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The Greatest Writers of All Time
Three Novels: Journey to the Center of the Earth / Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea / Round the World in Eighty Days
Jules Verne’s most beloved novels are gathered here in one hardcover volume: three thrilling tales of fabulous journeys under, through, and around the earth.
Verne was one of the great pioneers of science fiction. Born in France in 1828, he wrote brilliantly about space, air, and underwater travel long before airplanes and space ships had been invented, and he is still one of the most widely read internationally of all science-fiction writers.
But beyond charting new territory for adventurous fiction, his creations have entered our culture and taken on the magnitude and vitality of myth. It is hard to imagine anyone who has not heard of Captain Nemo and his giant submarine exploring the ruins of Atlantis in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Phileas Fogg’s frantic race around the world by every means of transportation in Round the World in Eighty Days, and the harrowing descent through a volcanic crater to underground caverns where prehistoric creatures roam in Journey to the Center of the Earth. These stories have seized the imaginations of readers for generations and are as vivid and exciting now as when their author first imagined traveling beyond the bounds of the possible.
Translated by Henry Frith
Verne was one of the great pioneers of science fiction. Born in France in 1828, he wrote brilliantly about space, air, and underwater travel long before airplanes and space ships had been invented, and he is still one of the most widely read internationally of all science-fiction writers.
But beyond charting new territory for adventurous fiction, his creations have entered our culture and taken on the magnitude and vitality of myth. It is hard to imagine anyone who has not heard of Captain Nemo and his giant submarine exploring the ruins of Atlantis in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Phileas Fogg’s frantic race around the world by every means of transportation in Round the World in Eighty Days, and the harrowing descent through a volcanic crater to underground caverns where prehistoric creatures roam in Journey to the Center of the Earth. These stories have seized the imaginations of readers for generations and are as vivid and exciting now as when their author first imagined traveling beyond the bounds of the possible.
Translated by Henry Frith
744 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1870
295 people are currently reading
673 people want to read
About the author
Jules Verne
6,310 books12k 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 - 30 of 31 reviews
April 17, 2020
I remember discovering Jules Verne in middle school when Mrs Wandling required us to read one classic every quarter. So, of course, I tried to find science fiction books on the classics list. (Later that year, she told me to stop reading science fiction as it was unladylike.)
I loved Jules Verne. Though I don't remember reading Round the World in 80 Days. That was a mistake it is the best book in this volume. I loved the characters and the quirks of the main character. It was quite fun.
20,000 Leagues can be heavy going at times as there are sections where all they seem to do is list flora and fauna.
Journey has long been a favorite of mine. The adventure is thrilling and I love the thought of the journey.
I loved Jules Verne. Though I don't remember reading Round the World in 80 Days. That was a mistake it is the best book in this volume. I loved the characters and the quirks of the main character. It was quite fun.
20,000 Leagues can be heavy going at times as there are sections where all they seem to do is list flora and fauna.
Journey has long been a favorite of mine. The adventure is thrilling and I love the thought of the journey.
January 16, 2022
*Journey to the Center of the Earth*
January 24, 2022
How does one review a book which is actually three novels under a single cover? The easy part would be the physical presentation, and that rates a solid five stars. This volume published by Longmeadow Press has a handsome dark green cover of bonded leather fibers, a ribbed spine, gold edged pages, acid-free archival quality paper, and an easily-read font. Running to 934 pages, it includes three of Jules Verne's best known novels: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, A Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Around the World in Eighty Days.
Unfortunately, my knowledge of the French language is far too inferior for me to read any full-length novel by Jules Verne, at least not in my remaining lifetime. I can read only what a translator has rendered into English. Fortunately, the translator of this volume has given us an intelligent, readable, and skillfully articulate product, and I choose to believe that it credibly reflects Verne's own authorial skill. I do remain disappointed that the publisher tells us nothing of the translator, who remains nameless and faceless despite his or her accomplishment, leaving us readers forever ignorant of the person who actually wrote the English language words that we are reading.
