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Jules Verne
An alternate cover edition of this ISBN can be found here.
2013 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award Silver Finalist in Gift Books
Legendary science fiction and adventure author Jules Verne is remembered for his fascinating stories of travel and excitement. With countless adaptations available, the titles of his works are familiar. But no joy can compare to reading the originals--and reading them in a deluxe classic edition is even better!
This revised, elegant book features the African exploration of Five Weeks in a Balloon; the story of Captain Nemo and his submarine in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea; Around the World in Eighty Days, the famous story of an incredible expedition; and the classic Journey to the Center of the Earth, which takes readers into our world’s geological past. With a genuine leather cover, printed endpapers, and a ribbon bookmark, as well as an introduction by an expert on Verne’s life and writing, it’s an excellent introduction to the work of this well-loved author.
Expand your home library--and your imagination--with Jules Verne!
Lexile score: 1030L
2013 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award Silver Finalist in Gift Books
Legendary science fiction and adventure author Jules Verne is remembered for his fascinating stories of travel and excitement. With countless adaptations available, the titles of his works are familiar. But no joy can compare to reading the originals--and reading them in a deluxe classic edition is even better!
This revised, elegant book features the African exploration of Five Weeks in a Balloon; the story of Captain Nemo and his submarine in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea; Around the World in Eighty Days, the famous story of an incredible expedition; and the classic Journey to the Center of the Earth, which takes readers into our world’s geological past. With a genuine leather cover, printed endpapers, and a ribbon bookmark, as well as an introduction by an expert on Verne’s life and writing, it’s an excellent introduction to the work of this well-loved author.
Expand your home library--and your imagination--with Jules Verne!
Lexile score: 1030L
712 pages, Leather Bound
First published January 1, 2012
228 people are currently reading
1300 people want to read
About the author
Jules Verne
6,515 books12.1k followersNovels of French writer Jules Gabriel Verne, considered the founder of modern science fiction, include
Journey to the Center of the Earth
(1864) and
Around the World in Eighty Days
(1873).
This author who pioneered the genre. People best know him for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870).
Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before people invented navigable aircraft and practical submarines and devised any means of spacecraft. He ranks behind Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie as the second most translated author of all time. People made his prominent films. People often refer to Verne alongside Herbert George Wells as the "father of science fiction."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_V...
This author who pioneered the genre. People best know him for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870).
Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before people invented navigable aircraft and practical submarines and devised any means of spacecraft. He ranks behind Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie as the second most translated author of all time. People made his prominent films. People often refer to Verne alongside Herbert George Wells as the "father of science fiction."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_V...
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 22, 2025
Love J.V. His stories are classics but of course dated and a little Racist. Looking beyond that all four novels are paced well and create imaginative images when read.
I have read three of the four books before but not 80 Days in a Balloon. Did not disappoint. My first experience with J.V. was watching the Disney adaptations as a child which led me to the books. I hold him in reverence with H.G Wells and Edgar Rice Burroughs. All great Authors with fantastic ideas for the future.
I have read three of the four books before but not 80 Days in a Balloon. Did not disappoint. My first experience with J.V. was watching the Disney adaptations as a child which led me to the books. I hold him in reverence with H.G Wells and Edgar Rice Burroughs. All great Authors with fantastic ideas for the future.
September 23, 2020
Five Weeks in a Balloon- Okay storyline. Started out a bit dry for my taste, however it is a classic so it deserved an honest effort. Once the balloon was finally off the ground the story line got a bit better. It just took a while to get there.
A Journey to the Center of the Earth- This is where I started to notice a pattern with Jules Verne’s writing. He starts his novels with the logistics and in theory how the adventure is supposed to play out. There’s a small and simple twist to this adventure story, but it makes all the difference especially if you catch it before it’s revealed in the end.
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea- The twist in this story happened a bit early this time. The setting starts out on one vessel and then the action starts. The story is a bit slow, however it does pick up and I’m glad I didn’t give up on it.
Around the World in Eighty Days- Now this was action packed. It starts with a simple bet and a bank robbery. The twist towards the end is simple, but extremely important. Plus, you never see it coming.
A Journey to the Center of the Earth- This is where I started to notice a pattern with Jules Verne’s writing. He starts his novels with the logistics and in theory how the adventure is supposed to play out. There’s a small and simple twist to this adventure story, but it makes all the difference especially if you catch it before it’s revealed in the end.
