Customer Rating:  
Summary: Shows its age
Comment: Unfortunately, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" shows its age. While the story is, actually, quite good, the language is somewhat stilted and the book takes a while to really get going. I think many young readers will be puzzled by the vocabulary and will be bored. Eventually, the story picks up. However, I was bored in the 1950's and cannot imagine that today's youngsters will do much better. I think that the Walt Disney movie is a much better bet if you want to expose your child to a story that was a true classic. This is one of the few cases where a movie has an advantage over the written word.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Wow
Comment: I read this book many years ago and still have the book. This is a thought-provoking book, and I can honestly say that it's one of the best books that I have ever read in my whole life. There is much to be thought about in this book, and I intend to reread this book so I can appreciate it all over again. Truly, this book is one of these classics that must be preserved always, for the wonderful writing and lessons contained therein.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Reading this with different eyes as an adult.
Comment: It is really a shame that Amazon pushes so many editions together in the same group of reviews. This review is of the complete edition (not the bowdlerised children's version) and references the translation by Mendor T. Brunetti.
This was a reread for me. I read most of the Verne books when I was quite young, and lately wanted to revisit some of my favorites. When I was younger, I was very much (like Captain Aronnax) taken with the catalogue of undersea marvels that Captain Nemo and his Nautilus enabled us to visit. Reading it this time around, I was quite struck with the political picture of Captain Nemo. As a man from an unknown country who has lost everything at the hands of men, Nemo becomes what we would today call a terrorist. He funds freedom fighters. He takes his revenge on the men from the countries who hurt him and his. The portraits on his wall: John Brown, Kosciusko, Daniel O'Connell. I think that I'm going to add The Mysterious Island to my list. I had never read the sequel in the past, and I understand that it provides more background about the mysterious captain.
Readers who aren't familiar with this book are encouraged by this reviewer to rapidly amend this sad condition. I also have to say that I first read this when I was nine (the full version, not a children's edition) and I can't imagine what really needs to be cut to make it suitable for younger folks. I'd hand them the whole thing with a confident heart.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Reads Like a Travel Journal
Comment: I loved this classic French novel by Jules Verne and found it to be very entertaining from start to finish! I was very surprised that I would enjoy this book as much as I did.... I figured "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", like many classic novels, would be boring, but Jules Verne is a marvelous storyteller. He imbues this novel with lots of intrigue and mystery as you wonder how the story will unfold... There is lots of adventure and interesting predicaments, and of course, many unforgettable characters one comes to care about during the course of the novel. Also if you like science fiction then this is the novel for you! Jules Verne seems to be ahead of his time in terms of technology and creates quite a wonderful piece of classic literature that has stood the test of time.
The attention to detail that Jules Verne used to capture the readers attention is marvelous... This book is written in the 1st person through the eyes of Assistant Professor Pierre Aronnax of the Paris Museum of Natural History. Professor Aronnax unfolds the story to the reader of this novel about several sightings of a mysterious object seen around the world by many different people.... Some believe it to be an island, others seem to think the object is a floating reef, a large whale or other large mammal and so on. It isn't until Professor Aronnax and his faithful Flemish assistant, Conseil, take part on an expedition aboard the Abraham Lincoln to seek out this unknown object once and for all. Eventually, it is discovered that this unknown object is a submarine named the Nautilus, on which Professor Aronnax, Conseil and Canadian harpooner, Ned Land, spend the remaining part of the novel sailing on the Nautilus through the various oceans of the world along with the crew of the Nautilus. What adventures they have while sailing on the Nautilus!! And the exquisite detail in which Jules Verne imparts is wonderful. One feels like they are truly reading the actually travel journal/diary of Professor Aronnax. Professor Aronnax writes from a scientific/natural history perspective as he is very much interested in the under water world of the worlds oceans.
The only draw back I had with this novel was that some of the descriptions were a bit overdone or a bit too much to take in (like classification of animal species or various nautical terms).... These descriptions aren't overwhelming or occur that frequently, I'd just find myself skimming through these parts rather quickly.
Customer Rating:
Summary: awesome!
Comment: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is Jules Verne's most famous novel. Captain Nemo and his sub "Nautilus"...
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