Why should we read anything originally by Jules Verne anyway? What possible relevance does a mid-19th century writer have today? First, the record needs to be set straight. Verne has on occasion been poorly translated and overly simplified in English, his imaginative works transmuted into inferior and abbreviated tales marketed as children's fantasies. In contrast, in his native country, Verne's novels were early recognized as a valid part of the literary canon, and anyone who pretends to entertain a knowledge of world literature should have at least a passing acquaintance with the real Jules Verne.
Secondly, Verne's novels reveal the author's shrewd sense of humor. (His novel From the Earth to the Moon is a satire worthy of Samuel Clemens.) I am delighted by the names of Verne's secondary characters, too: Conseil (“advice” in English) is a knowledgeable servant to the narrator, Pierre Aronnax, as they travel under the sea. Passepartout (“master key,” i.e., a tool giving access to every place) is the faithful companion of Phileas Fogg as he races around the world on a wager.
Thirdly, Verne's works are widely identified as progenitors of science fiction as a literary genre. While they should not be judged by the standards of current science fiction writing, of which the authors have had the benefit of over one and a half centuries of scientific discovery with which to frame their novels, they are certainly worthy of consideration in their historical context. Verne's imaginative visions, many of which became reality in subsequent decades, were quite possibly unparalleled in his time.
Assuming the translations in this Longmeadow Press volume to be accurate, and I tend to think that they are, I find only two things to criticize in Verne's writing, as judged by a 21st century reader of course. He obviously did a great deal of research before setting pen to paper, and in some instances his desire to share his findings with his readers interferes with the flow of his narrative. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea gives the best example of this in the form of taxonomic listings of ocean dwellers observed from the windows of the Nautilus. Paragraphs of rather unpronounceable genus and species names do encourage periodic skimming on the part of the reader.
The second thing that I found disappointing in Verne's writing is that, on some occasions, his imagination seems to have run a bit dry when it came time to end the narrative. How do Aronnax, Conseil and Ned Land escape their confinement on the Nautilus while remaining alive in the grip of the great whirlpool (“maelstrom”) that has gripped the submarine? I'm sure that M. Aronnax would have told us, but unfortunately he was knocked unconscious during the escape attempt, so neither he nor we know how the feat was accomplished. Now, we do know how Professor Hardwigg and his companions escape from the bowels of the earth in their Journey thereto, but surviving inside an erupting volcano does strain the reader's credulity. The end of Around the World also strains our credulity a bit in that our traveler, who is always thoroughly exact in his calculations of time, is ignorant of the fact that he crossed the International Date Line and has regained Paris a day earlier than he thought. Still, I can accept this ending with greater equanimity that I can a ride on a raft being buoyed upward by lava.
In sum, I feel that the historical significance of these three Verne novels, from a literary standpoint at least, easily outweighs the perceived weaknesses I have mentioned. I can envision many ways in which one could expend one's time far less profitably than by reading these three novels. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and A Journey to the Center of the Earth are fine examples of the early emergence of the science fiction genre, while Around the World in Eighty Days is a grand adventure story, complete with a bit of intrigue and much uncertainty as to what may happen next. Obtaining all three novels in one substantial and handsome binding bearing the simple title The Works of Jules Verne is a pleasing way of presenting them.
Unfortunately, my knowledge of the French language is far too inferior for me to read any full-length novel by Jules Verne, at least not in my remaining lifetime. I can read only what a translator has rendered into English. Fortunately, the translator of this volume has given us an intelligent, readable, and skillfully articulate product, and I choose to believe that it credibly reflects Verne's own authorial skill. I do remain disappointed that the publisher tells us nothing of the translator, who remains nameless and faceless despite his or her accomplishment, leaving us readers forever ignorant of the person who actually wrote the English language words that we are reading.
