Books

The Travels of Marco Polo
Homage to Catalonia
Flight to the Sun: The Story of the Holiday Revolution
The Golden Chersonese (Travelers)
African Diary: The Day-By-Day Account of an Incredible Adventure
Road Stories and Recipes
More Creeks I Have Been Up
Come Fill the Cup
Red Lights and Green Lizards, A Cambodian Adventure
Through Central Borneo
Wing and Rotor: The Highs and Lows
Lying Down With Dogs: A Personal Portrait of a Polish Exile
An American's Journey to the Shaolin Temple
Travels With Pookie: A Humorous E-Mail Diary of Rv Travels to National Parks and Other Attractions in the Us
One Man and the Mighty Mississippi: A Sixty-Year Adventure on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers
One Way or Another: A Travelogue of True Adventure (And Misadventure) Stories
A Year in Marrakesh
Where Elephants Fight: An Autobiographical Account of the Liberian Civil War
Ala Tool: Adventures and Misadventures in Saudi Arabia
Goodbye Careers Hello American Adventure: A Real-Life Guide to Temporary Retirement
Tomorrow the Train : Journey to the World Record
Witness
A House in Sicily (Thorndike Press Large Print Basic Series) [LARGE PRINT]
An Unfinished Odyssey on the Appalachian Trail: A Memoir
The Freeway

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marco? polo!
ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO comes to life more than your usual elementary-level biography.

Adventures Of Marco Polo
Russell Freedman
Manufacturer: Arthur A. Levine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 043952394X

Book Description

He claimed to have seen rocks burn, bandits command sandstorms, lions tamed with a look, and sorcerers charm sharks while divers gathered pearls on the ocean floor. Marco Polo shook Europe with descriptions of the world he'd seen on his epic journey to the court of Kublai Khan. But was Marco Polo the world's most accomplished explorer? Had he really seen the "Roof of the World" in Central Asia, and the "City of Heaven" in far-off China? Or was he a charlatan who saw nothing more than the conjurings of his inventive mind? Join Russell Freedman as he tackles a centuries-old mystery.

Customer Reviews:

marco? polo!.......2007-03-11

Marco Polo told many tales of adventures that he went on with his family. He wrote a book called The Description of the world. To this day scholars are unsure if any of Marco's tales are true. Read this biography to see if you can decide for your self what you believe!

ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO comes to life more than your usual elementary-level biography........2006-12-10

Russell Freedman's THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO covers all the controversies surrounding the legendary explorer who claimed to have seen rocks burn and met bandits who could conjure up sandstorms. Marco's vivid, often fantastical descriptions of his travels shook Europe: was he a courageous adventurer, or a fake with a vivid imagination? In exploring the rumors surrounding Marco Polo, ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO comes to life more than your usual elementary-level biography.

The City Of Light: The Hidden Journal of the Man Who Entered China Four Years Before Marco Polo

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many indications that this is largely a 20th Century work
Ian Myles Slater on: A Remarkable Book, as Memoir or Fiction
Excellent.
Boring!
Brilliant. ...One way or another.

The City Of Light: The Hidden Journal of the Man Who Entered China Four Years Before Marco Polo
Jacob D'Ancona
Manufacturer: Citadel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Travels of Marco Polo

ASIN: 1559725230

Book Description

In 1270 a scholarly Jewish merchant called Jacob d'Ancona set out on a voyage from Italy. A year later, he arrived in China at the coastal metropolis of Zaitun, the "City of Light" (now known as Quanzhou), four years before Marco Polo arrived at Xanadu in 1275. Nothing was known of this epochal journey until 1990, when David Selbourne was shown d'Ancona's account of his travels, a remarkable manuscript that had been hidden from public view for more than seven centuries. Eventually translated and edited by Selbourne and published in Great Britain in October 1997 as The City of Light, the account was praised as providing an unparalleled insight into life in the medieval world.

Controversy followed. Selbourne had pledged to the manuscript's owner that he would not reveal its whereabouts, and that raised doubts about its authenticity. As a result of U.S. sinologists' criticism of plans for American publication, the first edition was canceled.

Now, a year later, Birch Lane Press happily publishes the controversial work. Criticisms of the textual evidence of d'Ancona's account have been answered by Selbourne. Most notably, other academics--particularly and significantly, in China--have come to the support of d'Ancona's account. The work is to be published in a Chinese translation.

