a striking anticipation of how the methods of warfare would change due to the advent of aircraft.