Why should we read anything originally by Jules Verne anyway? What possible relevance does a mid-19th century writer have today? First, the record needs to be set straight. Verne has on occasion been poorly translated and overly simplified in English, his imaginative works transmuted into inferior and abbreviated tales marketed as children's fantasies. In contrast, in his native country, Verne's novels were early recognized as a valid part of the literary canon, and anyone who pretends to entertain a knowledge of world literature should have at least a passing acquaintance with the real Jules Verne.
Secondly, Verne's novels reveal the author's shrewd sense of humor. (His novel From the Earth to the Moon is a satire worthy of Samuel Clemens.) I am delighted by the names of Verne's secondary characters, too: Conseil (“advice” in English) is a knowledgeable servant to the narrator, Pierre Aronnax, as they travel under the sea. Passepartout (“master key,” i.e., a tool giving access to every place) is the faithful companion of Phileas Fogg as he races around the world on a wager.
Thirdly, Verne's works are widely identified as progenitors of science fiction as a literary genre. While they should not be judged by the standards of current science fiction writing, of which the authors have had the benefit of over one and a half centuries of scientific discovery with which to frame their novels, they are certainly worthy of consideration in their historical context. Verne's imaginative visions, many of which became reality in subsequent decades, were quite possibly unparalleled in his time.
Assuming the translations in this Longmeadow Press volume to be accurate, and I tend to think that they are, I find only two things to criticize in Verne's writing, as judged by a 21st century reader of course. He obviously did a great deal of research before setting pen to paper, and in some instances his desire to share his findings with his readers interferes with the flow of his narrative. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea gives the best example of this in the form of taxonomic listings of ocean dwellers observed from the windows of the Nautilus. Paragraphs of rather unpronounceable genus and species names do encourage periodic skimming on the part of the reader.
The second thing that I found disappointing in Verne's writing is that, on some occasions, his imagination seems to have run a bit dry when it came time to end the narrative. How do Aronnax, Conseil and Ned Land escape their confinement on the Nautilus while remaining alive in the grip of the great whirlpool (“maelstrom”) that has gripped the submarine? I'm sure that M. Aronnax would have told us, but unfortunately he was knocked unconscious during the escape attempt, so neither he nor we know how the feat was accomplished. Now, we do know how Professor Hardwigg and his companions escape from the bowels of the earth in their Journey thereto, but surviving inside an erupting volcano does strain the reader's credulity. The end of Around the World also strains our credulity a bit in that our traveler, who is always thoroughly exact in his calculations of time, is ignorant of the fact that he crossed the International Date Line and has regained Paris a day earlier than he thought. Still, I can accept this ending with greater equanimity that I can a ride on a raft being buoyed upward by lava.
In sum, I feel that the historical significance of these three Verne novels, from a literary standpoint at least, easily outweighs the perceived weaknesses I have mentioned. I can envision many ways in which one could expend one's time far less profitably than by reading these three novels. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and A Journey to the Center of the Earth are fine examples of the early emergence of the science fiction genre, while Around the World in Eighty Days is a grand adventure story, complete with a bit of intrigue and much uncertainty as to what may happen next. Obtaining all three novels in one substantial and handsome binding bearing the simple title The Works of Jules Verne is a pleasing way of presenting them.
November 3, 2009
This book was about a man who studies the ocean and his companion who would do anything for his friend, go on a ship to see if they could figure out what is destroying ships and haunting the oceans. When they do find out, it's nothing they expected. Technology past their time, a submarine shaped like a fish and hard as steel powered by salt formed into electricity with the captain named Nemo. The two men and a harpooner are taken aboard as prisoners, but then soon are released as passengers on the submarine. With one rule that no one is allowed onto land since now they know about the secret submarine, the harpooner soon gets impatient and tries to get his companions to escape with them. They travel the world with many obatacles and some crew members dying, until at last the submarine reaches its stop when a well known cyclone starts and sucks the submarine down, but with the three gentlemen who escaped in all the commotion. Will they ever seen the captain Nemo again, did the mighty submarine escape the cyclone?
