a journey to the centre of the earth book review

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne - review

Jules Verne is probably known to most of you through his famous novel, Around the World in 80 Days. The staggering success of this novel though, meant that his other works are not as well known. Indeed, most of us waited for the film to be introduced to Journey to the Centre of the Earth. In this novel, instead of going around the world, we are now going into it! Though most adventures and action books these days rely on shoot outs and car chases to keep the reader interested, Jules Verne manages to grip us using old fashioned mystery and suspense. It is also clear that he did heaps of research before writing this book. The imagination he put into it along with his knowledge of science makes compelling reading. The epic adventure begins when enthusiastic geologist Professor Otto Liedenbrock discovers old documents, which he believes are instructions on getting to the center of the earth. Along with his whiz-kid nephew, Axel Liedenbrock he discovers the key to the document, and finds the location of the crater. They pack any and every survival equipment they can find, but will it be enough for the perilous journey ahead? Along with estimable, quiet, Icelandic guide Hans, Otto and Axel embark on a fantastical and dangerous journey down volcanic tubes and volcano craters. The journey is not for the faint-hearted – who knows what creatures lurk down there? Will their supplies last? How will they get back up to the surface? Will they ever get back up to the surface? They must find their way through a maze and an endless sea, as well as many other obstacles before they can find their way to the heart of the earth. This book takes a little while to get going, but when it does, it becomes one you cannot put down. It has advanced vocabulary, many scientific theories and overall may be a little hard to understand or read for children below 12 or 13. I would rate this book 8/10. If your parents are insisting, like mine, that you read classics, this is the place to start!

Want to tell the world about a book you've read? Join the site and send us your review!

• Children's books
• Children and teenagers
• Adventure books (children and teens)
• Sci-fi books for children and teens
• children's user reviews

Most viewed

Common Sense Media

Movie & TV reviews for parents

• For Parents
• For Educators
• Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

• Get the app
• Movie Reviews
• Best Movie Lists
• Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

• Best TV Lists
• Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
• Common Sense Selections for TV
• Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

• Book Reviews
• Best Book Lists
• Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

• Game Reviews
• Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

• Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

• Podcast Reviews
• Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

• App Reviews
• Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

• YouTube Channel Reviews
• YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids Channels for Gamers

• Preschoolers (2-4)
• Little Kids (5-7)
• Big Kids (8-9)
• Pre-Teens (10-12)
• Teens (13+)
• Screen Time
• Social Media
• Online Safety
• Identity and Community

Explaining the News to Our Kids

• Family Tech Planners
• Digital Skills
• All Articles
• Latino Culture
• Black Voices
• Asian Stories
• Native Narratives
• LGBTQ+ Pride
• Best of Diverse Representation List

Celebrating Black History Month

Movies and TV Shows with Arab Leads

Celebrate Hip-Hop's 50th Anniversary

Journey to the centre of the earth, common sense media reviewers.

Sci-fi classic takes readers on epic trip.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Jules Verne brilliantly blends scientific informat

In scientific research, the "journey" is as meanin

Axel's uncle, Professor Otto Lidenbrock, can be an

Axel is injured several times during the journey,

Adults drink gin a couple of times, and one smokes

Parents need to know that Jules Verne's science fiction novel Journey to the Center of the Earth, originally published in 1864, leads readers on an epic subterranean expedition. The story is narrated by Axel, the nephew and research assistant of Otto Lidenbrock, a curmudgeonly but endlessly curious geology…

Educational Value

Jules Verne brilliantly blends scientific information and methods of inquiry with fantasy. Mature science fiction lovers will be able to distinguish between them and will find all of it fascinating.

Positive Messages

In scientific research, the "journey" is as meaningful as the destination.

Positive Role Models

Axel's uncle, Professor Otto Lidenbrock, can be an impatient, irascible character. But when Axel is in real danger, Lidenbrock shows tenderness and concern, and always comes through for his nephew. As a scholar, Lidenbrock shows inspiring dedication to scientific research. Axel's best quality is his steadfastness. He's devoted to his uncle, and he musters strength and energy when he seems to be exhausted.

Violence & Scariness

Axel is injured several times during the journey, and a couple of times mentions that he's bleeding.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Adults drink gin a couple of times, and one smokes a pipe in one scene.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Jules Verne 's science fiction novel Journey to the Center of the Earth, originally published in 1864, leads readers on an epic subterranean expedition. The story is narrated by Axel, the nephew and research assistant of Otto Lidenbrock, a curmudgeonly but endlessly curious geology professor. Lidenbrock discovers an encrypted message in an old Icelandic book: secret directions through volcanic tubes leading to a world below the earth's surface. This book is heavier on the science than on the fiction, with loads of real and fictional scientific detail and discussions between uncle and nephew about what they observe and how to determine the best path. There's a fair amount of suspense as well, and just a little blood (nothing of concern for readers at this level). Attitudes toward women -- who figure very little in this novel -- are understandably dated. Characters drink gin in a few scenes, but there's no drunkenness. Journey to the Center of the Earth has been made into multiple films, including a very good 1959 version starring James Mason, and an enjoyable more modern version starring Brendan Fraser (2008). It's also worth nothing that the Audible edition of the book, read by Tim Curry , is a delight.

Where to Read

Community reviews.

