Jules Verne

Cinco Semanas en Globo / Five Weeks in a Balloon: Edicion Bilingue / Bilingual Edition Jules Verne

Publisher Marketing: El doctor Samuel Fergusson, sabio y explorador ingles, acompanado por su criado Joe y por su amigo Dick Kennedy, decide atravesar el continente africano, que hasta ese momento solo era conocido de modo fragmentario, usando un globo hinchado con hidrogeno. Un dispositivo de su invencion, que permite subir o bajar a voluntad sin perder gas o echar lastre en busca de corrientes favorables, convierte al globo en un aparato dirigible. La idea de este viaje es unir las exploraciones realizadas por Burton y Speke en el Africa Oriental con las de Heinrich Barth en las regiones del Sahara y el Chad, y hallar las fuentes del Nilo. A scholar and explorer, Dr. Samuel Fergusson, accompanied by his manservant Joe and his friend professional hunter Richard "Dick" Kennedy, sets out to travel across the African continent - still not fully explored - with the help of a balloon filled with hydrogen. He has invented a mechanism that, by eliminating the need to release gas or throw ballast overboard to control his altitude, allows very long trips to be taken. This voyage is meant to link together the voyages of Sir Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke in East Africa with those of Heinrich Barth in the regions of the Sahara and Chad. The trip begins in Zanzibar on the east coast, and passes across Lake Victoria, Lake Chad, Agadez, Timbuktu, Djenne and Segou to St Louis in modern day Senegal on the west coast. The book describes the unknown interior of Africa near modern day Central African Republic as a desert, when it is actually savanna. Contributor Bio:  Verne, Jules Jules Verne was born on February 8, 1828, in France. Growing up near a river, the constant sight of ships sparked his interest in travel. As a young man, Verne even tried to run away and become a cabin boy. Fortunately, his father caught him, and soon Verne was off to study law in Paris. While there, Verne escaped the boredom of his studies by writing stories. When his father found out about this hobby, he stopped sending money for school. Verne started selling his stories, many of which became popular, including 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in 1870. Before he died in 1905, the author bought a boat and sailed around Europe.