About this title: Five Union prisoners of war escape in a balloon from Richmond, Virginia, and land on an uninhabited island, where they begin to reconstruct society as they knew it. This is one of the novels is Verne's Voyages Extraordinaires series.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Perma Book
Date Published: 1962
Description: Fair. No dust jacket as issued. Highlighting/underlining. Creased spine, covers have moderate edgewear/scuffs/dings, one bent page corner, pages starting to tan a bit with age, 554 pages. Glued binding. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Troll Communications, Mahwah, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780893757083ISBN:089375708X
Description: Good. 089375708X Mass market paperback, previously read used book in good condition, varying degrees of shelf wear, some spine creases, m..._ read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Acclaim Books
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9781578400331ISBN:1578400333
Description: Acceptable. MAY HAVE COVER WEAR, SPINE CREASES, HIGHLIGHTING, UNDERLINING & PAGES YELLOWED FROM AGE. FASTER SERVICE FROM US! ! ! read more
"I actually read the introduction because it was written by Caleb Carr. I never read introductions.
I wonder why the people on Lost couldn't whip themselves up a working island with a house, a telegraph, a boat, fields of food, and a sheepfold. I mean, come on, it was right after the Civil War in the book yet the castaways transformed their island into something stunning. You'd think those on Lost would have gotten it together somewhat. (I'm half joking.)
Yay to the return of Captain Nemo. Boo to the demise of Captain Nemo.
I think I want to become one of those Verne Society people."
"If I had read this book as a novel, I don't think I would have gotten through it. But I read the intro first, that explained that it was a philosophical look at how man could survive if thrown into a reality where all modern conveniences were gone. With this mindset in place, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I loved the characters, all of them. I was in suspense at every minute. I found myself thinking of more things they could have done and being amazed at what they did. It was like the TV show Survivors, put to art, with all of the truth and beauty and danger that comes from real life. Fabulous book!"
"The girls and I took weeks to read this, one chapter per night (sometimes more) wondering WHAT was making all these things happen?! WHO was saving these poor souls? The language was difficult for the girls, but after talking them through it for the first night, they quickly picked up the rhythm and the vocabulary which is far beyond their 6- and 9-year-old levels. I'd never read this story before; knew nothing about it. Just spotted it at the library and gave it a go. It's a bit wordy at times (many times) and repetitive. Lots of minute details about how things are made, built or otherwise done, but these are easily skimmed if you so wish. (I confess I skimmed a bit on more than one late bedtime night.)"
"Didn't actually realize until looking at the book I read just this moment that mine was abridged. Apparently the real thing is something like 700 pages (mine was 300). Wow.
Anyway, it was great! I little more "sciency" than totally suits my fancy, but it was good for me. If I had a "lost on a desert island" 72-hour kit this book should be in it! They figured out their location by the sun, a watch, and by knowing the date. They figured out the height of things by calculating the shadow (took a page from Thales)--and these are detailed so you could do it with your kids.
When they found themselves on this island they had nothing but 2 watches and a notebook. They not only survived but flourished! And, as the author pointed out many times "nothing was easier than..." making nitroglycerin or smelting iron (of course they had to first make bricks, then make an oven, then make pottery then ..... it was pretty awesome. It helps that one of the castaways was a brilliant engineer! I wonder if the unabridged version goes into greater detail on these types of things.
I appreciated the mention of the fact that the castaways were "men." real men that is, who were brave and loyal and honest and hardworking--with great will to survive.
Liked it alot. Had fun reading it. Some days wish me & mine (plus a brilliant engineer) could be washed up on an island (that one had all the necessaries). Of course, I wouldn't like the blowing up by the volcano at the end, but I can still dream about the island."
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