I thought this book was filled with excitement and unexpected turns in their travels around the world. It was breathtaking with some of our history involved in it. I enjoyed it because it was an adventerous book with the men having thrilling adventures through their journey.
I thought this book was filled with excitement and unexpected turns in their travels around the world. It was breathtaking with some of our history involved in it. I enjoyed it because it was an adventerous book with the men having thrilling adventures through their journey.
February 20, 2025
1. Ταξίδι στο κέντρο της γης ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Άλλο ενα στοίχημα που δεν του βγήκε...
Η γη δεν είναι κούφια (ό,τι κι αν λέει ο Λιακόπουλος για να πουλήσει έντυπους εμετούς) και ό,τι δεινόσαυρο βρεις μέσα είναι απολίθωμα.
Ωστόσο δεν παύει να είναι μια πολύ ωραία και ευφάνταστη ιστορία που θα αγαπήσουν τα παιδιά σας όπως την αγαπήσατε κι εσείς.
2. 20.000 λεύγες κάτω από τη θάλασσα (βλ. νο 3) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Και όσο ο Φιλέας Φογκ μας ταξίδεψε πάνω από την επιφάνεια του νερού, ο πλοίαρχος Νέμο (που, μεταξύ μας, τα είχε τα θεματάκια του) μας ταξίδεψε κάτω από αυτήν. Σε ένα πιο σκληρό και σκοτεινό (χώρια το κλειστοφοβικό στοιχείο) βιβλίο ο Βερν πέραν του ότι γράφει επιστημονική φαντασία που έγινε πραγματικότητα δίνει μια μεστή περιπέτεια με ενδιαφέροντες χαρακτήρες.
Βιβλία που οι περισσότεροι γνωρίσαμε μέσα από τις σκληρόδετες εκδόσεις με τις κόκκινες ράχες και τις ξυλογραφίες ή τις εκδόσεις ΑΣΤΗΡ και που τα αγαπάμε ακόμη.
3. Ο γύρος του κόσμου σε 80 ημέρες ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Μάρτυρας (και προπομπός) της εποχής του και της "σμίκρυνσης του κόσμου" ο Βερν γράφει ένα εκπληκτικό βιβλίο που ΝΑΙ, ΔΙΑΒΑΖΕΤΑΙ ΚΑΙ ΑΠΟ ΕΝΗΛΙΚΕΣ, ΑΣΧΕΤΩΣ ΑΝ ΤΟ ΔΙΑΒΑΣΑΜΕ ΟΛΟΙ ΣΤΗ 2Α ΔΗΜΟΤΙΚΟΥ, δείχνει το σχήμα των πραγμάτων που θα 'ρθουν.
Ο κόσμος, η γη μας έχει μικρύνει πολύ. Το άλλοτε αδιανόητο, ο γύρος της από έναν άνθρωπο, πλέον έχει γίνει αντικείμενο στοιχήματος και το στοίχημα αυτό, ορίζεται στις 80 ημέρες.
Σύμμαχος του άνθρωπου, ο άρτι τιθασσευμένος ατμός και η ισχύς του επί γης και υδάτων, εχθρός του ο χρόνος και... ο άνθρωπος.
Λίγο πολύ όλοι ξέρουμε την ιστορία, αλλά αυτό που μας διαφεύγει, σήμερα που ο γύρος του κόσμου μπορεί να γίνει σε ώρες, είναι ότι κάποτε ο κόσμος μας ήταν πολύ πιο μεγάλος, αχανής, αχαρτογράφητος και γεμάτος εκπλήξεις και κινδύνους.
Το αν θα τα καταφέρει ο Φιλέας Φογκ στις 80 ημέρες είναι το λιγότερο σημαντικό. Η ουσία είναι ότι ο 19ος αιώνας χάρισε στον άνθρωπο τη δύναμη να διαμορφώσει τα όρια του κόσμου του και το αν θα το έκανε για το καλό ή το κακό, έμενε ακόμη να φανεί.
