Publisher Description

"The reason Verne is still read by millions today is simply that he was one of the best storytellers who ever lived." - Arthur C. Clarke An adventurous geology professor chances upon a manuscript in which a 16th-century explorer claims to have found a route to the earth's core. Professor Lidenbrock can't resist the opportunity to investigate, and with his nephew Axel, he sets off across Iceland in the company of Hans Bjelke, a native guide. The expedition descends into an extinct volcano toward a sunless sea, where they encounter a subterranean world of luminous rocks, antediluvian forests, and fantastic marine life - a living past that holds the secrets to the origins of human existence. Originally published in 1864, Jules Verne's classic remains critically acclaimed for its style and imaginative visions. Verne wrote many fantasy stories that later proved remarkably prescient, and his distinctive combination of realism and romanticism exercised a lasting influence on writers as diverse as Mark Twain, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Jean-Paul Sartre. In addition to the excitement of an action novel, Journey to the Center of the Earth has the added appeal of a psychological quest, in which the sojourn itself is as significant as the ultimate destination.

Back Cover

An adventurous geology professor chances upon a manuscript in which a sixteenth-century explorer claims to have found a route to the earth's core. Professor Lidenbrock can't resist the opportunity to investigate, and with his nephew Axel, he sets off across Iceland in the company of Hans Bjelke, a native guide. The expedition descends into an extinct volcano toward a sunless sea, where they encounter a subterranean world of luminous rocks, antediluvian forests, and fantastic marine life--a living past that holds the secrets to the origins of human existence. Originally published in 1864, Jules Verne's classic remains critically acclaimed for its style and imaginative visions. Verne wrote many fantasy stories that later proved remarkably prescient, and his distinctive combination of realism and romanticism exercised a lasting influence on writers as diverse as Mark Twain, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Jean-Paul Sartre.

Author Biography

"The reason Verne is still read by millions today is simply that he was one of the best storytellers who ever lived." -- Arthur C. Clarke. Jules Verne started out composing librettos, but the French-born author's passion for travel and exploration compelled him to turn to adventure tales, creating the prototype for today's science fiction. One of the most translated authors in the world, Jules Verne is best known for his classics, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and Around the World in Eighty Days.

Review

"The reason Verne is still read by millions today
is simply that he was one of the best storytellers
who ever lived."--Arthur C. Clarke

Long Description

An adventurous geology professor mounts an expedition that descends into a subterranean world of luminous rocks, antediluvian forests, and fantastic marine life -- a living past that holds the secrets to the origins of human existence. Jules Verne's 19th-century action classic has the added appeal of a psychological quest, in which the journey is as significant as the destination.

Details