The American Civil War had ended, and the members of the American Gun
Club tried to think of something else to interest them. At last they
came up with the extraordinary idea of building the greatest cannon the
world had ever seen and using it to launch a man-made "bullet" to the
moon! When From the Earth to the Moon was published in 1865, it was
regarded as pure fantasy. Who could imagine a rocket that would carry
men and animals through space? Today, like so many of Jules Verne's
prophecies, space travel is a reality.