For over a century now Jules Verne has been known as one of the founders of the science-fiction adventure story.Each of his books was centered upon action adventure,travel in strange places, and newly discovered marvels which the inventive species calling itself mankind dreamed into being.His earlier stories showed the vigorous optimism hailing the progress of the first half of the nineteenth century.Those who had witnessed the trading of the stagecoach for the steam train, knew the wonder of almost instant communication by telegraph, saw the rise of factories housing complicated machinery which did the work previously slowly and cumbersomely performed by the human hand, were only too ready to believe the day of man's brightest glory was at hand.

It was a secret message by an ancient alchemist,found on a crumbling scrap of parchment. And if Saknussemm was right, then even/theory about the molten core of the earth is wrong. Prof. Otto Lidenbrock has to learn the truth. So Lidenbrock, his nephew Axel,and the Icelandic hunter Hans climb down the cone of an arctic volcano and into...

A realm of awesome mystery, weird beauty - and deadly peril. Where vast caverns and endless mazes lead to an underground ocean, living fire, and prehistoric monsters. But where any wrong turn, any misstep, can leave the explorers trapped forever in the eternal darkness of a planet-sized tomb...

Buried alive at the heart of the world...

THE LIFE OF JULES VERNE

FOREWORD

1.MY UNCLE MAKES A GREAT DISCOVERY

2.THE MYSTERIOUS PARCHMENT

3.AN ASTOUNDING DISCOVERY

4.WE START ON THE JOURNEY

5.FIRST LESSONS IN CLIMBING

6.OUR VOYAGE TO ICELAND

7.CONVERSATION AND DISCOVERY

8.THE EIDER-DOWN HUNTER---OFF AT LAST

9.OUR START--WE MEET WITH ADVENTURES BY THE WAY

10.TRAVELING IN ICELAND---THE LEPERS

11.WE REACH MOUNT SNEFFELS--THE "REYKIR"

12.THE ASCENT OF MOUNT SNEFFELS

13.THE SHADOW OF SCARTARIS

14.THE REAL JOURNEY COMMENCES

15.WE CONTINUE OUR DESCENT

16.THE EASTERN TUNNEL

17.DEEPER AND DEEPER--THE COAL MINE

18.THE WRONG ROAD!

19.THE WESTERN GALLERY--A NEW ROUTE

20.WATER, WHERE IS IT? A BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT

21.UNDER THE OCEAN

22.SUNDAY BELOW GROUND

23.ALONE

24.LOST!

25.THE WHISPERING GALLERY

26.A RAPID RECOVERY

27.THE CENTRAL SEA

28.LAUNCHING THE RAFT

29.ON THE WATERS---A RAFT VOYAGE

30.TERRIFIC SAURIAN COMBAT

31.THE SEA MONSTER

32.THE BATTLE OF THE ELEMENTS

33.OUR ROUTE REVERSED

34.A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY

35.DISCOVERY UPON DISCOVERY

36.WHAT IS IT?

37.THE MYSTERIOUS DAGGER

38.NO OUTLET--BLASTING THE ROCK

39.THE EXPLOSION AND ITS RESULTS

40.THE APE GIGANS

41.HUNGER

42.THE VOLCANIC SHAFF

43.DAYLIGHT AT LAST

44.THE JOURNEY ENDED

AFTERWORD