The Design and Construction of the Nautilus

Book excerpt: Is there anyone, of any age, who has read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and not sketched their vision of the Nautilus in their imagination or down on paper? For 150 years, the submarine created by Jules Verne has captivated readers and inspired countless interpretations. Jules Verne was meticulous about incorporating cutting-edge technology of his time and making reasonable extrapolations. The Design and Construction of the Nautilus takes Jules Verne's in-text descriptions, paired with extensive research on the technology of the time in which Verne's iconic book was written, and presents detailed construction plans, design notes, and operational theories based on modern submarine technologies. The Nautilus is more than just a 19th-century mechanical marvel. She has always represented the ultimate technological triumph over nature, a symbol of mankind's mastery of our domain, and the human desire to explore the unknown.