A deviously brilliant inventor is out to control the world in this 1904 thriller by the pioneering science fiction author. Reports of strange occurrences in the mountains of South Carolina have reached the desk of government agent John Strock. Though the Blue Ridge Mountains are not volcanic, rumblings and smoke have led some to fear an eruption. Then new reports emerge of unidentified objects racing across air, land, and water at incredible speeds. Behind it all is a mastermind named Robur whose ambition is as boundless as his genius. On his quest to stop Robur, Agent Strock is taken captive and finds himself onboard the Terror: a single vehicle with capacities far beyond anything mankind has seen before. Though global powers offer Robur enormous sums for his invention, he chooses to keep it—and its unrivaled power—for himself.

Written in 1898, and part of Jules Verne's famous series "Voyages Extraordinaires, " this fantastic tale a young man's search for his father along Venezuela's then-uncharted Orinoco River contains all the ingredients of a classic Verne scientific-adventure storyQas well as a unique feminist twist.

First English edition of a classic Verne novel. Jules Verne, celebrated French author of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Around the World in 80 Days, wrote over 60 novels collected in the popular series "Voyages Extraordinaires." A handful of these have never been translated into English, including Invasion of the Sea, written in 1904 when large-scale canal digging was very much a part of the political, economic, and military strategy of the world's imperial powers. Instead of linking two seas, as existing canals (the Suez and the Panama) did, Verne proposed a canal that would create a sea in the heart of the Sahara Desert. The story raises a host of concerns — environmental, cultural, and political. The proposed sea threatens the nomadic way of life of those Islamic tribes living on the site, and they declare war. The ensuing struggle is finally resolved only by a cataclysmic natural event. This Wesleyan edition features notes, appendices and an introduction by Verne scholar Arthur B. Evans, as well as reproductions of the illustrations from the original French edition.

Verne's first cautionary tale about the dangers of science — first modern and corrected English translation. When two European scientists unexpectedly inherit an Indian rajah's fortune, each builds an experimental city of his dreams in the wilds of the American Northwest. France-Ville is a harmonious urban community devoted to health and hygiene, the specialty of its French founder, Dr. François Sarrasin. Stahlstadt, or City of Steel, is a fortress-like factory town devoted to the manufacture of high-tech weapons of war. Its German creator, the fanatically pro-Aryan Herr Schultze, is Verne's first truly evil scientist. In his quest for world domination and racial supremacy, Schultze decides to showcase his deadly wares by destroying France-Ville and all its inhabitants. Both prescient and cautionary, The Begum's Millions is a masterpiece of scientific and political speculation and constitutes one of the earliest technological utopia/dystopias in Western literature. This Wesleyan edition features notes, appendices, and a critical introduction as well as all the illustrations from the original French edition.

This superb collection of classic science fiction features the best of Jules Verne’s epic adventure stories, including Five Weeks in a Balloon (1863), A Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), From the Earth to the Moon (1865), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873). Often called the “father of science fiction," Verne was a masterful storyteller and visionary, anticipating such technological marvels as the submarine and skyscraper. For nearly 150 years, his unusual characters, outlandish plots, and vivid descriptions have captivated readers, and now they are available--complete and unabridged--in this gorgeous slipcase edition. The stylish edition also features a historical timeline and comprehensive introduction, enlightening the reader on the author’s life and works. The Knickerbocker Classics bring together the works of classic authors from around the world in stunning gift editions to be collected and enjoyed. Complete and unabridged, these elegantly designed cloth-bound hardcovers feature a slipcase and ribbon marker, as well as a comprehensive introduction providing the reader with enlightening information on the author's life and works.