• Parents say (3)
• Kids say (7)

Based on 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In Jules Verne's JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, a geology professor, Otto Lidenbrock, and his nephew Axel discover and decode an ancient document that purports to show that a dormant volcano holds a secret entrance to a series of caverns leading to a subterranean world at the earth's center. In the name of scientific discovery, they follow the instructions and undertake a hazardous journey deep within the earth, where they find creatures and plants from earlier epochs. In the end, their journey back to the surface of the earth is just as harrowing as the trip down.

Is It Any Good?

This science fiction classic from one of the fathers of the genre has stood the test of time. It's exciting and inventive, even visionary. However, note the book title: This novel is about the journey more than the destination. Author Jules Verne takes his time leading the reader through lengthy descriptions and long treks, where the characters experience challenging conditions: Rations run low, they suffer from dehydration when water runs out, and they lose their way in dark tunnels. Readers are more than halfway through the novel before they see any of those dinosaurs that the film versions highlight. Appreciating this novel requires a lot of scientific curiosity and some advanced vocabulary.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about why Journey to the Center of the Earth continues to fascinate readers more than 150 years after it was published. What makes it exciting?

What aspects of the story seem believable to you?

How does this novel compare to more recent science fiction books you've read?

If you've seen any of the film versions, how do you think the book compares?

Book Details

• Author : Jules Verne
• Genre : Science Fiction
• Topics : Dinosaurs , Adventures , Science and Nature
• Book type : Fiction
• Publisher : Puffin
• Publication date : January 1, 1864
• Publisher's recommended age(s) : 12 - 12
• Number of pages : 337
• Last updated : June 2, 2020

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

Our editors recommend.

Life as We Knew It

The Giver, Book 1

Never Let Me Go

Science fiction books, adventure books, related topics.

• Science and Nature

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

Books: A true story

Book reviews and some (mostly funny) true stories of my life.

Book Review: Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

May 29, 2014 By Jessica Filed Under: Book Review 2 Comments

Journey to the Center of the Earth

The intrepid Professor Liedenbrock embarks upon the strangest expedition of the nineteenth century: a journey down an extinct Icelandic volcano to the Earth's very core. In his quest to penetrate the planet's primordial secrets, the geologist--together with his quaking nephew Axel and their devoted guide, Hans--discovers an astonishing subterranean menagerie of prehistoric proportions. Verne's imaginative tale is at once the ultimate science fiction adventure and a reflection on the perfectibility of human understanding and the psychology of the questor.

 Journey to the Center of the Earth was incredibly slow.   It took 100 pages for them to get to the volcano, walk around, and run out of water.  That is half of this 200 page novel.  I struggled through this book because all I could think for the first half of the novel was “Nothing….is…happening.”

Another thing I struggled with was the science.   I understand that this is (a) science fiction and (b) written over 100 years ago, but it got to the point where the only way I was able to enjoy the story was to pretend I knew nothing after 8th grade science.   Then! When we get to the really cool part of the story that really is awesome science fiction, it’s barely talked about. View Spoiler » They find prehistoric animals and even a person and then don’t even explore it at all!  And I just couldn’t get on board with finding a “sun,” ocean, wind, and plants underground.  I still don’t know what to make of that.  My notes say “????” and that’s still pretty much how I feel about it.  And the worst was the ending! Coming up the volcano on a wooden raft on a lava eruption?? « Hide Spoiler Seriously, what is going on with this story.

The small amount of dry British humor was amusing.  One of the most amusing things was that the nephew argued with the uncle and the nephew was defending the scientific views that we accept today while the uncle defended scientific views I have never heard of.  It made me laugh but I’m not entirely sure that it was supposed to be funny.  The way the story went made it seem like it was defending the uncle’s view of science.

There were a few gems in the writing.  Here’s my favorite quote from the book.

Our principle is, that books, instead of growing mouldy behind an iron grating, should be worn out under the eyes of many readers. -Jules Verne,  A Journey to the Center of the Earth Chapter 10

Overall, I regret to say that I found this science fiction classic to be boring and the science part of the science fiction to be a little too outdated to fully enjoy the story.

Content Rating : None. Clean read.

This post contains affiliate links and I receive a small percentage of sales made through these links.  

About Jules Verne

Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the genre of science-fiction. He is best known for his novels "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (1864), "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" (1870), and "Around the World in Eighty Days" (1873).

Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before navigable aircraft and practical submarines were invented, and before any means of space travel had been devised. He is the third most translated author of all time, behind Disney Productions and Agatha Christie. His prominent novels have been made into films. Verne, along with H. G. Wells, is often referred to as the "Father of Science Fiction".

Website • Goodreads

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• Classics Club
• eBook Challenge 2014

May 30, 2014 at 9:55 am

I’ve always wanted to read Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, but I can never bring myself to do it. I think I still want to read this even though half of it is nothing.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

email subscription

• ADMIN AREA MY BOOKSHELF MY DASHBOARD MY PROFILE SIGN OUT SIGN IN

JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH

Or a planet full of secrets, from the jules verne's adventure stories series.

by Jules Verne ; adapted by Antonis Papatheodoulou ; illustrated by Iris Samartzi ; translated by María Mountokalaki ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2020

Together with its companion, quick voyages down and up, but both grandly visionary.

An abbreviated retelling, translated from Greek, of the Jules Verne classic, illustrated with suitably adventuresome montages.

