Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu

Author: Laurence Bergreen
Publisher: Knopf
Category: Book

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Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

25 reviews
Sales Rank: 60160

Media: Hardcover
Pages: 432
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.5

ISBN: 140004345X
Dewey Decimal Number: 910.4
EAN: 9781400043453
ASIN: 140004345X

Publication Date: October 23, 2007
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Condition: Ex-Lib ....Hard Cover BOOK with dust jacket is very clean and beautiful , .Except library marked .***** We process orders promptly (out from California within same business day or 24 hrs), bubble wrapped for protection and inform u with delivery tracking number *****.

Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com Review
Drawing on original writings and walking in the footsteps of Marco Polo himself, Laurence Bergreen's iMarco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu/i is the most definitive biography of the legendary traveler to date, separating the man from his considerable myth. p/ Look inside iMarco Polo/i (Click on thumbnails to see a larger image):br/br/ center table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="10" width="95%" tr td width="33%" centerimg border="0" src="http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/books/promos/a-plus/marco_1s.jpg" /td td width="33%" centerimg border="0" src="http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/books/promos/a-plus/marco_2s.jpg" /td td width="33%" centerimg border="0" src="http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/books/promos/a-plus/marco_3s.jpg" /td /tr tr tdcenterMarco Polo: a traditional portrait; Granger/td tdcenterFrontispiece of an early published edition of Marco Polo s Travels, Nuremberg, Germany, 1477; Granger/td tdcenterKublai Khan, emperor of the world s largest land-based empire; Granger/td /tr tr td width="33%" centerimg border="0" src="http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/books/promos/a-plus/marco_4s.jpg" /td td width="33%" centerimg border="0" src="http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/books/promos/a-plus/marco_5s.jpg" /td td width="33%" centerimg border="0" src="http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/books/promos/a-plus/marco_6s.jpg" /td /tr tr tdcenterMarco Polo commanded a Venetian galley similar to this in the Battle of Curzola; Granger/td tdcenterStone carving on the Marco Polo bridge; Laurence Bergreen/td tdcenterMarco Polo s vivid and occasionally misinterpreted descriptions of his travels inspired this medieval artist to depict dragons in China; Granger/td /tr /table /center br/br/ bMarco Polo timeline (All dates given in the Julian calendar):/b p/ b1215/b - Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan and Marco Polo's mentor, is born. p/ b1254/b - Marco Polo born in Venice, although one tradition locates his birthplace in the Venetian colony of Dalmatia. p/ b1260/b - Kublai Khan becomes leader of the Mongols and in 1271 founds the Yuan ("Origin") Dynasty. p/ b1271/b - Young Marco Polo leaves Venice with his father Niccolo and uncle Maffeo, bound for the court of Kublai Khan. p/ b1274/b - Kublai Khan oversees a failed Mongol invasion of Japan, as the Mongols, masters of the Steppe, meet their match at sea. p/ b1275/b - The three Polos arrive in Shang-du, Kublai Khan's summer palace immortalized by Samuel Taylor Coleridge as Xanadu; Marco begins his years in the service of the Khan. p/ b1276 - 1293/b - Marco travels throughout Asia, reaching the coast of India, and possibly Zanzibar, gathering intelligence for Kublai Khan and serving as a tax collector for the Yuan (Mongol) dynasty. p/ b1281/b - Kublai Khan's second failed invasion of Japan, a serious blow to his prestige. p/ b1292/b - The Polos escort Princess Kokachin to Persia to marry, their last formal service to Kublai Khan before departing. p/ b1294/b - Kublai Khan dies, freeing the Polo family, who undertake a dangerous return voyage by sea. p/ b1295/b - Marco, his father, and uncle, arrive in Venice after their 24-year absence. They have been away for so long that their fellow Venetians do not recognize them. p/ b1298/b - Marco is captured by the Genoese in the Battle of Curzola, according to some accounts, and confined to a cell in Genoa with a romance writer, Rustichello of Pisa, to whom he dictates his adventures in China, his reminiscences of Kublai Khan, his life among the Mongols. p/ b1300/b - Safely back in Venice, Marco Polo marries Donata Badoer; the couple has three daughters. p/ b1324/b - As manuscript versions of his exploits spread throughout Europe, Marco Polo dies in Venice, claiming that he did not reveal the half of his experiences in his remarkable iTravels/i. br/br/ hr class="bucketDivider" noshade="true" size="1"

