Around the World in Eighty Days

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Summary: Always Have A Copy When You Travel
Review: I was heading off to San Antonio for the weekend and needed a book to read on the plane. I arbitrarily grabbed Around the World in 80 Days and it was a good thing. While everyone around me on the plane and at the airport huffed and puffed about delays, I just sat back, like Phileas Fogg, knowing that things would turn out ok. Around the World in 80 Days is not a novel of depth, but thanks to Jules Verne's immense talent for suspense and detail, he created a tale so soothing and entertaining that all you worry about the next time you travel will seem inconsequential. Always carry a copy with you whenever you go somewhere!

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Summary: I loved this book!
Review: You will too. It clips along at a good steady pace, much as its main character does during his trip, and it has adventure and romance. What more could anyone ask for? Read it!

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Summary: It was an interesting book.
Review: This story is about an English Gentleman that bet his life savings that he could travle around the world in Eighty Days. He spent alot of time looking at the clock so he's never to early or late just on time. This English Gentleman's name was Phileas Fogg. Phileas Fogg had no wife, children, relatives or close friends. Phileas Fogg was a rich man that was alown with one servent in his lage house. Phileas Fogg's nickname is Fogg. Fogg's going to replace the servent with a different person his name was John Passpartout. The difference between Fogg and Passpartout was Fogg is quiet, and Passpartout was talkative. John's nickname is Passpartout. Every day Fogg woke up at exactly 8:00 and left for a Reform Club at 11:30 a.m.Fogg play's games at the Reform Club in a way they are his friends. One of them bet him to go around the world in 80 days so he did . I thick this was a good book I would give it about 3 stars because if you read the book it's mostly about time,and mouny,and it's not one of the best things I've ever read. Otherwise it was an interesting book.

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Summary: YOU HAVE GOT TO READ IT!!!!!
Review: I read this book for a school report and I loved it! There was never a boring moment in the book! My favorite part was when Mr.Fogg won his $20,000 dollar bet. You have to read it!

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Summary: Adventures and more adventures
Review: Jules Verne was a great writer. Many examples of his talent are widespred in literature. He got to wake up the taste of books in many teenagers and even in children, writing about adventures. And "Around the World in 80 days" perhaps it's the best ever written. This was the second time I read this book. And I think I will read it again very soon...

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Summary: An Immortal!
Review: I have read this book many times over but the brilliance of it never seems to diminish. Jules Verne's nack for getting the finer points across is evident yet again. A highly enjoyable read.

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Summary: A book of global intrigue!
Review: Jules Verne has created another immortal masterpiece that will fullfill every reader's imagination. The plot is creative. The story itself is bold and daring, as a wrongly accused bank robber and his companions (male & female) try to make it around the world and deceive a zealous detective--in eighty days

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Summary: A magnificent book!
Review: I was hooked from the first page! I mean, it's absolutely riveting when you make a rash bet and go trampling round the world with a carpet-bag, twenty thousand pounds, a reluctant servant-man, and later acquire your wife as well

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Summary: Very Good Even If No Balloon Rides
Review: The story is about an eccentric Englishman named Phileas Fogg who makes a twenty thousand pound bet with five of his rich country club friends to travel around the world in eighty days with his trusty servant Passepartout a Frenchman. Along the way they have to overcome many obstacles. Fogg spends most of his fortune overcoming these obstacles and if they don't win the bet he will be ruined. There are some things however that even money can't overcome and several times Fogg is faced with a moral decision that if he pursues the right thing to do will significantly set him back on time.

Their travels take them through England, Paris, the Suez Canal, Egypt, India, Hong Kong, Japan, America, and Ireland. In India they rescue a princess who stays on with them throughout the rest of their journey and a love interest grows between her and Fogg. There is also another subplot involving a bank robbery in England where 55 thousand pounds have been stolen, and Fogg is considered to be the main suspect. A detective Fix is assigned to follow Fogg and to arrest him once he sets foot on English territory.

This book seems to be split into two parts. During the first part of the book when things are going smoothly the servant Passepartout seems to be the main character. At each port Fogg stays in his cabin and just focuses on the next leg of the trip while Passepartout ventures out and gives you a description of the land. It would seem a shame to travel all around the world and not pause to take in any of the sights as Fogg does. I found most of these early chapters pretty mundane and uneventful.

The subplot with Fix at times becomes annoying, and it isn't until they are all working towards the same goal, that this line of the story improves. I also found the exchange rate between dollars and pounds confusing at times. The pound must have been about four or five times greater than the dollar at the time this story was written. Fogg leaves England with around twenty thousand pounds and spends it seems over a hundred thousand dollars on the trip.

Later on as the story progresses and things start to go wrong the focus changes over to Fogg. Passepartout still does some heroic things, but Fogg takes charge and shows some redeeming qualities. The pace of the story quickens and becomes more enjoyable with a few skirmishes taking place in India and America. Fogg seems a different person upon returning to England, and his life is changed forever.

My wife has a framed poster that hangs on one of our walls with a collage of all of the movies that have won the best picture of the year award. "Around The World In Eighty Days" won the award in 1956, and the picture is represented in the collage with the main character Phileas Fogg and his trusty servant Passepartout taking a balloon flight. Based on this picture for years I always assumed the book was about a trip in a balloon around the world. I was surprised then to find out once I finally got a chance to read the actual book that they travel by boat, train, car, sled, and even elephant, but that they never travel by balloon. It turns out that the most memorable scene from the movie was made up by the director and added on to the story. The director seemed to have come to same conclusion that I did, that the written story itself was very good, but I was expecting something a little more.

The book was written in 1873. Jules Verne the author is a Frenchman. In this day and age it was pleasing to see both England and America looked upon in such a favorable light. Englishmen were portrayed as noble and Americans were portrayed as wild and adventurous.

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Summary: by David Laing
Review: If you saw the movie that was alledgedly based on the book, and now want to read the book, don't, the movie and book have nearly nothing in common. Phileas Fog is a rich English man who during a card game makes a bet that he could go around the world in 80 days. He buys train ticket, and goes to France where he meets his personal assistant on his journey. Phileas and his French friend begin to journey around the world, but people are after Fog, because they think that he is a thief. Along the way, Fog helps out an Indian princess, who accompanies him the rest of the way, and his assistant gets lost in Japan, and joins a circus troupe accidentally. My only gripe about this book is that the ending is kind of stupid, and you feel that Verne just pulled something out of a hat at the last second for the ending. But, in the end this is a legendary adventure, and you should read it. As you could tell, I couldn't remember the French guy's name, and some other details, because I read this book about a year ago, but you should read it.