The Mysterious Island
The book tells the adventures of five American prisoners of war on an uncharted island in the South Pacific. Begining in the American Civil War, as famine and death ravage the city of Richmond, Virginia, five northern POWs decide to escape in a rather unusual way – by hijacking a balloon! This is only the beginning of their adventures...
ctivity of mind and body, impetuous wishes, and powerful will. He might have taken for his motto that of William of Orange in the 17th century: "I can undertake and persevere even without hope of success." Cyrus Harding was courage personified. He had been in all the battles of that war. After having begun as a volunteer at Illinois, under Ulysses Grant, he fought at Paducah, Belmont, Pittsburg Landing, at the siege of Corinth, Port Gibson, Black River, Chattanooga, the Wilderness, on the Potomac, everywhere and valiantly, a soldier worthy of the general who said, "I never count my dead!" And hundreds of times Captain Harding had almost been among those who were not counted by the terrible Grant; but in these combats where he never spared himself, fortune favored him till the moment when he was wounded and taken prisoner on the field of battle near Richmond. At the same time and on the same day another important personage fell into the hands of the Southerners. This was no other than Gideon Spilen, a reporter
Reviews
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This is a great book.Its an adventure story set in a fantastic
environment.The mystery of Cpt.Nemo
is cleverly woven in the plot.The
castaways working together to
make life bearable on the island,
is an inspiration.An enjoyable
read.The unique American drive
to overcome in this book,reminds
us of the explorer grit we
may have lost.
Ash, the books start with the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, then In Search of the Castaways, and finally with this book. I really love this, and very educational too. They construct a battery and telegraph, and use chemical formulas to make and use powerful liquids from raw materials! It tells you how these things work, and how they made it. This is a truly wonderful work. Jules Verne is a very scientific
man, and is known to travel much more than people of his time. Enjoy Jules Verne, and The Mysterious Island!
Much better than the series they showed in Germany at the end of the seventies. This should be on the bookshelf for teens as the language is clean and simple, and the subject important.
This book was one of the most influential ones in my childhood. The practical approach by the people on the island, exemplified in the "watchglass-clay-seawater" approach to making fire, the descriptions, the no-nonsense way situations are dealt with - they all contributed to my desire to become an engineer later in my life. The fact that it is a sequel to "20,000 Leagues under the Sea" is a bonus.
This is a book I urge *everyone* to read. To this day, I always carry a copy of it on my PDA, and give a copy to anyone who shows interest.
I must show my ignorance and say that I did not relize at all that this was a sequel to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I found the story well told and very timely in light of such modern mysteries as "Lost."
