Originally Posted by HarryT
I'd like to nominate an absolutely wonderful adventure story: Jules Verne's "The Mysterious Island".
Summary:
During the American civil war, five men escape from captivity in the Confederacy by hot air balloon. A storm blows up, and they are swept out to sea, eventually finishing up on a seemingly uninhabited island, with no resources other than a few odds and ends they have in their pockets. The book tells the story of how they manage to survive on the island using only their skills and knowledge.
The island, however, has a deeper mystery. The men are helped by a mysterious unseen agent from time to time, and the sub-plot of the novel is their attempt to discover the truth behind this mystery. The book has a real "sting in the tale" ending; I'd strongly recommend that you DON'T read any detailed summary of it prior to reading it, or it'll spoil the ending for you.
This is my favourite of Jules Verne's novels by far. It was, you may be interested to know, the inspiration behind the TV series "Lost".
I thoroughly recommend this book! It's available for free download here at MR, and is in the public domain everywhere.
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