Around the World in Eighty Days (Illustrated First Edition): 100th Anniversar...

Well, my ex got me interested enough in the new miniseries starring David Tennant that I watched it all the way through, and it was obvious to me the story had been reimagined, to say the least. But reimagined by how much? The only way to answer that was to watch other screen adaptations, and so I watched the epic movie from 1956, the miniseries from 1989, the Disney version from 2004 (yikes!), and a cartoon version from 1988. Well, there are common elements, but they're all a bit different too. What to do? Read the original story, I thought to myself. Yes, actually read a book. So I was very thankful to download the Kindle version of this book and read it as a "brain break" as I was working on other things on my computer. The old illustrations were a bonus. Well, it's a great story, apparently so great that nobody can just leave it alone and reproduce it faithfully. The glaring omission from the book is the balloon that seems to have to be in every screen adaptation that I've seen. My takeaway from this story is that in 1872, when it was published, it wasn't science fiction but it was very recently created reality that perhaps few knew about. The Suez canal had just been completed in 1869, passenger steamers to cross huge bodies of water were very recent, as were railroads crossing vast areas of land, as in India and the United States. Most of the stops on the trip were past, present, or soon-to-be British empire colonies. So, it might have been amazing to people of that era that all of a sudden, and with a little planning, a person could actually circle the world in eighty days. And, that probably stood the test of time pretty well until passenger aircraft went mainstream. And, Jules Verne's ending is better than any of the screen adaptations I've watched. It took my by surprise and even got me choked up a bit. Sometimes you've just gotta go back to the source material.

Beautiful book and one of the best classics for kids!

Good reading for my grandsons.

Having loved the recent Masterpiece Theater interpretation of this classic story, I wanted to read the book. I am not disappointed. Though the story was completely overhauled by talented PBS people, the original is a beautiful period work of art that I am enjoying very much. The Sea Wolf Press illustrated edition is a bonus part of the experience--very readable font (easy on aging eyes) and physically easy to hold, with a jacketless cover that is comfortably tactile. I will be buying more Seawolf Press editions of classics.

This is just a review for the book cover. First off, it is beautiful! BUT the first things my kids noticed when I showed them the book were the naked people on the balloon. I’m not sure if I should ruin the cover by painting over the naked people or using a sharpie. I will probably buy a different version for them to read.

After watching the movie and the PBS productions, I had to read Jules Verne. It was a fun read and I loved the original illustrations. A classic!

This is an old classic I had never previously read, and it was a great find to get this book as it was originally published. The plus is that I counted 54 full page illustrations that enhanced the story. This book is a nice addition to the book shelf of classics. Jules Verne wrote many books that in his time were about the future, and reading this for the first time made me want to read more of the author.

When Masterpiece Theater adapted Jules Vern’s Around the World in 80 Days, I knew I wanted to watch it. I loved the characters and the story, but found the modern version somewhat confusing and unbelievable. I ordered the book and read it at the same time as watching the TV version. At the end, I think the book was the better. Highly recommend this crazy and fun story.