Άλλο ενα στοίχημα που δεν του βγήκε...
Η γη δεν είναι κούφια (ό,τι κι αν λέει ο Λιακόπουλος για να πουλήσει έντυπους εμετούς) και ό,τι δεινόσαυρο βρεις μέσα είναι απολίθωμα.
Ωστόσο δεν παύει να είναι μια πολύ ωραία και ευφάνταστη ιστορία που θα αγαπήσουν τα παιδιά σας όπως την αγαπήσατε κι εσείς.
2. 20.000 λεύγες κάτω από τη θάλασσα (βλ. νο 3) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Και όσο ο Φιλέας Φογκ μας ταξίδεψε πάνω από την επιφάνεια του νερού, ο πλοίαρχος Νέμο (που, μεταξύ μας, τα είχε τα θεματάκια του) μας ταξίδεψε κάτω από αυτήν. Σε ένα πιο σκληρό και σκοτεινό (χώρια το κλειστοφοβικό στοιχείο) βιβλίο ο Βερν πέραν του ότι γράφει επιστημονική φαντασία που έγινε πραγματικότητα δίνει μια μεστή περιπέτεια με ενδιαφέροντες χαρακτήρες.
Βιβλία που οι περισσότεροι γνωρίσαμε μέσα από τις σκληρόδετες εκδόσεις με τις κόκκινες ράχες και τις ξυλογραφίες ή τις εκδόσεις ΑΣΤΗΡ και που τα αγαπάμε ακόμη.
3. Ο γύρος του κόσμου σε 80 ημέρες ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Μάρτυρας (και προπομπός) της εποχής του και της "σμίκρυνσης του κόσμου" ο Βερν γράφει ένα εκπληκτικό βιβλίο που ΝΑΙ, ΔΙΑΒΑΖΕΤΑΙ ΚΑΙ ΑΠΟ ΕΝΗΛΙΚΕΣ, ΑΣΧΕΤΩΣ ΑΝ ΤΟ ΔΙΑΒΑΣΑΜΕ ΟΛΟΙ ΣΤΗ 2Α ΔΗΜΟΤΙΚΟΥ, δείχνει το σχήμα των πραγμάτων που θα 'ρθουν.
Ο κόσμος, η γη μας έχει μικρύνει πολύ. Το άλλοτε αδιανόητο, ο γύρος της από έναν άνθρωπο, πλέον έχει γίνει αντικείμενο στοιχήματος και το στοίχημα αυτό, ορίζεται στις 80 ημέρες.
Σύμμαχος του άνθρωπου, ο άρτι τιθασσευμένος ατμός και η ισχύς του επί γης και υδάτων, εχθρός του ο χρόνος και... ο άνθρωπος.
Λίγο πολύ όλοι ξέρουμε την ιστορία, αλλά αυτό που μας διαφεύγει, σήμερα που ο γύρος του κόσμου μπορεί να γίνει σε ώρες, είναι ότι κάποτε ο κόσμος μας ήταν πολύ πιο μεγάλος, αχανής, αχαρτογράφητος και γεμάτος εκπλήξεις και κινδύνους.
Το αν θα τα καταφέρει ο Φιλέας Φογκ στις 80 ημέρες είναι το λιγότερο σημαντικό. Η ουσία είναι ότι ο 19ος αιώνας χάρισε στον άνθρωπο τη δύναμη να διαμορφώσει τα όρια του κόσμου του και το αν θα το έκανε για το καλό ή το κακό, έμενε ακόμη να φανεί.
