Journey to the Centre of the Earth (Bantam Classics) Mass Market Paperback – October 1, 1991

I'm 69 y/o and loved the original movie filmed in black and white. It's one of my all time favorites. When this book became available I had to add it to my collection. Perfect in every way. Can't wait to crack it open when I'm finished reading a few others.

Journey to the Center of the Earth is a historical classic. While loaded with 19th century fiction there is a whole lot of science in this novel. Sometimes difficult to comprehend all the true science that is woven in but always fun. Read it and be amazed at the fore-thinking of the great Jules Verne.

For those interested in the history of science fiction, it can be debated as to who wrote the first science fiction story. My personal choice has always been Mary Shelley who wrote Frankenstein, but others have argued for Poe or others. Then there are Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, who were more-or-less the first true science fiction authors, that is, authors who really wrote in that genre.Verne predates Wells, but I still can see argument for Wells being given priority. Wells seems to have done more to give the genre definition; Wells is more interested in using the fiction to speculate about the future and the nature of man. Verne, on the other hand, uses science more for a plot device to tell adventure stories. Probably it's impossible to ever settle the matter, but the way I see it, Wells was the deeper thinker, but Verne was the more entertaining writer.Journey to the Center of the Earth is a typical Verne story. In it, the narrator Axel relates the story of an adventure with his uncle and guardian, the esteemed Professor Otto Lidenbrock. Lidenbrock has stumbled upon an old parchment, which when translated, tells of a passage to the center of the Earth through a volcano in Iceland. Axel, well-educated himself, is more skeptical than his obsessed uncle, but is compelled to go along (it doesn't help when Axel's fiancee thinks the journey is a good idea.The bulk of the novel deals with the trip to Iceland (where they pick up an assistant, Hans), then to the extinct volcano, and finally into the bowels of the Earth. What they find there defies their expectations, and I won't spoil any of the fun by revealing it.Like other Verne tales I have read, this one is written with a light touch and is an easy read (Wells is a bit more inconsistent in this regard). Compared with today's works, this is pretty tame and simple, but for its time, it must have been a lot of fun. In fact, it's still pretty entertaining, and if you're a science fiction fan, this is a good look at one of the early works in the field.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (Optimized for Kindle)First let me say that I read a lot of the reviews on Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne, the free editions and found them somewhat disturbing because a lot of people complained. Some said names were changed from the original and such to make it easier to read. From what I understand Jules Verne did not write in english. Everything he wrote has to be translated to english, therefore my decision to buy the optimized for Kindle edition. I do not regret this decision. Heck for a buck it is well worth it.If you're going to get a free edition you really have no right to complain about the translation or whatever you feel is messed up. Stop being so cheap and spend a buck.I would have gladly spent up to six bucks for this.Verne wrote as all other Victorian era writers did. There is a deep sense of propriety, of the customs and manners of a very polite society- even though that society probably never really exisited. Todays novelists would never get a way with this. But for the era it worked well.This is the first time I read any of Verne's works. Yes, I've seen the movies. But never read any of his books either in school or as an adult. And let me say that I am astonished at how much the movies really vary from the original written work. Even the one from the 1950's (if I have the decade wrong, so what?) starring Pat Boone. I figured that one has to be somewhat close to the book. But no.The first thing that stands out to me is that in the book there is no woman that goes on the trip with them. Yes, I understand script writers have to have liberty to change things to make it work better for the screen.But I'm not going to waste time pointing out the differences. I'll probably forget to mention something and upset somebody...At times I thought the writing was a bit slow or boring and overly proper. This is why I give it 3 stars.There are other times that are exciting like when Hans, Professor Von Hardwigg and Harry are on the raft in the interior of the earth. Or when Harry became separated from Hans and the professor and was lost.The story is written from the first person perspective of Harry, Von Hardwigg's nephew. This, combined with Verne's high sense of propriety (in my opinion) sometimes makes it hard to stay with it. But I'm glad I did. I can finally say I've read Jules Verne.I am going to buy and read other works from Jules Verne hopefully optimized for Kindle. I highly recommend it.

There are really two considerations in reading/reviewing these masterworks now available in the public domain: first and foremost are the works themselves-how do they hold up, are they interesting still, and what might be gleaned from them. Secondly, and nearly as important for Kindle readers, is the formatting offered for the works. Too often, the rush to assemble the classic works of great writers into a mash-up at a cheap price makes it difficult for the modern reader to plow through. And those issues are here as well. There are formatting errors-paragraphs that aren't separated properly, the occasional misspelling and the missing words or repeated phrases. Still, they are not so plentiful as to make reading these novels so difficult and frustrating as to force the reader to give up at some point. That's the good news. And the readability of these seven novels proves that despite the long passage of time since they were written, they remain interesting and in some cases, even compelling. The plots move along with speed and with sharply drawn characters-Captain Nemo being a particular favorite. These may not appeal to everyone except perhaps from some historical perspective, but for those who particularly enjoy Science Fiction as well as Fantasy, Verne, along with H. G. Wells, created those genres and set the bar high. I recommend this version highly.

I love this book and enjoyed reading it.

Allucinante. Sono libri da collezione. Cose da pazzi. Reso immediatamente. Folle.

This book is a science fiction with a good narration. In the starting the book is little bit boring but as soon as you get ahead it start being suspenseful and will force you to read ahead.The price is really cheap and affordable. The pages are of good quality with printing font of suitable size.If you are interested in science fiction, you can go for it.

Um bom livro. Ansioso pra ler

Muy bueno y hermosa presentacion!!!