"First and Last Things - A Confession of Faith and Rule of Life" by H. G. Wells is a work of philosophy that set forth his beliefs in four "books" entitled "Metaphysics," "Of Belief," "Of General Conduct," and "Some Personal Things." The book was written at a time when Wells's "private life was to a considerable degree in turmoil.

Excerpt:

" It will be necessary to take up the most abstract of these questions of belief first, the metaphysical questions. It may be that to many readers the opening sections may seem the driest and least attractive. But I would ask them to begin at the beginning and read straight on, because much that follows this metaphysical book cannot be appreciated at its proper value without a grasp of these preliminaries."