April 27, 2022
Around the World in Eighty Days
I was amazed at how thoroughly enjoyable Jules Verne’s classic – Around the World in Eighty Days – turned out to be. Gripping and fast paced, this travel adventure story was a veritable page turner. The inscrutable Phileas Fogg and his devout French manservant, Passepartout complete the journey from London to India via Suez Canal, from Bombay to Calcutta by train, continuing onto Hong Kong, Japan, and San Francisco by sea, to New York by train, and returning to London crossing the Atlantic. Verne’s description of travel in 19th century India and America were fascinating, featuring an elephant ride and makeshift sledge ride respectively. With detective Fix’s fixation on the character of Fogg, Verne successfully injects an additional element of excitement in this cool classic. 4-stars.
Journey to the Center of the Earth
A chance discovery of an encrypted document puts the polyglot German scientist, Professor Otto Lidenbrock on the footsteps of the 16th century Icelandic scientist and heretic, Arne Saknussem in an improbable Journey to the Center of the Earth. He is accompanied by his nephew, Axel and the taciturn Icelander, Hans, who proves more than his worth in the perilous journey that commences from the tip of a dormant volcanic crater in Iceland.
Journey to the Center of the Earth, another classic adventure story by Jules Verne, is more a fantasy fiction than a science fiction. The preposterously fantastic story is engaging in parts, dragging and underwhelming in others - on those occasions, I had to remind myself that this was authored in late 19th century. While not as enjoyable as Around the World in Eighty Days, this is also a reasonably easy read. Sadly, the somewhat weak English translation (by Ron Miller) and the many typos in the Fall River Edition took away some of the fun from reading this nearly 3-star story.
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Given the slightly underwhelming nature of Journey to the Center of the Earth, I am going to pass on reading this story, at least, for now.
I was amazed at how thoroughly enjoyable Jules Verne’s classic – Around the World in Eighty Days – turned out to be. Gripping and fast paced, this travel adventure story was a veritable page turner. The inscrutable Phileas Fogg and his devout French manservant, Passepartout complete the journey from London to India via Suez Canal, from Bombay to Calcutta by train, continuing onto Hong Kong, Japan, and San Francisco by sea, to New York by train, and returning to London crossing the Atlantic. Verne’s description of travel in 19th century India and America were fascinating, featuring an elephant ride and makeshift sledge ride respectively. With detective Fix’s fixation on the character of Fogg, Verne successfully injects an additional element of excitement in this cool classic. 4-stars.
Journey to the Center of the Earth
A chance discovery of an encrypted document puts the polyglot German scientist, Professor Otto Lidenbrock on the footsteps of the 16th century Icelandic scientist and heretic, Arne Saknussem in an improbable Journey to the Center of the Earth. He is accompanied by his nephew, Axel and the taciturn Icelander, Hans, who proves more than his worth in the perilous journey that commences from the tip of a dormant volcanic crater in Iceland.
Journey to the Center of the Earth, another classic adventure story by Jules Verne, is more a fantasy fiction than a science fiction. The preposterously fantastic story is engaging in parts, dragging and underwhelming in others - on those occasions, I had to remind myself that this was authored in late 19th century. While not as enjoyable as Around the World in Eighty Days, this is also a reasonably easy read. Sadly, the somewhat weak English translation (by Ron Miller) and the many typos in the Fall River Edition took away some of the fun from reading this nearly 3-star story.
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Given the slightly underwhelming nature of Journey to the Center of the Earth, I am going to pass on reading this story, at least, for now.
