Had the opportunity to ask the author ,French Count Gonzaque St Bris , to autograph the book for me after his lecture in Lafayette, Louisiana. He pointed out some of the highlights of the book when talking about the Marquis de Lafayette. He mentions that Leonardo Da Vinci (whose home the Count lives in currently in France) designed and built a home for King Francois that had a telephone/intercom system, doors that opened automatically and an indoor water system in the late 1400s. He compares the inventiveness of Jules Verne to Leonardo Da Vinci on many levels. The book is an easy read and very interesting.