Jules Verne helped predict world’s future

In 1863, the great novelist Jules Verne undertook perhaps his most ambitious project. He wrote a prophetic novel called “Paris in the Twentieth Century,” in which he applied the full power of his enormous talents to forecast the coming century,

Unfortunately, the manuscript was lost in the midst of time until his great grandson accidentally stumbled upon it lying in a safe, where it had been carefully locked away for almost 130 years. Realizing what a treasure he had found, he arranged to have it published in 1994, and it became a best seller.

Set in the futuristic Paris of the 1960s, the novel follows a young poet who remains a misfit in a cold, mechanized world obsessed with technology, business and efficiency. It’s a world where the arts, classic and genuine human connection are lost, forcing him to struggle to find meaning and work in a society that devalues poetry and classical learning.

Back in 1863 when Verne wrote that story, kings and emperors still ruled ancient empires with impoverished peasants performing back-breaking work tilling the fields. Meanwhile, the United States was consumed by a ruinous civil war that would almost tear the country apart. Steam power was just beginning to revolutionize the world.

“The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education,” said Albert Einstein.

– Rhonda O’Hanley, Glenns Ferry