Review: An excellent adventure novel from 1870
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 23, 2014
This book was inspired by the true story of Alexander Selkirk, who survived alone for almost five years on an uninhabited island off the coast of Chile.It is a very interesting story with a lot of imagination by Verne as it is written in the later 1800s. It starts in 1865, March, Richmond, VA. The capital of the Confederacy is under siege by the Union Army under Lt. Gen. U. S. Grant.Five men, Cyrus, Pencroft, Herbert, Neb and Gideon, and a dog named Top are trapped in Richmond and wish to escape from the town. The weather is bad, but there is a balloon tethered in the middle of town, and the storm seems to provide some cover as the Confederates are less attentive with the storm. They get into the balloon with a dog and set off on an adventure. They are blown west by the storm, and end up over the ocean, with the balloon losing altitude, when they very fortunately to crash on a tropical island, which turns out to be volcanic and large enough to have a variety on the island.Interesting that Verne uses a balloon which is only coming into use, as the device to get his folks onto the deserted tropical island.The five men are a good collection of skills and personalities and work well together. Captain Cyrus is their knowledgeable and inspiring leader with an engineer's practical knowledge. Pencroft, is a practical and hardworking sailor. Gideon is kind of a "everyman" -- observant, strong and resourceful and loving. Herbert a young, man learning and becoming a naturalist. It is a well done book where the whole crew works hard to make a life for themselves on the island using what is available. They do an excellent job using what is at hand, and make chemicals including nitroglycerine, using what is on the island.A well done and interesting adventure tale. Hard to always appreciate that it was written in 1870, as it has aged well.  An enjoyable Verne adventure novel, certainly one of his best.