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea- The twist in this story happened a bit early this time. The setting starts out on one vessel and then the action starts. The story is a bit slow, however it does pick up and I’m glad I didn’t give up on it.
Around the World in Eighty Days- Now this was action packed. It starts with a simple bet and a bank robbery. The twist towards the end is simple, but extremely important. Plus, you never see it coming.
April 25, 2020
This volume contains four books. My favorites in order from first to last are as follows: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Five Weeks in A Balloon, A Journey to the Center of The Earth, and Around the World in 80 Days. Although that was the order I read them! Despite the occasional imperial racism and ignorance of worldly cultures, as was unfortunately befitting of the times, I found all stories to be full of adventure, science, and characters of strong aptitude. And Great Exploration of Geography!!!
March 29, 2024
This book provides an entertaining progression of novels by Jules Verne.
Five Weeks in Balloon (1863), the least well known of the stories, is a tale of an air expedition across equatorial Africa before much of the continent had been explored and mapped by Europeans. The native populations are presented in a highly colonialist style that is rather jarring today. Verne seems to really like the concept of an exceeding optimistic, capable, and devoted assistant/servant to the leader in his stories. Joe provides self-denying support to Dr. Ferguson in this story. This story certainly has dramatic moments, but Dr. Fergusson’s cool demeanor kind of reduces the tension.
A Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) presents Professor Liendenbrock and nephew Axel travel to Iceland from there to the center of the earth. The story aged well and is a briskly paced tale. The recent proposals that the planet of Theia is actually the center of the earth and is wrapped in a layer of water kind of feed nicely into the premise of this novel. Also, the character Hans is very one-dimensional.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870) is an interesting read and wildly different than Five Weeks in a Balloon. Captain Nemo is of Indian extraction and a rabid anti-imperialist. He captured Pierre Aronnax, Conseil, and Ned Land and took them around the world in the Nautilus submarine. The story is interesting but might have survived without so many different animals being identified.
Around the World in 80 Days (1872) is the most entertaining of the novels. Phileas Fogg takes on a bet to travel around the work in 80 days and takes his brand-new, and shocked servant Passepartout with him. Mr. Fogg is a cold emotionless character, and Passepartout provides most of the emotional range in this story. It is a fast-paced story, and is easy to get engrossed in.
From the perspective of meeting my Reading Challenge, it might have been nicer to read four separate books. However, reading these stories in order provides an excellent view of Jules Verne’s writing style and you can see him grow over time.
Five Weeks in Balloon (1863), the least well known of the stories, is a tale of an air expedition across equatorial Africa before much of the continent had been explored and mapped by Europeans. The native populations are presented in a highly colonialist style that is rather jarring today. Verne seems to really like the concept of an exceeding optimistic, capable, and devoted assistant/servant to the leader in his stories. Joe provides self-denying support to Dr. Ferguson in this story. This story certainly has dramatic moments, but Dr. Fergusson’s cool demeanor kind of reduces the tension.
A Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) presents Professor Liendenbrock and nephew Axel travel to Iceland from there to the center of the earth. The story aged well and is a briskly paced tale. The recent proposals that the planet of Theia is actually the center of the earth and is wrapped in a layer of water kind of feed nicely into the premise of this novel. Also, the character Hans is very one-dimensional.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870) is an interesting read and wildly different than Five Weeks in a Balloon. Captain Nemo is of Indian extraction and a rabid anti-imperialist. He captured Pierre Aronnax, Conseil, and Ned Land and took them around the world in the Nautilus submarine. The story is interesting but might have survived without so many different animals being identified.
Around the World in 80 Days (1872) is the most entertaining of the novels. Phileas Fogg takes on a bet to travel around the work in 80 days and takes his brand-new, and shocked servant Passepartout with him. Mr. Fogg is a cold emotionless character, and Passepartout provides most of the emotional range in this story. It is a fast-paced story, and is easy to get engrossed in.
From the perspective of meeting my Reading Challenge, it might have been nicer to read four separate books. However, reading these stories in order provides an excellent view of Jules Verne’s writing style and you can see him grow over time.
