Mariner Books
Marco Polo: The Journey That Changed the World
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"I have read everything written on Marco Polo, and John Man's book is, by far, my favorite work on the subject. It's not only an over-due and important historical study, it's an entertaining ride every step of the way." — John Fusco, Creator of the Netflix original series Marco Polo
The true history behind the Netflix original series Marco Polo, here is the remarkable story of the world's most famous traveler, retracing his legendary journey from Venice to China, the moment East first met West.
In 1271, a young Italian merchant named Marco Polo embarked on a groundbreaking expedition from Venice, through the Middle East and Central Asia to China. His extraordinary reports of his experiences introduced medieval Europe to an exotic new world of emperors and concubines, amazing cities, huge armies, unusual spices and cuisine, and imperial riches. Marco Polo also revealed the wonders of Xanadu, the summer capital of Mongol emperor Kublai Khan.
Almost 750 years later, acclaimed author John Man traveled in Marco Polo's footsteps to Xanadu then on to Beijing and through modern China in search of the history behind the legend. In this enthralling chronicle, Man draws on his own journey, new archaeological findings, and deep archival study to paint a vivid picture of Marco Polo and the great court of Kublai Khan.
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Book Details
ISBN:
9780062375070
EAN:
9780062375070
Binding:
Paperback
Pages:
400
Authors:
John Man
Publisher:
Mariner Books
Published Date: 2014-11-11
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Provived some interesting base line information on a subject that I knew little about. The book is a mix of travel log and history. From reading the book, not sure if there is a book that provides more information on Polo's actual travels as it appears that multiple translations are used as inputs in this volume. If you're looking for a starting point on Polo's travels, start here.
My whole perspective of Marco Polo's legacy was completely changed after reading this book. John Man does an excellent job of synthesizing the immense plethoria of the conflicting information about Marco Polo into one comprehensive enlightening book while addressing the modern rumors about his journey.In Venice, we can see the bust of Marco Polo. He leaves for the Far East in his late teens with his father and uncle. When he returns in his early 40s, he goes on to have a long sucessful career as a merchant banker. Although we credit him with "Silk Road" discoveries, he travelled very little of what we define today as the Silk Road - Bukhara, Samarkand, Ferghana Valley - due to great destruction by Genghis Khan in the previous century. Modern rumors have it that he never went to China because he does not mention the Great Wall. Others say he went as far as Madagascar as he returns to Europe by ship as he escorts a Eastern princess to her wedding in Persia. How do we sort this out? First written before the invention of the printing press, which of the more than 150 versions of his book holds the truth? English speakers learned early from Coldridge's 1797 opium infused poem about Xanadu. Where is the truth there?The author visits many Marco Polo sites throughout the narrative which made the book especially interesting to someone who loves to travel. Other reviewers of this book seemed to want a more technical purer history - most of which in tedious and incomplete since they lack intrepretation. At the end he also talks about the many movie intrepretations of this amazing journey.When looking for a Marco Polo book, most are for kids. This is for adults who love visiting the history of their travels. It is a comfortable print size and includes excellent maps and descriptions and picture inserts of those places today.
I APPRECIATED THE depth OF RESEARCH along with quotes from the original text or other sources.The personal on site comments made the piece livelier.It was enlightening to discover what in Marco Polo’s book would have been real or close to real and what was later proved erroneous or false..I would have expected more maps or illustrations.
Very enjoyable. It is a pleasure to read a history of Marco Polo's Journey in the language of today instead of ancient times. John Man has made it so enjoyable and corresponds with other histories of the Silk Road with Peter Hopkirk's two books Foreign Devils on the Silk Road and Trespassers on the Roof of the World as well as describing China in that time.Glenis
I expected more about him not just where he was.
