Never read it. Not much of a reader.
But that’s a tantalizing piece from it.
Did the book include the same time frame as the movie?
I remember a military that looked maybe 1940s or 50s in the movie.
I believe the movie (and the radio broadcast) updated the book to contemporary times. The book deals with the menace using good cutting-edge late 19th century technology.
It’s simply amazing. Rich detail of day-to-day British life set in 1905, written in 1897, the cultural and historic data (up to the flashes seen on Mars) can’t help but be accurate.
The story from the landing of the first Martian cylinder are plausible, the depicted reactions of the British are true to what a man on the street, and what government agencies would do.
The 1953 George Pal version is OK, but like most screen plays, not very true to the book.
The five movie versions (I have all five) of the tale released in 2005 are pale comparisons.
Perhaps an audio book would better fit your life? I listened to it while driving (several times!). Get an unabridged version. All the abridgements I’ve listened to simply left too much on the cutting room floor.