From the bestselling author of "Over the Edge of the World" comes the fascinating, definitive biography of one of the earliest world travelers. 24 pages of color illustrations and three maps.
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From the bestselling author of "Over the Edge of the World" comes the fascinating, definitive biography of one of the earliest world travelers. 24 pages of color illustrations and three maps.
Read Less
Add this copy of Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu to cart. $1.26, good condition, Sold by Gulf Coast Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Memphis, TN, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Add this copy of Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu to cart. $1.26, fair condition, Sold by Your Online Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Houston, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Vintage.
Add this copy of Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu to cart. $2.28, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Add this copy of Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu to cart. $2.28, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Add this copy of Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu to cart. $2.28, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Add this copy of Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu to cart. $2.28, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Add this copy of Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu to cart. $2.28, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Add this copy of Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu to cart. $2.28, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Add this copy of Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu to cart. $2.28, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
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Seller's Description:
The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.
Anyone who has read The Travels of Marco Polo and wondered what is fact and what is fantasy should enjoy reading Laurence Bergreen's lucid and entertaining biography of the 13th-century Venetian traveller. Polo comes across as a man full of himself. But then, one knows that already, if one has read The Travels of Marco Polo. In the prologue, one reads:
"It must be known, then, that from the creation of Adam to the present day, no man, wherher Pagan, or Saracen, or Christian, ot other, of whatever progeny or eeneration he may have been, ever saw or inquired into so many and such great things as Marco Polo above mentioned."
Nevertheless, Polo also emerges as an endearing person in this book, which, I think is far more interesting than some of the other works about him which I have seen.
Polo was way ahead of his times in many respects. Amongst other things, he took a keen interest in the sexual habits of the people wherever he found himself on his travels. This biography is a reminder of Polo's ability to see things which often elude the attention of visitors to distant lands. His memoirs made him more famous than his father Niccolo and his uncle Maffeo. When the brothers took Marco with them to China, they could never have imagined the welcome the younger Polo would receive at Kublai Khan's court. But I do think that the two senior Polos deserve more recognition than they generally get, and that Marco's memoirs have eclipsed their own achievements. Without them, Marco would probably never have made it to China or the East.
Bergreen's book is a delightful, scholarly and thought-provoking biographical appraisal of Marco Polo's life, work and achievements. He may have been an extraordinary braggart, but he was also an extraordinary envoy, for Venice and later for the Great Khan, as he always calls Kublai in his travelogue (William Marsden translation). I would recommend this book to all his fans and to everyone who has enjoyed reading The Travels of Marco Polo.
oldguy
Feb 19, 2009
great read
A terrific story about life in Europe and Asia during the 13th century. A well written and easy to enjoy volume filling in some of the blanks I had not known in history. This rendering of life under Kublai Kahn differs greatly from what I was taught throughout my schooling. The reader is offered vivid insights into early Chinese / Mongol life. I highly reccomend this read to anyone who enjoys well written history reported as accurately as possible.
