HJ Kirchhoff, The Globe and Mail, 2 March 2002

The Mysterious Island, by Jules Verne, translated by Sidney Kravitz, Wesleyan University Press, 676 pages, $27.95

This is the newest entry in Wesleyan's Early Classics of Science Fiction series. The story pits five men (and a dog) against the elements when they are swept away in a balloon to a deserted ocean island, forming a microscosm of the concerns and issues of 19th-century Western society. It comes in a brand-new translation by Sidney Kravits [sic], who devoted 14 years to the task, bringing the language of Verne's 1875 classic up to date. As well, scholar William Butcher (himself a noted Verne translator) provides an informative introduction and annotation.