The first book in the volume is Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. The twenty thousand leagues was the distance traveled in the Nautilus while Professor Aronnax, Conseil and Ned Land were aboard, not the depth they dove to. I think the book contains the best example of pragmatism one could hope for:

"If you're invited to hunt bears in the Swiss mountains, you might say, "Oh, good. I get to go bear hunting tomorrow!" If you're invited to hunt lions in the Atlas plains you might say, "Ha! Now's my chance to hunt lions and tigers!" But if you're invited to hunt sharks in their native element, you might want to think it over before accepting."

While it was a great adventure story it also read like a course in marine biology with endless lists of species seen and their classifications. ( )