Books with title Illustrated Stories from Around the World

Around the World in Eighty Days (French: Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employed French valet Pass partout attempt to circumnavigate the world in 80 days on a £20,000 wager set by his friends at the Reform Club. It is one of Verne's most acclaimed works.

Around the World in Eighty Days (French: Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is a classic adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, published in 1873. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employed French valet Passepartout attempt to circumnavigate the world in 80 days on a £20,000 wager (roughly £1.6 million today) set by his friends at the Reform Club. It is one of Verne's most acclaimed works.The story starts in London on Tuesday, October 1, 1872. Fogg is a rich English gentleman living in solitude. Despite his wealth, Fogg lives a modest life with habits carried out with mathematical precision. Very little can be said about his social life other than that he is a member of the Reform Club. Having dismissed his former valet, James Foster, for bringing him shaving water at 84 °F (29 °C) instead of 86 °F (30 °C), Fogg hires a Frenchman by the name of Jean Passepartout as a replacement.At the Reform Club, Fogg gets involved in an argument over an article in The Daily Telegraph stating that with the opening of a new railway section in India, it is now possible to travel around the world in 80 days. He accepts a wager for £20,000 (equal to about £1.6 million today) from his fellow club members, which he will receive if he makes it around the world in 80 days. Accompanied by Passepartout, he leaves London by train at 8:45 P.M. on Wednesday, October 2, 1872, and is due back at the Reform Club at the same time 80 days later, Saturday, December 21, 1872.

Slocum attracted considerable international interest by his journey, particularly once he had entered the Pacific. He was awaited at most of his ports of call, and gave lectures and lantern-slide shows to well-filled halls. His journal was first published in installments before being issued in book form in 1900. The book was lavishly illustrated.Slocum tells his story as a sequence of adventures, understating his own part and giving credit always to the Spray. He invents a crew-member, a supposed pilot of Columbus' Pinta, to take credit for the safety of the vessel while he sleeps.The trip itinerary was as follows: Fairhaven, Boston, Gloucester, Nova Scotia, Azores, Gibraltar, (Morocco), Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Maldonado, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Strait of Magellan, Cockburn Channel, Port Angosto, Juan Fernandez, Marquesas, Samoa, Fiji, Sydney, Melbourne, Tasmania, Cooktown, Christmas Island, Keeling Cocos, Rodrigues, Mauritius, Durban, Cape Town, (Transvaal), St Helena, Ascension Island, Devil's Island, Trinidad, Grenada, Newport, Fairhaven.The SprayHighlights of the journey included perils of sailing blue water, such as fog, gales, danger of collision, loneliness, doldrums, navigation, fatigue, gear failure. Other perils of coastal navigation included pirates, attack by 'savages', embayment, shoals and coral reefs, stranding, and shipwreck.Passing by Tierra del Fuego, he was warned that he might be attacked by the indigenous Yahgan Indians in the night, so he sprinkled tacks on the deck. He was awakened in the middle of the night by yelps of pain. He was proud of resourcefully defending himself.He devised a system of lashing the wheel into what a later era might call a kind of mechanical autopilot. He took pride in the fact that the Spray sailed 2000 miles west across the Pacific without his once touching the helm.

The Rainbird - The land is in drought. There is danger that the herds of goats may die because there is no grass to eat and no water to drink. Gideon has heard of the Rainbird that lives high up at the top of a mountain in Kenya in East Africa, and if seen could bring his tribe rain. Gideon climbs to the top of the mountain against his parents wishes to try to save his tribe and the animals. After he climbs the mountain trying to find the Rainbird, he comes down the mountain not sure if he has seen it. His feet are torn and bleeding from the climb and waiting for him at the bottom of the mountain is his little brother Peter who helps him get home to their hut safely.Shanti Means Peace - This is the story of a baby tiger whose parents are man-eaters and have beenkilled by the villagers. Kallu, a small boy befriends the little tiger and names him Shanti which means peace. Even though Shanti has proven himself trustworthy, Kallus father and the other villagers plan to kill him. Kallu warns his friend the little tiger to stay away. This story has a surprising ending.Gideons Dream - Gideon and his brother Peter are out exploring the forest. On that day, they comeupon a monkey who is severely injured. He has fallen from a tall tree. They stop what they are doing and carry him to the medicine man. He gives them potions and advice on how to help the monkey. At the same time, one of their fathers goats becomes ill and the medicine man helps to heal him. The medicine man checks all of their fathers other goats for illness. As Gideon watches the medicine man heal the animals and people, he wants to learn his secrets so that one day when he grows up he, too, can help his tribe.

The three stories, involving two people independently linked with a third one, equally present the whole human drama -- the dilemmas of love and desire, longings, yearnings, aspirations and transgressions. This very complex, multi-determined human experience is an embrasure into the Nature's heart in more ways than we can imagine."Aida", "Lakmé" and "The Pearl Fishers" speak about the duality between the wish to have more security and adventure. It's not about wishing something else, but it's about wishing challenge and adventure that may not provide the stability our heroes are longing for.