Overview
A fastidious English gentleman makes a remarkable wager - he will travel around the world in eighty days or forfeit his life's savings. Thus begins Jules Verne's classic 1872 novel, which remains unsurpassed in sheer story-telling entertainment and pure adventure. Phileas Fogg and his faithful manservant, Jean Passepartout, embark on a fantastic journey into a world filled with danger and beauty - from the exotic shores of India, where the heroic travelers rescue a beautiful Raja's wife from ritual sacrifice, to the rugged American frontier, where their train is ambushed by an angry Sioux tribe. Fogg's mission is complicated by an incredible case of mistaken identity that sends a Scotland Yard detective in hot pursuit. At once a riveting race against time and an action-packed odyssey into the unknown, Around the World in Eighty Days is a masterpiece of adventure fiction that has captured the imaginations of generations of readers - and continues to enthrall us today.In 1872 Phileas Fogg wins a bet by traveling around the world in seventy-nine days, twenty-three hours, and fifty-seven minutes.
Synopsis
On a wager, the eccentric English gentleman Phileas Fogg accepts a challenge to circle the globe in 80 days. Follow Phileas and his faithful valet, Passepartout, in this fantastic adventure. 1 MP3 CD.
School Library Journal
Gr 3-5 - All three adaptations of these classic novels fall prey to the usual pitfalls involved in such a process. The bare outlines of the plots are provided, but character development, a true sense of place and time with regard to setting, and masterful description of the action all go by the wayside. Jungle Bookis mistitled as it references only the Mowgli stories and moves from incident to incident so quickly that the "law of the jungle" morals in Kipling's anthropomorphic fables are lost. Treasure Islandis written in a similar breakneck, choppy style, and Long John Silver, one of the most memorable characters ever created, is eminently forgettable in this telling. In 80 Days, the historic events that made such a journey even thinkable, like the opening of the Suez Canal and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, are never mentioned, nor is the International Date Line, which enabled Fogg to win his wager, mentioned, let alone explained. The cartoon illustrations in all three volumes border on offensive as no matter which country or culture is depicted, the dot-eyed faces are virtually identical except for minor variations in skin tone. Some illustrations make no sense, as when the action in 80 Daysdescribes the servant Passepartout at the bottom of a circus pyramid, but the picture is of a Japanese tearoom.-Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
Copyright 2007 Reed Business InformationEditorials
School Library Journal
Gr 3-5 - All three adaptations of these classic novels fall prey to the usual pitfalls involved in such a process. The bare outlines of the plots are provided, but character development, a true sense of place and time with regard to setting, and masterful description of the action all go by the wayside. Jungle Bookis mistitled as it references only the Mowgli stories and moves from incident to incident so quickly that the "law of the jungle" morals in Kipling's anthropomorphic fables are lost. Treasure Islandis written in a similar breakneck, choppy style, and Long John Silver, one of the most memorable characters ever created, is eminently forgettable in this telling. In 80 Days, the historic events that made such a journey even thinkable, like the opening of the Suez Canal and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, are never mentioned, nor is the International Date Line, which enabled Fogg to win his wager, mentioned, let alone explained. The cartoon illustrations in all three volumes border on offensive as no matter which country or culture is depicted, the dot-eyed faces are virtually identical except for minor variations in skin tone. Some illustrations make no sense, as when the action in 80 Daysdescribes the servant Passepartout at the bottom of a circus pyramid, but the picture is of a Japanese tearoom.-Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
Copyright 2007 Reed Business InformationFrom the Publisher
"A spectacular edition of Jules Verne's classic tale of travel and adventure." — Edmonton's Child's