Five Weeks in a Balloon [Paperback]

Jules Verne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 4, 2008

Jules Verne wrote of space travel before the first rocket was launched. He spoke of under water adventures before the first submarine was built. He was born in 1828 in France. His dream was to write a new kind of novel, which combined scientific fact with fiction. Verne eventually wrote 40 novels in his Voyages extraordinaires series. "What one man can imagine, another will someday be able to achieve." Is a quote from an article in the Encyclopedia Britannica that sums up Verne so well. In Five Weeks in a Balloon a scholar named Samuel Ferguson and his friend plan to travel across Africa in a hydrogen balloon. The book describes their adventure exploring the unknown regions of Africa.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

French author JULES GABRIEL VERNE (1828-1905) is considered the father of modern science fiction. Among his many groundbreaking books are Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), From the Earth to the Moon (1865), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1872). --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Book Jungle (July 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1605978531
• ISBN-13: 978-1605978536
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,184,692 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Time machine too!, November 18, 2009

By 

John B. Goode "JBG" (Earth) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Five Weeks in a Balloon (Hardcover)

I've always enjoyed the Jules Verne favorites (Round the World in 80 days, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, and 20,000 Leagues under the Sea), but it's harder to find JV's other works, despite the fact that he's written over 50 books, so I snatched this one up when I saw it.

It's the story of 3 men crossing Africa (then not fully explored at the time) in a balloon (a novel method at the time). So it's basically fiction since no man had crossed that part of Africa and no one had succeed in taking a long trip in a balloon. As a result you have to take his geography and even his science in stride. It has been worked out by others that his balloon could never have made the trip and we now know that his description of that part of Africa was fanciful. So it's fiction, nevertheless it's good fiction. And we have to remember that this book was written over 100 years ago! So when I read this book, it is also an exercise in time travel for me, to read this book as it was written, in 1869, otherwise you will be offended at all the non-politically correct events that happen and the descriptions of the natives and the mind set at that time.

It's interesting to note that this book was supposed to be a forerunner to the much beloved Round the World in 80 days and I can imagine Mr. Verne testing out his ideas in this book. Jules Verne was the father of the explorer/adventure type novel and today's authors owe a lot to him. So sit back and travel back 100+ years and try this book!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Jules Verne's First, December 23, 2004

By 

Dave_42 "Dave_42" (Australia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Five Weeks in a Balloon (Hardcover)

Originally published in 1863, "Five Weeks in a Balloon" was Jules Verne's First novel. In its pages, one can see some of the elements that were eventually to come together to form such great stories as "Around The World In Eighty Days", and "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea". In this story, Dr. Ferguson creates a hydrogen balloon for the purpose of exploring the unknown regions of Africa. He decides to take along Dick Kennedy, a Scotsman with whom he became friends when they served in the same regiment and who tries to dissuade him from making the journey, and Joe, who is his faithful servant. As one might expect, parts of this story are dated, and some of the language regarding the natives undoubtedly would offend many people if one were not to take into account when it was written. Still, it is an enjoyable book to read, and rates somewhere between 3 and 4 stars in my opinion.

The [other] publishing firm's bare-bones version of the book. There is no foreword or introduction discussing the life of Jules Verne, or the context of the times in which it was published. It simply contains the story, and nothing else. It has a good solid binding, and the print is easy to read. For some reason, they elected to put an extra line between each of the paragraphs, but this makes it even easier to read. All the extra white space also makes it a much quicker read then one would expect.

5.0 out of 5 stars A grand adventure across an unknown continent., December 13, 2007

By 

C. T. Hunter "chips_books" (Gainesville, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Five Weeks in a Balloon (Paperback)

This is a tale of defying convention and attempting the impossible. To travel across unforgiving Africa at a time when so many had tried and ended up dead for their efforts presents quite a challenge. To do so in an untested but ingenious new invention only adds to the romance. As you follow Dr. Ferguson, Mr. Kennedy, and faithful Joe on their daring adventure you get quite a tour of a continent that for centuries had defied European exploration. While most of the voyage is spent in rather peaceful observation and light-hearted conversation, there are a number of times that incredible danger threatens and the heroes must rely on Providence alone to see them through.

As Verne's first book, published in French in 1863, FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON is obviously a product of its time, with frequent phrasings and descriptions of African natives that would likely be pretty insulting to civil rights activists. Also, I'm sure many animal activists would be appalled at the rather brutal and uncaring attitude towards all manner of creatures. It just goes to show you how far we've come in the last 150 years.

Jules Verne's scientific aptitude is on display in this book, with relatively complex and believable descriptions of the mechanisms required for long-distance hydrogen balloon flight. Fancies such as these have led many to consider Verne to be the originator of science fiction. He was also obviously quite a history buff, with complete descriptions of previous African explorations found throughout this book.

A light and fun read, and a great example of Verne's style.