“The sea is everything. It covers seven tenths of the terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring on all sides. The sea is only the embodiment of a supernatural and wonderful existence. It is nothing but love and emotion; it is the Living Infinite. ” -- from "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea," (1870) by French novelist and poet Jules Verne (2/8/1828 - 3/24/1905), often referred to as the "Father of Science Fiction". His works -- "Voyages extraordinaires" as they were called -- were the forerunner of most modern science fiction, and included such popular titles as "Five Weeks in a Balloon" (1863), "Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), and "Around the World in Eighty Days" (1872). He wove in astronomy, biology, physics and other scientific information known in his day and applied it in his fantastical voyages. Only Agatha Christie's works reportedly have been translated more. Although French literary society at the time though his work to be for children and unworthy of membership in the Académie Française, Verne was a true pioneer whose work was the inspiration for countless writers who followed him, including H.G. Wells, Michael Crichton, and Ray Bradbury, who said of Verne, "We are all, in one way, the children of Jules Verne."
(Drawing: The submarine Nautilus from "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea")
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