Jules Verne, born at Nantes, France, in 1828, of legal and seafaring stock, was the author of innumerable adventure stories that combined a vivid imagination with a gift for popularizing science. Although he studied law at Paris, he devoted his life entirely to writing. His most popular stories, besides "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1870), include: "Five Weeks in a Balloon" (1863), "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (1864), "A Trip to the Moon" (1865), "Around the World in Eighty Days" (1872), and "Michael Strogoff" (1876). In addition, he was the author of a number of successful plays, as well as a popular history of exploration from Phoenician times to the mid-nineteenth century, "The Discovery of the Earth" (1878-80). After a long and active career in literature, Jules Verne died at Amiens, France, in 1905.Isaac Asimov authored over 400 books in a career that lasted nearly 50 years. As a leading scientific writer, historian, and futurist, he covered a variety of subjects ranging from mathematics to humor, and won numerous awards for his work.