Product Description
pAs the most celebrated European to explore Asia, Marco Polo was the original global traveler and the earliest bridge between East and West. A universal icon of adventure and discovery, he has inspired six centuries of popular fascination and spurious mythology. Now, from the acclaimed author of iOver the Edge of the World: Magellan#8217;s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe/i (#8220;Superb . . . A first-rate historical page turner#8221;#8212;iThe New York Times/i)#8212;comes the first fully authoritative biography of one of the most enchanting figures in world history. In this masterly work, Marco Polo#8217;s incredible odyssey#8212;along the Silk Road and through all the fantastic circumstances of his life#8212;is chronicled in sumptuous and illuminating detail.brbrWe meet him as a callow young man, the scion of a wealthy Venetian merchant family, only seventeen when he sets out in 1271 with his father and uncle on their journey to Asia. We see him gain the confidence of Kublai Khan, the world#8217;s most feared and powerful leader, and watch him become a trusted diplomat and intelligence agent in the ruler#8217;s inner circle. We are privy to his far-flung adventures on behalf of the Khan, living among the Mongols and other tribes, and traveling to magical cities, some far advanced over the West. We learn the customs of the Khan#8217;s court, both erotic and mercantile, and Polo#8217;s uncanny ability to adapt to them. We follow him on his journey back to Venice, laden with riches, the latest inventions, and twenty-four years#8217; worth of extraordinary tales.brbrAnd we see his collaboration with the famed writer Rustichello of Pisa, who immediately saw in Polo the story of a lifetime; enlivened by his genius for observation, Polo#8217;s tales needed little embellishment. Recorded by Rustichello as the two languished as prisoners of war in a Genoese jail, thei Travels/i would explode the notion of non-Europeans as untutored savages and stand as the definitive description of China until the nineteenth century.brbrDrawing on original sources in more than half a dozen languages, and on his own travels along Polo#8217;s route in China and Mongolia, Bergreen explores the lingering controversies surrounding Polo#8217;s legend, settling age-old questions and testing others for significance. Synthesizing history, biography, and travelogue, this is the timely chronicle of a man who extended the boundaries of human knowledge and imagination. Destined to be the definitive account of its subject for decades to come, iMarco Polo/i takes us on a journey to the limits of history#8212;and beyond./p

Customer Reviews: Read 20 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars

Historical Accuracy? November 3, 2008
Joanne M. Mooney (Tarrytown, NY)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

After having read only about 50 pages of this book, I am seriously questioning the historical accuracy of it. I am an amateur of Medieval, and in particular Venetian, history and I find that Mr. Bergreen oversimplifies and generalizes some events and conditions of 13th C Europe to a bothering degree. For example, he paints the Venetians as merchants bent on warfare where most historical sources show that they preferred to carry on matters peacefully since that was, indeed, more profitable for business, and only engaged in warfare when they felt their business interests were threatened. He also portrays the city of Venice itself as a sinister place ripe with disease, corruption, social inequality, intrigue and abuse of women. What Mr. Bergreen fails to do is compare the conditions in Venice with other those in other European cities and states where they were no better, if not worse. In fact, in many ways 13th C Venice was arguably far more enlightened than many other places with its functioning republican government, its strong mechant marine, its developing business acumen and its strong international ties. These are just a few of the inaccuracies I found. br / br /My concerns being thus about the first part of the book, I am skeptical about the accuracy of what I am about to read - of which I have less thorough knowledge. I am afraid I will have to take it with the proverbial "grain of salt" and also keep in mind, as another reviewer has stated, that Marco Polo's memoirs were not intended as historical fact, but as engaging adventure tales told while he was in prison.