Papatheodoulou leaves out no significant events from the plot of the original, beginning with the coded message (here in reverse printed English rather than Latin) that sends Axel and his uncle on the titular journey. With a silent local guide, they head down a certain tunnel mouth in Iceland, past encounters with giant mushrooms and battling prehistoric sea monsters, to a dramatic reemergence through an erupting volcano off Sicily. Adding map fragments and clipped photos of spelunking gear to painted views of the white trio feeling their way through dimly lit passages and strange landscapes, Samartzi ably captures the original’s exhilarating sense of wonder. That sense comes through just as strongly in the co-published retelling of From the Earth to the Moon , though this version abruptly cuts off before the proto-astronauts’ return to Earth—and, more significantly, repeatedly works in a concept not found in Verne’s novel, that the whole lunar expedition is founded on the notion of turning a weapon of war to (as the subtitle has it) a “Cannon for Peace.” Journey offers a truer taste of the iconic author’s exhilarating vision than From the Earth , which is in essence a reboot that forcibly transforms the more martial original’s thematic swords into plowshares.

Pub Date: June 1, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-9164091-8-7

Page Count: 36

Publisher: Faros Books/Trafalgar

Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Share your opinion of this book

More by Jules Verne

BOOK REVIEW

by Jules Verne & illustrated by James Prunier

by Jules Verne

CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS AND THE TYRANNICAL RETALIATION OF THE TURBO TOILET 2000

From the captain underpants series , vol. 11.

by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 26, 2014

Dizzyingly silly.

The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.

Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.

Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION

More In The Series

by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey

More by Dav Pilkey

by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba

by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba

RISE OF THE EARTH DRAGON

From the dragon masters series , vol. 1.

by Tracey West ; illustrated by Graham Howells ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 24, 2014

With plenty left to be resolved, the next entry will be eagerly sought after.

Drake has been selected by the king to serve as a Dragon Master, quite a change for an 8-year-old farmer boy.

The dragons are a secret, and the reason King Roland has them is a mystery, but what is clear is that the Dragon Stone has identified Drake as one of the rare few children who have a special connection with dragons and the ability to serve as a trainer. Drake’s dragon is a long brown creature with, at first, no particular talents that Drake can identify. He calls the dragon Worm. It isn’t long before Drake begins to realize he has a very strong connection with Worm and can share what seem to be his dragon’s thoughts. After one of the other Dragon Masters decides to illicitly take the dragons outside, disaster strikes. The cave they are passing through collapses, blocking the passageway, and then Worm’s special talent becomes evident. The first of a new series of early chapter books, this entry is sure to attract fans. Brief chapters, large print, lots of action, attractive illustrations in every spread, including a maplike panorama, an enviable protagonist—who wouldn’t want to be a Dragon Master?—all combine to make an entertaining read.

Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-545-64624-6

Page Count: 96

Publisher: Branches/Scholastic

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S DRAGONS & MYTHICAL CREATURES

by Tracey West ; illustrated by Matt Loveridge

More by Tracey West

by Tracey West ; illustrated by Kyla May

by Tracey West ; illustrated by Xavier Bonet

• Discover Books Fiction Thriller & Suspense Mystery & Detective Romance Science Fiction & Fantasy Nonfiction Biography & Memoir Teens & Young Adult Children's
• News & Features Bestsellers Book Lists Profiles Perspectives Awards Seen & Heard Book to Screen Kirkus TV videos In the News
• Kirkus Prize Winners & Finalists About the Kirkus Prize Kirkus Prize Judges
• Magazine Current Issue All Issues Manage My Subscription Subscribe
• Writers’ Center Hire a Professional Book Editor Get Your Book Reviewed Advertise Your Book Launch a Pro Connect Author Page Learn About The Book Industry
• More Kirkus Diversity Collections Kirkus Pro Connect My Account/Login
• About Kirkus History Our Team Contest FAQ Press Center Info For Publishers
• Privacy Policy
• Terms & Conditions
• Reprints, Permission & Excerpting Policy

© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Popular in this Genre

Hey there, book lover.

We’re glad you found a book that interests you!

Please select an existing bookshelf

Create a new bookshelf.

We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!

Please sign up to continue.

It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!

Already have an account? Log in.

Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.

Almost there!

• Industry Professional

Welcome Back!

Sign in using your Kirkus account

Contact us: 1-800-316-9361 or email [email protected].

Don’t fret. We’ll find you.

Magazine Subscribers ( How to Find Your Reader Number )

If You’ve Purchased Author Services

Don’t have an account yet? Sign Up.

Muse with Me

About books & other stories.

Book Review – Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne

Professor Otto Lidenbrock’s great adventure begins by chance when a scrap of paper drops out of an ancient book he has just bought. The coded inscription reveals the existence of a passageway leading to the centre of the earth and that the entrance lies within the crater of an extinct volcano in Iceland. The professor travels to Iceland accompanied by his nephew, Axel, a keen young geologist. Together with a Swiss guide, they descend into the bowels of the earth where an amazing prehistoric world awaits them.

Journey to the Centre of the Earth , first published in 1864, is Jules Verne’s second novel. It is placed as the third book in the Extraordinary Voyages series, though it was added retroactively by the author. This series ultimately numbered 54 books. While far from the first example of subterranean fiction, a subgenre of adventure fiction, this book was highly influential and helped make the subgenre more popular. Verne is not an author I’m hugely familiar with, but I enjoy reading old science fiction and adventure stories when the mood strikes me, which is part of the reason why I first picked this up. The title evokes cheesy movies for me, whether adapting this book outright or just influenced by it, so I was interested to have a firsthand look at the source material.