May 21, 2018
This book took way longer to read than it should've. Mostly because I got fed up on it after the first book. Journey to the Centre of the Earth was a good and entertaining read and it was interesting to follow the science of the 19th century (which in my 21st century mindset seemed more like mythology than science). But what got me fed up was the last part of the book where our adventurers are on a raft of fossilized wood rising up on the steam of an active volcano starting to have an eruption and they calmly notice that the temperature is getting rather high, and before the burst out of the volcano complains that it's 100 degrees Celsius and they're getting sweaty. At 100 degrees Celsius your skin would be blistering off your bones. Even a 19th century person should know this - ever got boiling water on yourself by accident? Did it blister?! Eventually I got around to starting 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, but that was sometimes hard to get a hold on. I enjoyed the story and the descriptions of the underwater world and their trip to Atlantis, but Verne had a tendency to do the very 19th century thing and throw in whole chapters that's just explanations. In this case a whole bunch of numbers in units that nobody in my country has used for over a century. I have no idea how much a league or a phatom is in metrics and somewhere along the line I got tried of googling for translations. That's not really his fault but it did impede my reading. Then I finally got around to Round the World in 80 Days and I absolutely loved this last adventure. It was fun, exciting and easy-going and at times even hilarious. Passe-partout (I should also mention that I love the way Verne names his French servants as if they are called what they are) was definitely the driving force of this story, but I also loved the calm demeanor of Phileas Fogg (and I totally shipped him with Aouda even before Verne made it obvious they were going to be together). So after a weak start and a gruelling middle this book ended with an awesome flair.
May 11, 2024
Went into this knowing I'd still love 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA. It proved to be as wonderful a read as I remembered.
Felt sure that I'd enjoy JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH equally well but felt underwhelmed in the end. Found it to be very well-written, with a solid opening, just not as interesting plot and story-wise.
The real surprise, however, (for me) was AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS. Sensational pacing, excellent character development and brevity of prose. This story does everything a well-written story should do! Very impressive. Highly recommend.
Felt sure that I'd enjoy JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH equally well but felt underwhelmed in the end. Found it to be very well-written, with a solid opening, just not as interesting plot and story-wise.
The real surprise, however, (for me) was AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS. Sensational pacing, excellent character development and brevity of prose. This story does everything a well-written story should do! Very impressive. Highly recommend.
May 5, 2020
This four star is for "Journey to the Center of the Earth". If you want to read this book, I highly recommend it. Just be weary about the translation. This one isn't great. I ended up listening to an audio version instead because this one was so hard to get through. That's something to consider if you are looking to buy this specific edition.
April 8, 2023
2.5/5
Ok Verne took time to make these three classics that is definitely what I noticed while reading these three books. The ending were also very nice seeing how simple or grand could lead to a lifetime of bliss. But for me, I will be happy sticking to the rock and his ukulele, along with Brendan Fraser and John Hutchersons relationship with a mysterious bird.
Ok Verne took time to make these three classics that is definitely what I noticed while reading these three books. The ending were also very nice seeing how simple or grand could lead to a lifetime of bliss. But for me, I will be happy sticking to the rock and his ukulele, along with Brendan Fraser and John Hutchersons relationship with a mysterious bird.
November 16, 2019
Done
A repetitive formula of stories. An event puts the main character in circumstances that takes him in a journey. He experiences trials and in the end he resumes his life having a story to tell.
A repetitive formula of stories. An event puts the main character in circumstances that takes him in a journey. He experiences trials and in the end he resumes his life having a story to tell.
September 18, 2020
Marvelous, a must read for all readers.
January 2, 2009
This is a fun story. You can see how it inspired several genre’s of adventure and travel stories. Verne has an odd writing style. It seems he doesn’t want to intrude to much on his character’s lives. It reads almost like a detached observer. You could argue about who is the main character, Fogg or Passpatout.
It brought back memories. Chapter 3 begins:
Phileas Fogg had left his house in Saville Row at Half-past eleven, and after having put his right foot before his left foot five hundred and seventy-five times, and his left foot before his right foot five hundred and seventy-six times, he arrived at the Reform Club, a spacious and lofty building in Pall Mall, which cost not less than three millions to build.
I can remember hearing that as a kid and being in awe. I thought that man was so reliable, predictable and powerful. Completely in control of his own life and environment. As an adult I think, this is not a life but a prison!
They had added a nice appendix about travel and how it has changed since Verne wrote. Turns out a New York paper sent a reporter to follow Fogg's route in 1889 and the journey was completed in 72 days.
