The Invention of Free Press: Writers and Censorship in Eigteenth Century Europe: 2016
Book
Tracking the relationship between the theory of press control and the realities of practicing daily...
Rain Radar Ireland Free
Weather and Utilities
App
Rain Radar Ireland is your specialised animated weather resource for: - Tracking Rain and Storms...
Speed cameras and red lights
Navigation and Travel
App
Map with all the fixed and mobile speed cameras, speed traps and red light cameras. The map has one...
50 Museums to Blow Your Mind
Lonely Planet and Ben Handicott
Book
Thank the stars for the world's eccentric collectors; hoarders of objects beautiful, strange or...
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated The Uparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall in Books
Nov 28, 2019
The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall was written in 1835 and is a short story containing much that would later be labelled science fiction, The titular character lives in the Netherlands and disappears one day. Five years later a strange balloon-like craft appears and it's equally odd occupant hands the Mayor of Rotterdam a message from Hans Pfaall. The bulk of the story is the content of the message, where he describes constructing and flying a hot air balloon to the moon.
The adventure is told with a fantastic eye for detail and with a great deal of scientific descriptions of how the atmosphere thins, how much of the earth is visible and other such observations. He carries a cat and two birds (which don't fare well for various reasons). The ending and what it very strongly suggests probably won't come as a great surprise.
The language is sometimes a little obscure (it was written nearly 200 years ago, to put it in perspective) but the actual story is surprisingly modern, and some of the facts (such as the distance of the moon) must have been almost incredible to the audience at the time and perhaps education is as much the intention of the story as the entertainment value it contains.
This is a fairly straightforward tale for Poe but interesting because of the subject matter and the way it is dealt with. Perhaps one for science fiction fans rather than as an example of the author's work. Still a good read, and some of the of the hardships Pfaall describes and his solutions may well prompt a smile on the face of the reader.
Recommended? Maybe not. But still not a bad little short story.
Regenmelding
Weather and Utilities
App
Never stand in the rain again! Rain Alert sends you a push notification when it is going to rain at...
Rekenblobs Tafels - rekenen oefenen thuis en op school
Education and Games
App
An adaptive practice programme to learn the multiplication tables 1 to 10. Designed for iPad and...
iURO Prostate
Medical and Education
App
iURO prostate is the must-have app for all urology healthcare professionals and students that are...
IKEA SmartList Pro
Lifestyle and Utilities
App
Improve your IKEA shopping experience with SmartList IKEA (unofficial)! Throw away those pencils and...