It was surprising how much this story felt reined-in from being too fantastical. I had expectations of our characters descending into a veritable lost world full of primitive marvels, dangers, and adventure, but that was not quite the case. The way Verne approached this story leads me to believe he wanted it to seem as realistic as possible—for the scientific understanding at the time. Professor Lidenbrock and his nephew Axel set out to follow a supposed path to the centre of the Earth and that is exactly what they do, the novel spending time on every step of their journey with a lot of the early phases taking place on the surface. While it may not be surprising for a longer tale to dwell on the details and take its time, this novel is less than 200 pages long. Once I passed the 100-page mark I realized that this novel was going to be a lot more journey than centre .

A lot of time is spent with our trio of explorers wandering along underground, including the captivatingly stoic and immovable Hans, their Swiss guide. While I enjoyed his humorously monolithic and practical presence throughout, I had mixed feelings about the Professor and Axel. The former’s eccentricities could be amusing and Axel’s more level-headed, hapless attitude toward being strung along by his uncle was amusingly sympathetic, but they were unfortunately one-note as protagonists and not particularly likeable. The Professor is stubborn and bullish to an overbearing degree, with only occasional bouts of sympathy for his nephew and what he’s putting him through. For his part, Axel spends much of his time complaining despite the fact he’s far past the point of no return and was in need of an adventurous change of heart that came too late. Nobody really has an arc during this journey. Axel does come close toward the end, like I mentioned, but things take an abrupt turn that prevent that from being meaningful.

The subterranean world itself is left a little disappointingly unexplored too. They do eventually come across a vast sea, lit by a luminescent sky, which I did enjoy. They began sailing across it on a raft and encounter a few prehistoric creatures and natural anomalies that make the story more exciting. A high note for myself was a battle witnessed between a plesiosaur and an ichthyosaur of colossal proportions. It is once they reach the other side and make some more startling discoveries that the story takes its abrupt turn. They glimpse these things only for a moment—a monochromatic forest, a herd of Mastodon, and a giant human minding them—before turning away and neglecting to even dwell on the implications of their discovery.

Much of the book leading up to this is simply them walking through a tunnel, discussing geology, commenting on how far they’ve gone, and facing more mundane challenges like finding the right path and thirst. With the latter issue in particular I felt like Verne was trying to have his cake and eat it too. Drinking water becomes a pressing concern, yet somehow they have enough food between the three of them to keep them happily fed for well over a month and then some. I have no problem accepting the more fantastical aspects of the story, but you can’t stress the small details crucial to survival on the one hand and completely ignore them on the other.

Journey to the Centre of the Earth is not a bad novel, and I still see reading value in it for its influence on the genre, but it was ultimately a little disappointing. I couldn’t connect much with the characters in a meaningful way, and while their descent was still intriguing it left a lot to be desired. The plot begins and ends with “We are exploring a place,” and never gets more complicated than that. Worth checking out as a classic, especially for how short it is, but don’t expect to be blown away by an old master of the craft.

My rating: 3 out of 5

Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

8 thoughts on “ Book Review – Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne ”

[…] I finished reading Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne. Check out my full review here. I liked it well enough, but it ended rather abruptly when the real sense of adventure and […]

My nightmare is being trapped underground – or worse – in a submerged submarine. So, this novel was hard for me from that perspective. Excellent balanced review as always.

Thanks! Yeah, I’d probably be really uncomfortable with that too. I’m especially wary of heights, and there’s a lot of vertical descending in the beginning that I wouldn’t be able to handle in reality.

I really, really like this review format. I especially like that you start with historical context/where it fits within the author’s canon, which is such a clever yet simple idea and I’m just so here for it. Also, love the detail re: ‘you can’t have all the food and yet no water as a concern’, because that would bother the hell out of me, too.

& IDK if it’s just me, but I feel like a lot of classics run the risk of being a disappointment if you read them as an adult. Because you’ve probably heard about bits and pieces of them for so long that you form these expectations and ideas of what they should be like, and so even if the book is GOOD, you’re possibly still faintly disappointed because it just didn’t live up to how you imagined it’d be in your head.

Thank you for the positive feedback 🙂

I agree about reading classics. Often they were groundbreaking for the time too, which does make them important, but when you have experience with what the classic influenced it sometimes only feels like a prototype for the more detailed, fleshed-out stuff that came after.

Of course! I will def read more of your reviews in future.

Completely agree. I read Fahrenheit 451 not long ago, and I was like… sorry, Bradbury, but so many people have done the Dystopian novel deal much better than this.

It is always nice when you read a classic and you’re blown away by it, though. I read ‘A Christmas Carol’ last year and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I took to it.

I had the same experience with The First Men in the Moon a few months ago! Was expecting dry, though not unenjoyable, old sci-fi and it ended up being my favourite H.G. Wells book.

Love it when that happens!

Leave a comment Cancel reply

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

• NONFICTION BOOKS
• BEST NONFICTION 2023
• BEST NONFICTION 2024
• Historical Biographies
• The Best Memoirs and Autobiographies
• Philosophical Biographies
• World War 2
• World History
• American History
• British History
• Chinese History
• Russian History
• Ancient History (up to 500)
• Medieval History (500-1400)
• Military History
• Art History
• Travel Books
• Ancient Philosophy
• Contemporary Philosophy
• Ethics & Moral Philosophy
• Great Philosophers
• Social & Political Philosophy
• Classical Studies
• New Science Books
• Maths & Statistics
• Popular Science
• Physics Books
• Climate Change Books
• How to Write
• English Grammar & Usage
• Books for Learning Languages
• Linguistics
• Political Ideologies
• Foreign Policy & International Relations
• American Politics
• British Politics
• Religious History Books
• Mental Health
• Neuroscience
• Child Psychology
• Film & Cinema
• Opera & Classical Music
• Behavioural Economics
• Development Economics
• Economic History
• Financial Crisis
• World Economies
• Investing Books
• Artificial Intelligence/AI Books
• Data Science Books
• Sex & Sexuality
• Death & Dying
• Food & Cooking
• Sports, Games & Hobbies
• FICTION BOOKS
• BEST NOVELS 2024
• BEST FICTION 2023
• New Literary Fiction
• World Literature
• Literary Criticism
• Literary Figures
• Classic English Literature
• American Literature
• Comics & Graphic Novels
• Fairy Tales & Mythology
• Historical Fiction
• Crime Novels
• Science Fiction
• Short Stories
• South Africa
• United States
• Arctic & Antarctica
• Afghanistan
• Myanmar (Formerly Burma)
• Netherlands
• Kids Recommend Books for Kids
• High School Teachers Recommendations
• Prizewinning Kids' Books
• Popular Series Books for Kids
• BEST BOOKS FOR KIDS (ALL AGES)
• Ages Baby-2
• Books for Teens and Young Adults
• THE BEST SCIENCE BOOKS FOR KIDS
• BEST KIDS' BOOKS OF 2023
• BEST BOOKS FOR TEENS OF 2023
• Best Audiobooks for Kids
• Environment
• Best Books for Teens of 2023
• Best Kids' Books of 2023
• Political Novels
• New History Books
• New Historical Fiction
• New Biography
• New Memoirs
• New World Literature
• New Economics Books
• New Climate Books
• New Math Books
• New Philosophy Books
• New Psychology Books
• New Physics Books
• THE BEST AUDIOBOOKS
• Actors Read Great Books
• Books Narrated by Their Authors
• Best Audiobook Thrillers
• Best History Audiobooks
• Nobel Literature Prize
• Booker Prize (fiction)
• Baillie Gifford Prize (nonfiction)
• Financial Times (nonfiction)
• Wolfson Prize (history)
• Royal Society (science)
• Pushkin House Prize (Russia)
• Walter Scott Prize (historical fiction)
• Arthur C Clarke Prize (sci fi)
• The Hugos (sci fi & fantasy)
• Audie Awards (audiobooks)

The Best Fiction Books » Science Fiction » Science Fiction Recommended by Scientists

Journey to the centre of the earth, by jules verne, recommendations from our site.

“The book has just enough science that it seems real. If you read it as a kid and re-read it as a geologist, you think there are some very interesting things in there. He plays around with certain facts. He comes up with a very interesting theory to explain that it doesn’t get hot as you go deeper underground (which was in vogue at the time), but the book imagines the preservation of prehistoric life in the subsurface and that’s something we’re still looking at. Many of the organisms that we find down there today look to be, from an evolutionary point of view, extremely primitive. The conditions we find them in are very much what the surface of the Earth used to look like, three billion years ago. There is no oxygen and three billion years ago there was very little oxygen on the surface of our planet.” Read more...

The best books on Life Below the Surface of the Earth

Tullis Onstott , Environmentalist

“I think we all read that as children and I was most particularly excited by it a couple of years ago when I was in Western Iceland researching a big book on the Atlantic Ocean. I wanted to climb up the side of Snaefellsnes and look into what was, of course, the entry point for Verne’s explorers in Journey to the Centre of the Earth . So I did and I looked in and felt duly stimulated.The book is a fantastic piece of science fiction – it’s basically about explorers who want to know what’s inside the earth and they go in via Snaefellsnes in Iceland and they find lakes and crystal caves and wonderful things and then, eventually, they are blown out back into Iceland by an enormous eruption. When it was written, in the mid-19th century, there was this debate between two groups of scientists arguing about the origins of the earth. The Neptunists believed that all rocks came about from the precipitation of sea water. The Plutonists believed that all rocks had been belched out from the middle of the earth. Jules Verne knew about this debate, of course, and rather sided with the Plutonists. So modern-day geologists can read it to see how fanciful and stupid people’s ideas about the earth were. Jules Verne got it completely wrong. It’s fun but foolish.” Read more...

The best books on Volcanoes

Simon Winchester , Journalist

Other books by Jules Verne

Twenty thousand leagues under the sea by jules verne, collected works of jules verne by jules verne, our most recommended books, the martian by andy weir, seveneves by neal stephenson, foundation trilogy by isaac asimov, cibola burn by james s. a. corey, red mars by kim stanley robinson, the word for world is forest by ursula le guin.

Support Five Books

Five Books interviews are expensive to produce, please support us by donating a small amount .

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

Five Books participates in the Amazon Associate program and earns money from qualifying purchases.

© Five Books 2024

Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne, a Book Review

Introduction: journey to the centre of the earth by jules verne.

Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne is a work of fiction, and the author, along with HG Wells (Reviews: The War of the Worlds , The Invisible Man ) are considered to be the grandfathers of science fiction writing. Journey to the Centre of the Earth is the second book I have reviewed for Jules Verne, the other being Around the World in Eight Days ( Review ).

By way of the character, Otto Lidenbrock, Jules Verne demonstrates the importance of becoming a master in the field in which you work.

While reading Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne, I was frustrated with the characters Professor of Mineralogy, Otto Lidenbrock (Angry Otto), and his nephew and assistant, Axel (Passive Axel Downer), and would never want to be with either of them on a journey. The contrast in the characters’ personalities made for good drama. The book made me realize that in real life, many scientists made great personal sacrifices for advances in science.

A word of caution: there are inaccuracies in some of the facts in the book, but as the editor, George Davidson so nicely put it, Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne is a work of fiction and not a textbook. This issue doesn’t take away from the story, it still works. The story is set in Hamburg, Germany in 1863.

Self-Mentoring Strategy

To get the most from this SummaReview of Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne, after you have read the book review/summary, reflectively answer the following questions:

• What can you learn from the ideas in the SummaReview?
• What is one action that you can take as a result of reading this SummaReview?
• What are five takeaways from the SummaReview?
• What has made an impression on you while reading?
• Is there a framework that you can use in your life and work?
• How do the concepts in the SummaReview relate to what you already know?
• How can you combine key ideas from the profile to what you already know to create a new idea? Is this a book you’d like to read for yourself? Why? Why not?

Content: Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne

Professor Lidenbrock purchases a really old book – over 600 years since published – by an Icelandic writer. A polyglot, the professor is able to speak and understand many languages, Icelandic being one of them. While Lidenbrock is reading and enjoying the book, Heims-Kringla by Snorre Turleson, a dirty scrap of paper falls out of it, on to the floor. Excitedly, he spreads out the piece of paper on the table. On the paper are a series of runic letters.

With dogged determination, the professor sets out to translate what’s on the paper. He is so engrossed in what he is doing that he misses supper, a first for him. Lidenbrock is very set in his ways and likes to eat his dinner and supper at the same time each day. He co-opts Axel to assist him to decode the message. He makes some progress until he is left with a Latin cryptogram, except he doesn’t know the cipher to get to the hidden message. However he has figured out that the message is written by Arne Saknussemm, a 16 th century renowned Icelandic scholar and alchemist.

They work very hard to figure out this puzzle but to no avail. Professor Lidenbrock decides to go out for a walk. While he is away, Axel figures out the cryptogram and is determined not to tell his uncle because he knows that he’ll get dragged to go on the journey. The uncle returns and attempts once again to try and decipher the code and is unable to do so. Time is passing by and Axel is getting hungry, and no one will be able to eat until Lidenbrock breaks the code. In a moment of weakness, when Axel believes that he can no longer endure the hunger pangs, he breaks down and tells his uncle how to break the cipher. When translated to English, the message reads:

“ Descend into the crater of jokul of Sneffels,

which the shadow of Scartarsis touches before the calends of July,

and you, bold traveller, will reach the centre of the Earth;

which I, Arne Saknussemm have done.

What Axel fears becomes a reality. His uncle orders him to pack both their trunks for their trip to the centre of the earth. Lidenbrock intends to repeat what Saknussemm did three centuries before. Axel doesn’t want to go on the trip but he doesn’t know how to stand up to his uncle. To go to the centre of the earth they have to travel to Iceland and go into a volcano that is presumed to be extinct – the last eruption was in 1219, and this is 1863. To recreate the Saknussemm’s journey they have to be at a certain point the last days of June so they can see where the sun’s shadow fall to direct their path.

Axel leaves the house for a walk, and meets Gräuben, his fiancée. Lidenbrock is also Gräuben’s guardian. Axel complains to her about what his uncle is asking of him and she encourages him to make the journey and when he returns they will marry. They have hidden their engagement from the professor because they do not think he will approve of their relationship.

While Axel is on his walk the professor is busy preparing for his trip and he is very thorough about his geological and other needs for the adventure. The uncle tells him not to disclose to anyone what they are doing. A friend, Mr Christiensen, the Danish consul in Hamburg provides a letter of introduction to Professor Thomsen in Copenhagen, who in turn will provide a letter of introduction to the Governor of Iceland. In Copenhagen, the professor thinks it will be great practice for their trip to climb to the top of a church spire, and this is a good idea because it helps to ease Axel’s vertigo after doing that for five days.

Professor Thomsen gives them letters of introductions to Count Trampe, the Governor of Iceland, Mr Pictursson, the bishop’s suffragan, and Mr Finsen, the mayor of Reykjavik. When they get to Iceland, the bishop is away, but the two are treated warmly by the governor and mayor. They also meet Mr Fridriksson, the science teacher at the Reykjavik school.

Mr Fridriksson recommends Hans Bjelke to be their guide to travel to Snaeffel. At this point, the professor still has not disclosed the real reason for his trip. The way that Jules Verne tells the story, you feel like you are right there with the characters. The guide doesn’t know exactly what the trip is about until the very end and he is okay with that. Hans is very calm and cool and the only thing he asks of the professor is that he be paid every Saturday at 6 pm. When the professor offered to pay in advance he refused.

The journey is not a smooth one, and perilous at many stages, and they never would have made it without the assistance of their guide. Axel and Lidenbrock are at opposite poles, one very pessimistic and the other very optimistic. What I liked about the book is that the characters evolved during the story. You also get glimpses of the professor’s humanity and love for Axel. For instance, when Axel gets separated from his uncle and their guide, the professor never stops looking until he finds his nephew. When he finds Axel he shows so much compassion, which is unusual for him.

Along the way, they find signs of Saknussemm so they know they are on the right track. There are frustrating times as well. In one instance they are sailing on a raft and end up where they started. And that turns out to be a blessing for them because they discover Saknussem’s knife. In the end, they never get to the centre of the earth, instead they end up in an active volcano, which spits them out in Stromboli, Italy.

By the time they return to Hamburg, Germany months after they left, the maid Martha, has told several people about their trip. Lidenbrock gets the acclaim he was seeking.

7 Major Lessons from Journey to the Centre of the Earth  by Jules Verne

• New theories replace older ones.
• Science is always improving.
• At time in our lives we have to decide which path to take.
• If you take the wrong path and realize it, do not continue down that road, retrace your steps.
• Facts replace theories.
• What one man has done another may do.
• Even if you feel as if you cannot go any further, if you push yourself, you’ll find that you can go a bit further.
• The best laid plans go awry.
• Flexibility is necessary to adapt to changing circumstances.

When reading classics and other well written books, it’s important not to just focus on the story, but also focus on what you can learn from the characters. Otto Lidenbrock demonstrates the importance of knowing about, and understanding your field. He knew which geological instruments to take on the journey and was able to properly prepare for the trip. He was also an expert in his field – he knew more than the fundamentals, which served him well.

Conclusion: Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne

In Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne there were some excellent debating scenes where Axel poses an objection and the professor provides scientific reason. And even if it is now known that some of the science in the book is inaccurate, you will learn how to debate an issue.

I recommend Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth .  Participate in the  Read the World Facebook Group ! Please take the conversation to my   Facebook page .

Documentary: Prophets of Science Fiction – Episode 6 – Jules Verne

Avil's Side Hustle: Short e-Books to Help You Get the Most Out of Your Reading

About the author  avil beckford.

Hello there! I am Avil Beckford, the founder of The Invisible Mentor. I am also a published author, writer, expert interviewer host of The One Problem Podcast and MoreReads Success Blueprint, a movement to help participants learn in-demand skills for future jobs. Sign-up for MoreReads: Blueprint to Change the World today! In the meantime, Please support me by buying my e-books Visit My Shop , and thank you for connecting with me on LinkedIn , Facebook , Twitter and Pinterest !

Enjoyed this article?

Find more great content here:

The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov, Summary

Curate this: the hands-on, how-to guide to content curation by steven rosenbaum, the power of noticing by max bazerman, summary.

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne: Book Review

Journey to the center of the Earth is a classic science fiction novel written by Jules Verne. This book was first published in French in 1864 and then in English in 1871. So, it’s more than 150 years old and is still a very interesting read.

Journey to the Center of the Earth is the story of Professor Liedenbrock and his nephew Axel. The inciting incident of the story is when Professor Liedenbrock finds a coded note on a runic manuscript. And when they deciphered this 16 th -century code, they found a secret, information about a volcanic tube in a mountain of Iceland that goes to the center of the earth. So, that’s how their journey begins, journey to the center of the earth.

I had watched the 2008 movie The Journey to the Center of the Earth when I was in std. 8 th , seven years ago. This movie is not entirely based on the book but used it as an inspiration. But as always, the book has more details and fun than the movie.

The story has three major characters, professor Liedenbrock, his nephew Axel and a servant named Hans, who accompanied them in their journey. The story has first-person narration, narrated by Axel. The paperback edition of this book has a total of 240 pages, and you would be able to finish it within a week, considering an average reader. The language is simple.

If I talk about what I liked in the Journey to the Center of the Earth , I liked the scientific concepts Jules Verne used to write the story. The scientific details and arguments are so persuasive that, for once, I even believed that the story is based on real events, and it is possible to travel to the center of the earth. Well, of course, it’s not possible.

I loved the way Jules Verne started the story, a coded message in an ancient language found in an ancient book that shows them the path to the center of the planet. This really made it more exciting. I don’t know; ancient things always make a story more interesting.

The second half of the book is very adventurous; here, they discover incredible things, face life-threatening dangers, and this is where I found the real fun of reading this. I felt each and every place that was described in the book as if I was also with them.

“While there is life there is hope. I beg to assert…that as long as a man’s heart beats, as long as a man’s flesh quivers, I do not allow that a being gifted with thought and will can allow himself to despair.” ― Jules Verne, Journey to the Center of the Earth

The characters are well designed with their specific weaknesses. For example, professor Liedenbrock had this weakness: he was very impatient, stubborn, and short-tempered.

However, the characters are not so realistic. You can’t expect an aged professor to climb miles down the earth smoothly with the help of ropes. The character of Hans was also unrealistic in the sense that he was emotionless, with no fear, no excitement, no happiness, nothing, although he was going to the center of the earth. It seemed as if Hans had already been to the center several times before. In addition, the first half of the book is somewhat slow and contains unnecessary details; it would have been better if it was written in condensed form.

But The Journey to the Center of the Earth was written in the 1860s, and for that time, writing this type of story is really unbelievable. The book was certainly ahead of its time. You will love this book if you are interested in especially in geology, biology, and physics. But, even if you are not interested in these subjects, you would still find it interesting because the science of the story is not so heavy.

This evergreen book can be read by children as well as adults. All said, I would recommend this book if you want to read a captivating science-fiction or an adventurous book.

4 thoughts on “Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne: Book Review”

Pingback: Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan: Book Review - Expords

Excellent post. I am going through a few of these issues as well..

I also read this book . It is too exciting and adventurous

Yeah, Journey to the Center of the Earth is really an exciting read.

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Let’s Connect

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Jules verne, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

In May 1863, Axel lives in Hamburg, Germany with his uncle, Professor Otto Lidenbrock , who is an eccentric geologist. Lidenbrock shows Axel an old Icelandic book, and a piece of parchment falls out with a coded message written in runes. Lidenbrock becomes obsessed with deciphering the message until Axel stumbles upon the solution by chance. The message is from Arne Saknussemm , a 16th-century Icelandic alchemist, and describes how he traveled to the center of the earth.

Lidenbrock is eager to follow Saknussemm’s instructions to the center of the earth, but Axel has no desire to join his uncle on this dangerous adventure. Lidenbrock believes that the earth’s core is not a burning core of fusion, as is commonly accepted, and he hopes that this journey will prove his theory. Axel, though, does believe in a burning core, and he sees the journey as almost certainly fatal. However, he agrees to accompany his uncle when his fiancée, Gräuben , suggests that the expedition might help Axel grow more independent from his uncle.

Lidenbrock and Axel travel to Iceland, where Saknussemm’s instructions begin. They hire Hans Bjelke , an Icelandic eider-duck hunter, to guide them on the expedition. The three men then travel to the Icelandic volcano Snäffel. They travel down a volcanic chimney and enter a series of subterranean tunnels. Both Axel and Lidenbrock find evidence for their respective theories regarding the earth’s core.

Two days into the journey, Lidenbrock leads the men down the wrong path and refuses to admit his error. They run out of water, and on the way back along the path, Axel faints from dehydration. He begs Lidenbrock to call off the expedition, but Lidenbrock refuses. They continue walking and hear a subterranean spring in the walls. Hans breaks through the wall with a pickaxe, allowing them access to a spring they name the Hansbach in his honor. They follow the Hansbach further down into the earth. Axel loses his way and becomes separated from Hans and Lidenbrock for several days. By the time he reunites with them, Hans and Lidenbrock have discovered a massive underground cavern that contains a forest, ocean, and clouds. It is lit by a “continuous aurora borealis.”

Hans builds the men a raft, and they embark across the ocean. As they sail, they witness a plesiosaurus and an ichthyosaurus (prehistoric marine reptiles) fighting each other amid the waves. A few days into the journey, a hurricane destroys the raft and sends the men back to the shore they set off from. Along the coast, Lidenbrock and Axel discover a collection of fossilized dinosaur bones from the tertiary period, and they discover human bones among them. They continue walking and see a giant man herding a flock of mastodons and mammoths. Lidenbrock and Axel leave without disturbing the giant and find a tunnel marked with Arne Saknussemm’s initials. Axel is excited to find proof that they are on Saknussemm’s path, and he suggests blowing up the rocks that obstruct the tunnel. When they do, the sea rushes into the tunnel to fill the space, pulling the men and their raft down into a seemingly endless abyss. As they fall, the men lose their provisions, leaving them without food.

The raft falls into a waterspout that pushes it upwards. As the raft continues to rise, the men realize they are inside a volcanic chimney. The volcano expels them, and the men find themselves on Stromboli, a volcanic island off the coast of Sicily. After this adventure, Hans returns to Iceland, while Lidenbrock and Axel return to Germany. Lidenbrock achieves glory and esteem in the scientific community, while Axel happily marries Gräuben.

• Literature & Fiction
• Action & Adventure

Buy new: .savingPriceOverride { color:#CC0C39!important; font-weight: 300!important; } .reinventMobileHeaderPrice { font-weight: 400; } #apex_offerDisplay_mobile_feature_div .reinventPriceSavingsPercentageMargin, #apex_offerDisplay_mobile_feature_div .reinventPricePriceToPayMargin { margin-right: 4px; } $8.14 $ 8 . 14 FREE delivery May 17 - 20 Ships from: YourOnlineBookstore Sold by: YourOnlineBookstore

Save with used - like new .savingpriceoverride { color:#cc0c39important; font-weight: 300important; } .reinventmobileheaderprice { font-weight: 400; } #apex_offerdisplay_mobile_feature_div .reinventpricesavingspercentagemargin, #apex_offerdisplay_mobile_feature_div .reinventpricepricetopaymargin { margin-right: 4px; } $6.04 $ 6 . 04 free delivery may 20 - 24 ships from: thriftbooks-dallas sold by: thriftbooks-dallas.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Journey to the Center of the Earth Paperback – November 6, 2018

Purchase options and add-ons.

• Print length 146 pages
• Language English
• Publication date November 6, 2018
• Dimensions 6.25 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches
• ISBN-10 1505573947
• ISBN-13 978-1505573947
• See all details

Similar items that may ship from close to you

Editorial Reviews

About the author, product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (November 6, 2018)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 146 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1505573947
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1505573947
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches
• #23,395 in Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Action Fiction (Books)
• #26,256 in Children's Science Fiction & Fantasy

Customer reviews

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• Amazon Newsletter
• About Amazon
• Accessibility
• Sustainability
• Press Center
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell on Amazon
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Supply to Amazon
• Protect & Build Your Brand
• Become an Affiliate
• Become a Delivery Driver
• Start a Package Delivery Business
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Become an Amazon Hub Partner
• › See More Ways to Make Money
• Amazon Visa
• Amazon Store Card
• Amazon Secured Card
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Credit Card Marketplace
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Amazon Prime
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

• Project Gutenberg
• 73,531 free eBooks
• 175 by Jules Verne

A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne

Read now or download (free!)

Similar books, about this ebook.

• Privacy policy
• About Project Gutenberg
• Terms of Use
• Contact Information