3 out of 5 stars

Interesting October 20, 2008
armchairinterviews.com (Minnesota)
Marco Polo was captured by the Genoese during the Battle of Curzola in 1298 and was confined in a comfortable prison where he and the other prisoners roamed freely. Here he met Rustichello, a romance author, and together they compiled and embellished Marco's travel stories. They both profited from this endeavor by entertaining guests to while away the time, and later for monetary rewards. This collection was called "Travels." br / br /Marco Polo's Travels, while based on his travels and the stories he heard on his travels, were never meant to be an accurate travelogue - these were stories to entertain the guests. As such, taking the Travels (of which there are several manuscripts often contradicting each other, rearranging the order of events and omitting events) as a factual account of Marco Polo's adventures is missing the point. It seems that this account is based on one of the more complete manuscripts and the text usually takes the manuscript at face value (often citing how the events could be true), except for a few well-known discrepancies. br / br /The text itself is choppy most probably because it closely mirrors the manuscripts, which lack a coherent structure, ramble on and notoriously jump from one topic to another. The writing is repetitious and focuses on details that do not readily fit into a coherent overarching structure. While a lot of research may have gone into exploring the subject matter, the final product falls short of an engaging narrative or an insightful critique. br / br /As far as the content is concerned, this book may be good at the high school level, but is not suitable at the college level. Unfortunately, the writing style poses additional challenges when approaching the text. A major oversight is the inexplicable absence of a single modern map. One would expect not only relevant maps, but also those showing the routes that Marco Polo claimed to have taken during his journeys. The book's attempt to add depth to Marco Polo's character, herald him as a forward-thinking globalist, pilgrim and explorer are less than convincing. br / br /Armchair Interviews says: Heed this reviewer's comments

4 out of 5 stars

Marco Polo's Journeys to the East August 3, 2008
R. DelParto (Virginia Beach, VA USA)
Laurence Bergreen's MARCO POLO: FROM VENICE TO XANADU is an interesting biography about the Venetian explorer and merchant, Marco Polo. Polo opened the doors for the Western world to sail into the Orient. Adapted from Polo's legendary journals, Bergreen revisits early western trade from Constantinople to China as well as the legendary Silk Road where Polo shared eye-opening observations that westerners may never imagined before; Polo is best known for bringing back rich spices, silk, and natural remedies to the West that greatly influenced European and Asian trade and culture. In addition, Bergreen uses references to Venetian, European, Asian, and Religious history that contributes to his narrative, which is helpful when understanding the entire scope of Polo's journeys. br / br /One of the interesting aspects of Bergreen's interpretation of Polo's enchanting journeys is his account of the meeting with Kublai Khan. Amazingly, Polo served as a Council to the Mongols, and Bergreen reveals the seventeen years in which Polo lived and experienced the most infamous Mongol Empire of the East. The book is not a lackadaisical retelling of the history of the Mongosl, but it is rather the relationship between East and West that became unified when Polo, his father, Niccolo, and brother, Maffeo, served as ambassadors to the West, were in presence of Kublai Khan's, and participated in his high court during China's Yuan Dynasty. br / br /Polo's journals have been considered a romanticized and sensationalized depiction of the East that has been widely read by many for centuries because of its mythical and folktale quality. However, Bergreen shows that his journeys are a symbol of early globalization that forged the way for trade and diplomacy to occur between two completely different civilizations. Polo unlocked the West's somewhat unknown knowledge of the East during the thirteenth century, which preceded maritime explorations that would occur in the fifteenth century.

3 out of 5 stars

unsophisticated analysis June 11, 2008
Henri IV (Paris, France)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful

The subject matter is interesting, but the narrative and analysis are on the level of a high-school report. The text is full of trite phrases and hackneyed expressions, and the author applies a modern-day slant to his assumptions. There is too much "it was as if..." and "he might have...." The illustrations are badly selected and not always relevant. The author uses quotations ineffectively. This book just didn't work for me.

5 out of 5 stars

An exotic jouney to the orient May 7, 2008
Robert Sandberg (NJ)
What an Excellent Read !!!!!!!!!! history, travelogue, adventure, biography ...................... totally fascinating, br / br /The new revelations on the life, times and travel of Marco, his father and uncle are mind boggling. Based on recent research, it turned out Marco wasn't just a b.s.'ing Venetian after all. br / br /From the great naval battle of Korcula to Marco's final days, this bio/adventure is hard to put down. The history involved, from the "Divine Wind" to Marco's visits to south east asia, india, socotra island .......... history of the great mongol empire, life and times of Kublai Khan, glimpses of the early christian church, voyages, intrepid travellers ....................... it is all here !! br / br / excellent read, rabbie b.

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