The discovery of a falling golden meteor and the race to find it form the core of this exciting tale from the master of science fiction, Jules Verne. An asteroid wanders into the earth's gravitational field and is spotted by two rival Virginia astronomers. The discovery becomes a worldwide sensation when it is announced that the asteroid is solid gold and is plummeting toward earth. The approaching disaster is brought on by the machinations of the brilliant but absent-minded French scientist and inventor Zephyrin Xirdal. Xirdal has invented a ray with which he pulls the golden asteroid from...

First published in 1990. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.