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| Book Cover via Amazon.com |
Fellow readers of my reviews, if you never read the most glorious book of sea and discovery, “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea” than my friend you are missing out. I remember the words, I remember the story that I read and heard in my youth. I remember this read to me long ago, and it stays still on my mind. The sea and that ship were the most amazing scientific discoveries this girl could imagine.
I have a review, not of that classic book, but instead, a kindred spirit. Didn’t you always want to know if the Nautilus could actually be built? I did. Come join me on a review of “The Design and Construction of the Nautilus.” By Demetri Capetanopoulos.
Opinion
If someone handed you the plans to build your imagination kingdom, would you take them? That’s what happened to me. Demetri Capetanopoulos’s team of awesome helpers contacted me and asked me for an honest book review, and I am happy they did. I got the book, and I cannot begin to explain what a journey this took me on back threw my imagination.
First impressions of “The Design and Construction of the Nautilus”, it is one of the most beautiful covers I’ve ever seen, and the inside is just as breathtaking. This is a book that has a single purpose, to bring logic and engineering to the imagination which was birthed by Jules Verne in 1870. Five years after the Civil War had ended in America, we had our first taste of magic from one of the fathers of Science Fiction. Regrettably, I've heard it said that Science Fiction is only about space, and my argument against that misunderstanding comes with “Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea.” So this book, “Design and Construction of the Nautilus” is the plans to build a space ship of the sea.
As a reader, upon opening “The Design and Construction of the Nautilus”, I was transported to a world of wonder. Before me lay the engineering plans of the one sea vessel that I feel surpasses all others in both myth, history and fiction. As you flip the pages, you see newspaper articles, pictures, diagrams, mathematical equations for pressures and density and so much more. To all of my friends who love building models, or who love math, this is the book for you. This is figuring out how to build the ship of your dreams.
I contend, “The Design and Construction of the Nautilus” put any plans for the Death Star or any other major sci-fi ship on pause. Not only does this go from compartment to compartment, but there are also even side views and how the rivets should be fastened, all the little details that one would need to build up their own Nautilus.
Critiques! What is there to critique a book about my dreams? The critique falls into the “Lost in Translation” section. Specifically, I am not an engineer, nor was I a sailor, nor in the navy. I had to look up stuff to understand some of the terms. This is a breathtakingly minor issue on this critique. This isn’t one of those times where I had to research policy or convention, and it simply was Googling some nautical terms. Most of the terms you need though are in the book, which is why this is not going to fall heavy on the points.
Let’s go into the part of the review where I talk about what I truly enjoyed about “The Design and Construction of the Nautilus”. There are so many beautiful explanations on why or what something could be in regard to the construction. “The Design and Construction of the Nautilus” references Verne, then explains how that works in the drawing of the plans. Upon reading the explanations, one discovers why specific elements are important to the plans and what that means if the ship was going to run. For example, there is a small bit about the hull, and it explains the dual hull situation with Verne’s concept. I learned so much about density and pressure of water. I even learned that Verne forgot to reference the difference in weight between freshwater and seawater. Who would have thought of that back in days long ago? Well apparently Verne didn’t, but he did talk about other aspects of the calculations that would lead to the need to know how much water weighs.
The other part of “The Design and Construction of the Nautilus” that I like, I’m not a genius, but I feel this entertained me while it educated me. There are pictures and articles mixed with the old novel, as well as the explanations. The legend on the drawings that explain what goes where are precise but lovely and do not block my understanding of what I’m reading. The pacing, therefore, just on what Dimitri wrote is spot on, and as you discover things, there is a natural sort of tension to it. The tension though isn't like dynamic story scene tension where you are taken to a new world in a scene. Instead, it’s what your mind does as it takes the information in and you consider making your sub someday.
“The Design and Construction of the Nautilus” can take a reader's imagination to dream of things that might be impossible to some, but the imagination runs free with those dreams. I hope that this is in libraries all over the world get this book, and put it next to Verne’s classic. I would love to see what the fuel from these plans gives to the imaginations of the future. It makes the classic book better to read this too, and it makes it fun. Mister Demetri Capetanopoulos deserves a commendation for such a unique and fine work he has done with this beautiful book.
Score
“The Design and Construction of the Nautilus” is going in the “Mrs. Y Recommends” pile my friends, and it’s got a 99/100 from me.
It’s a beautiful book, it’s an informative book, and it’s a creative use of logic. I highly recommend this book if you have someone in your life who loves the sea, sci-fi, or even engineering. As far as coffee-table books, this should be the King of the pile, and it’s just breathtaking. If you have someone who loves beautiful looking books, this also should go there too. But mostly, give this to a little girl or a little boy who loves to build their imaginations and show them the structure, and read this to them with “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea.” Let that child use this to fuel their imagination on how to build that perfect tree house or something they enjoy in their heads. We as a people will be better for it!