It brought back memories. Chapter 3 begins:
Phileas Fogg had left his house in Saville Row at Half-past eleven, and after having put his right foot before his left foot five hundred and seventy-five times, and his left foot before his right foot five hundred and seventy-six times, he arrived at the Reform Club, a spacious and lofty building in Pall Mall, which cost not less than three millions to build.
I can remember hearing that as a kid and being in awe. I thought that man was so reliable, predictable and powerful. Completely in control of his own life and environment. As an adult I think, this is not a life but a prison!
They had added a nice appendix about travel and how it has changed since Verne wrote. Turns out a New York paper sent a reporter to follow Fogg's route in 1889 and the journey was completed in 72 days.
February 1, 2023
Es un libro muy completo sobre la historia de los viajeros desde el principio de la humanidad hasta nuestros días. Hay un capítulo dedicado a Marco Polo, a los viajes de Colón, también a la expedición de Magallanes y Elcano. Son casi 500 páginas y no lo puedo leer entero porque es demasiado denso, sino que lo voy consultando leyendo los capítulos que más me interesan, como los ya mencionados (Marco Polo, Colón y Magallanes/Elcano). Los restantes, como los dedicados al marroquí Ibn Battuta, o a los exploradores españoles como Hernán Cortés y Pizarro, los dejo para las tardes lluviosas que no salga de casa. Es un libro muy aconsejable, por ello le doy la máxima puntuación.
June 8, 2015
It's a classic. But not the kind of classic that transcends the ages. All in all, if Jules Verne had stuck to the story in any of his novels, I would love them. But he obviously was not enamored with his own stories as he only used them as a vehicle for his collection of travelogs. Or that's how I feel about it. The most exciting mysteries of his stories are never revealed, because he must have felt that they are secondary to the natural wonders he already provided in the text.
That all being said, I can respect the man and the writing for the time.
That all being said, I can respect the man and the writing for the time.
December 3, 2008
I didn't actually read all 3 of these books, but did read Journey to the Center of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with my young daughters. I was unimpressed, as has been my experience in the past with Classics Illustrated books. There are many typos, sentences that do not make sense, and the simplified text takes from the writing that sets them apart as classics. Have your children wait to read these until they can comprehend the original text.
Read
March 9, 2012I'm on page 185 of 736 of Extraordinary Voyages: having finished "Around the World in Eighty Days"
I'm marking this as read since I haven't picked it up in awhile but am sure I will come back and read the other two stories.
I'm marking this as read since I haven't picked it up in awhile but am sure I will come back and read the other two stories.
March 20, 2011
Well I'm a big Jules Verne fan so of course I just thoroughly enjoyed these tales, they're the best, and of course I'll recommend this volume to anyone who loves the classic adventure ever so often...
June 21, 2012
Les voyages du Julio Verne sont toujours merveilleuses et incroyables. Dans cette livre divertissant, l'histoire se passe dans deux différents locaux: Au Pole Nord et dans Le Désert de Glace. Ce sont Les Adventures du Capitaine Hatteras: Très amusant!
June 17, 2008
My greatest present from my Dad
August 9, 2008
I read these books, just not in Russian unfortunately. They are excellent, very rich in imagination.
December 5, 2008
i was a good book in alll but it was a little counfusing around the endding because the people were lost and the guide didn't know where he was going. i recomened to people who like sci-fi
January 13, 2009
I had this set growing up. Great books!! I've read and re-read them many times. Tons of adventure!
March 20, 2009
I am licking this book.It is a classic.
May 9, 2009
As you can probably tell, it's very adventerous!
Want to read
September 26, 2010This came in a set? DAMNIT. I only have Journey to the Center of the Earth, found it in a thrift store.
Read
September 4, 2012 An open ticket to adventure, imagination and thrills. Verne held my hand as my love affair with books was initiated by the lure of his words....
July 12, 2014
Excelente aventura como todas las de Julio Verne
December 21, 2018
Cinq semain en ballon.
December 14, 2010
its actoiny
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