September 28, 2020
Verne's four adventure stories still delight. His first - Five Weeks in a Balloon, I'd never read before and it tells the story of a balloon trip across Africa from east to west in a search for the source of the Nile. Lots of descriptions of previous expeditions and their outcomes. A Journey to the Center of the Earth has Professor Liedenbrock and his nephew and assistant Axel travel to Iceland after the professor discovers a paper in an old book with an intriguing message. They enter an extinct volcano and the book tells of their fantastic discoveries. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea finds Professor Pierre Aronnax, his servant Conseil, and the harpooner Ned Land overboard and taken up by Captain Nemo in the Nautilus. Much description of oceanic life as they travel 20,000 leagues. Around the World in Eighty Days finds Phileas Fogg making a wager with friends at his club during a whist game and taking his new servant Passepartout on a whirlwind tour by steamer, train, elephant, and more. Descriptions of flora and fauna as well as of locations.
April 25, 2022
My order of favorites goes. 1) Around the World in Eighty Days 2) A Journey to the Center of the Earth 3) Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea 4) Five Weeks in a Balloon
The foundations for each story are great. The amount of detail in them is almost overwhelming but I try to consider the time these were written. The way non white people/cultures are mentioned is a bit jarring to read in every story. You can tell Jules Verne was super interested in travel and science and did his best to give every ounce of his knowledge in his writing.
Glad I read them but I wouldn’t suggest for any of my friends (even heavy readers) to read these.
The foundations for each story are great. The amount of detail in them is almost overwhelming but I try to consider the time these were written. The way non white people/cultures are mentioned is a bit jarring to read in every story. You can tell Jules Verne was super interested in travel and science and did his best to give every ounce of his knowledge in his writing.
Glad I read them but I wouldn’t suggest for any of my friends (even heavy readers) to read these.
April 20, 2022
I once bristled at the detail that Verne added to his works and now I see the great researcher that he was. He Had an incredible storehouse of information about his subjects that he imparted in each novel and sometimes he just created some of his facts for his books. This is a compilation of four novels but a wonderful way to spend four months reading a novel each month and getting through a classic novelists famous works.
February 5, 2020
I really enjoyed Journey to the Center of the Earth. I was unfamiliar with quite a few words, or the phrasing but still...superb! I read this aloud to my 11 & 14 year olds and they enjoyed listening but are not inspired to pick up any Jules Verne right away. That's ok. This is one of those books that stays with you.
February 10, 2026
this book introduced me to what would eventually be my favorite author, even if there is some tedium found in their intros, specifically twenty thousand leagues under the sea.
easily one of the best collections of books i have had the pleasure to read.
easily one of the best collections of books i have had the pleasure to read.
April 4, 2020
I am quite surprised that the story I thought I remembered best - was the most interesting (Around the World in Eighty Days). And somehow captain Nemo story was not immersing at all.
April 14, 2020
Great if you really want to know about classification of whales. Rather dull and disappointing ending.
January 2, 2021
Incredible to the last word
July 27, 2023
Even better than the Mysterious Island from the description of the book I thought that it was gonna be very boring but damn it was impressive great story 100% recommend.
July 7, 2024
I do not know when I started this so I just put "2024"
March 17, 2017
Great collection this is an author all should read, amazing talent and maybe a bit of psychic ability? The author wrote his stories many, many years ago and it seems like he had a sneak peek into the future of things.
March 13, 2017
I appreciate these books more than I did as a kid. I stopped reading Verne because of seemingly unending descriptions of flora, fauna, and geography that get in the way of a good story. From what little I have read from the writers of that era, it seems a common practice.
January 29, 2016
A really good collection of Jules Verne's four most widely known and beloved novels. I read all four from beginning to end and saw recurring themes and character archetypes. His first novel "Five Weeks in a Balloon" while not as sophisticated as his later novels is nevertheless still fun (though it would definitely be deemed racist by today's modern standards, nevertheless, it is important to keep an open mind and remember that this novel was written at the height of European imperialism and therefore has that mindset). Nevertheless, "five weeks and a balloon" as familiar archetypes that we will later see such as the quirky and daring professor followed by such sidekicks as brash swashbuckler and a loyally devoted servant/assistant. The use of the scientific method, the superiority of scientific knowledge, and technology over any obstacles, are common themes throughout his novels). This collection really is a lot of fun which makes me want to read more of his novels.
August 11, 2014
"Our principle is that books, instead of growing moldy behind an iron grating, should be worn out under the eyes of many readers."
March 24, 2015
A classic indeed1!!!
June 16, 2016
Around The World in Eighty Days is a cassic novel that flows with the action of a modern read. Highly recommended! This was a great gift from Bill!
February 23, 2025
Very nice edition. Favorite stories.
didn-t-finish
January 5, 2018Tried hard. I just couldn't get into it.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews