The mysterious island
by Jules Verne · first published 1895
63% recommend35% neutral2% critical
Why HN recommends it
Castaway adventure in which stranded men rebuild civilization from nothing, making tools, gunpowder, a telegraph and a boat. Loved for sparking an interest in engineering and chemistry, especially among young readers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
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Jules Verne's "The Mysterious Island" was how I got interested in tech around the age of 6. I devoured all of his books that I could find after that and it was my introduction to geology ("Journey to the Center of the Earth"), geography…
on “Jules Verne’s Most Famous Books Were Part of a 54-Volume Masterpiece” ↗…this series tho'. if anyone else has any other recommendations in same genre of time travel and re-booting up civilisation it be great to hear! I always found the genre interesting since Jules Verne's Mysterious Island https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32831.The_Mysterious_Isl...
on “1632 by Eric Flint (2000)” ↗I've just been going over all the stuff I read in 2013[1], and I particularly enjoyed a few recommendations that I got from HN last year including the Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Grant and The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne. However, I'm looking at my To-Read List now and I'm shrugging my shoulders. I suspect there's a lot of good ideas out there and more like me who need something good to start the new year…
on “Ask HN: Book recommendations for 2014?” ↗Two really good literature treatments of your fantasy are Mark Twain's Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and Jules Verne's Mysterious Island. They both have as major plot elements a character who has a lot of knowledge of fabrication techniques, and recreate their technology in a primitive situation (one involves time travel, the other is…
on “Why It Took So Long to Invent the Wheel (2012)” ↗The Mysterious Island - Jules Verne. Probably my first favorite book, which I've read about 10 or 12 times in my life. Just re-read it again a few weeks ago. Never gets old. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mysterious_Island…
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in 2012” ↗Yeah, Jules Verne was awesome. His stuff is fairly popular here in the US as well, although I can't compare to how popular he was elsewhere. I read several of his books when I was younger. The Mysterious Island was always my favorite.
on “Books geeks should read to their kids” ↗Alternatively - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mysterious_Island by Jules Verne Stranded fellas go from absolute zero to civilized dwelling using nothing but natural island resources and some good old chemical and mechanical engineering. Includes complete walk-throughs…
on “The Martian started as a self-published blog, and became a major motion picture” ↗…occasional re-read (if not yearly) The Soul of a New Machine - Kidder Hackers - Levy False Memory - Dean Koontz The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand Neuromancer - William Gibson Nineteen Eighty-Four - Orwell The Mysterious Island - Jules Verne
on “Ask HN: What books do you recommend reading once a year?” ↗The Bible. Mysterious Island (1874), Around the World in Eighty Days (1873), and other books by Jules Verne. Books by James Fenimore Cooper. The Sea-Wolf (1904) by Jack London. The Count of Monte Cristo (1844) by Alexandre Dumas.…
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books or essays written at least 100 years ago?” ↗"The Mysterious Island". It was my first book by Jules Verne, and it striked me with it's utter realism. Most his other books, like "20000 leagues under sea" or "Journey to the center of the Earth" are based on a fictional…
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗Huh... tough call. If you use "number of times read" as a metric that approximates how much I enjoy a particular book, then my favorite is almost certainly one of: - Neuromancer by William Gibson - The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne - False Memory by Dean Koontz I think a good case could be made for a handful of others also. Specifically: - Nineteen Eighty Four by Orwell - The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand - Foundation…
on “Ask HN: What is your favorite fiction book?” ↗…imagination at work, but this does not equate to be motivating. So in this light the question is not that simple at all. I'm very curious to see if there's an answer to it :) (edit) Got it ! Jules Verne, The Mysterious Island. I read when I was 14-15 years old and the amount, details and clarity of science exposure in the book was really astounding. In a very positive, inspiring way.
on “Ask YC: What's the most inspiring sci-fi book you've read?” ↗Fictional but a great read : in Jules Verne's Mysterious Island the heroes precisely have to make their tools, clothes, etc from scratch, up to a house, a telegraph and a boat :) a hacker's dream.
on “Guy makes a knife from scratch. He has to make a smelter first.” ↗…the Tom Swift Jr.[2] books, the The Three Investigators[3] books, and the Encyclopedia Brown[4] series. Edit: Remembered a few other suggestions... Pretty much anything by Jules Verne, especially The Mysterious Island. Definitely some HG Wells, and definitely some Choose Your Own Adventure books (anybody remember The Cave of Time?) Glad to see A Wrinkle in Time and The Mad Scientists Club on the list. Those were…
on “Books geeks should read to their kids” ↗Here's more interesting material: Jules Verne's "They Mysterious Island" http://archive.org/details/mysterious_island_ms_librivox Walter M. Miller's "A Canticle for Leibowitz" http://archive.org/details/ACanticleForLiebowitz
on “Isaac Asimov - The Foundation Trilogy” ↗