Publisher's Synopsis
Five Weeks in a Balloon or Journeys and Discoveries in Africa by Three Englishmen is an adventure novel written by Jules Verne. The story follows three Englishmen, Dr. Samuel Fergusson, his manservant Joe, and his friend Richard ""Dick"" Kennedy, as they embark on a journey across the African continent in a hot air balloon. The trio faces various challenges and dangers throughout their journey, including hostile tribes, dangerous animals, and treacherous weather conditions. Along the way, they make fascinating discoveries about the African landscape and encounter many interesting characters. The novel is a thrilling tale of exploration and discovery, filled with action, suspense, and excitement. It is considered one of Verne's most popular and enduring works, and a classic of adventure literature.1869. With illustrations. French writer and pioneer of science fiction, who is best known today for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Around the World in Eighty Days. Five Weeks in a Balloon is Verne's first novel. It is, in a measure, a satire on modern books of African travel. So far as the geography, the inhabitants, the animals, and the features of the countries the travelers pass over are described, it is entirely accurate. It gives, in some particulars, a survey of nearly the whole field of African discovery, and in this way will often serve to refresh the memory of the reader. The mode of locomotion is, of course, purely imaginary, and the incidents and adventures fictitious. The latter are abundantly amusing, and, in view of the wonderful travelers' tales with which we have been entertained by African explorers, they can scarcely be extravagant; while the ingenuity and invention of the author will be sure to excite the surprise and the admiration of the reader, who will find Verne as much at home in voyaging through the air as in journeying Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.