From the Earth to the Moon
Jules Verne
Paperback
(Independently published, March 16, 2020)
This is the legendary novel of technological speculation and social satire that launched an entire genre of adventure fiction: Verneâs From the Earth to the Moon and âRound the Moon is the first story of space exploration and remains a beloved work of daring exploits-and surprisingly accurate scientific conjecture. When the members of the Baltimore Gun Club-bored Civil War veterans-decide to fill their time by embarking on a project to shoot themselves to the moon, the race is on to raise money, overcome engineering challenges, and convince detractors that theyâre anything but âLunatics.â With this work, Verne inspired the first science fiction film, 1902âs Le Voyage dans la lune, and accurately predicted that that ideal location for a space base is in Florida.Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who helped pioneer the science-fiction genre. He is best known for novels such as A Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Verne is often referred to as the âFather of science fictionâ as he wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before navigable aircraft and practical submarines were invented, and before any means of space travel had been devised.In 1857 he met Pierre-Jules Hetzel, one of the most important French publishers of the 19th century. Hetzelâs advice improved Verneâs writings, which until then had been rejected by other publishers. Hetzel read a draft of Verneâs story about the balloon exploration of Africa, which had previously been rejected on the grounds that it was âtoo scientificâ. With Hetzelâs help, he rewrote the story and in 1863 it was published in book form as Five Weeks in a Balloon (Cinq semaines en ballon). Acting on Hetzelâs advice, Verne added comical accents to his novels, changed sad endings into happy ones, and toned down various political messages.From that point on, and for nearly a quarter of a century, scarcely a year passed in which Hetzel did not publish one or more of his stories. In 1888, he entered politics and was elected town councillor of Amiens where he championed several improvements and served for 15 years. In 1905, while ill with diabetes, Verne died at his home.