Vivid and insightful, this account has great historical significance. It not only describes the adventures of a medieval trader, but also comments on Chinese society and manners through the eyes of a European man of learning. The City of Light brings spectacularly to life d'Ancona's encounter with one of the world's great civilizations.

Customer Reviews:

many indications that this is largely a 20th Century work.......2004-05-27

This volume starts out as a plausable enough chronicle of a Jewish merchant from Italy who travels to China and so on, but very quickly it becomes apparent that this is just the setting for a series of philosophical debates that the merchant partakes in with other groups in the "City of Light".

It is written like no other narrative from the past I have seen and is quite long as well. Although I am no expert on that time and place, and there are none who truly are, what really makes it suspect is the fact that most of the work fails to give details of how people lived and what things were like at that time and place and instead concentrates on the dialogues that he is invited to and partakes in. And all of the matters that they discuss are those that would preoccupy the mind of a person in the late 20th Century. Which either means that people in the 13th Century had identical problems to those we have today, or that this was written by someone in the late 20th Century. He even forsees the Holocaust at one point.

There is nothing that would secure it as authentic and many indications that this is largely a 20th Century work, enough to make it well accepted as a forgery until proven otherwise (which I never expect to happen). As for what it contains and the value of its philosophical debates, it offers nothing in the way of secure arguments, unless you already accept the Jewish religious teachings as a source of unchallenged wisdom. It also was rather long without adding much. It might have been better to publish this as a modern philosophical novel, which would have permitted it to be a better novel, without attempting to mislead scholars, that can cause trouble for years. Although I realize that from a publishing standpoint, it gets more attention to claim authenticity.

Also, he (Selbourne) clips off the return journey, which might have been one of the only authentic parts in the book. I paid full price for this book when it was first published and I consider it was not worth it.

Ian Myles Slater on: A Remarkable Book, as Memoir or Fiction.......2003-10-17

I am glad to see that the (delayed) American edition of this book is now in paperback. It differs from the UK edition (which I have also reviewed) mainly by including "Remarks on The City of Light " by Wang Lianmao, in which modern Chinese scholarship is used to reply to some of the criticism directed against it by Westerners. Specialists in the history of the region find some puzzles, and probable errors made by a foreigner, but nothing to suggest a modern fraud. They seem willing to accept it as an authentic account of southern China by a foreigner, describing events shortly before the arrival of Marco Polo in the following of the Mongol (Yuan) conqueror. (Probably wisely, they do not seem to have offered an opinion on how authentic the foreigner -- an Italian Jew -- looks to them.)

Curiously, Frances Wood, whose "Did Marco Polo Go to China?" argues that the Venetian merchant stayed in western Asia, and got all his information from others, who left no record of their adventures, seems to have joined in denouncing Jacob of Ancona as a fabrication, even though this must have seemed like manna from heaven for her theory. (By the way, it seems clear to me that, despite various major and minor interpolations and deletions in the manuscript tradition, Marco Polo did travel in East Asia -- so maybe I'm gullible.)

I would add, from my own cursory research, that I have some problems with the supposedly convincing argument that the use of the term "mellah" for "Jewish Quarter" in Muslim lands is anachronistic. This argument depends on accepting one version of the etymology and history of the word. It is, however, less than completely certain; Roger Le Tourneau, in "Fez in the Age of the Marinides" (English translation 1961), reviewed the complicated evidence, and suggested that the consensus, including how long the word was in use and when and where it was adopted, might be wrong.

From a Jewish perspective, I can accept Jacob of Ancona as a plausible figure (and perhaps more typical than Selbourne, to judge from his notes, realizes). The combination of length and literary quality in a memoir seems unusual for the period, but the translator reports omitting some sections at the end, and felicitous translation can add charm without being unfaithful. Some medieval writings *are* inordinately long -- and long-winded.

Jaob's report of debates with Chinese officials leaves me wondering if both his contacts and his discussions were really on such a high level (especially with both sides using some sort of "trade speech" and translators), but self-congratulatory memoirs are not a modern invention.

On the basis of Chinese reactions, I am prepared to accept the work as authentic, although not completely reliable as a record of fact (is anything?). If it is a fraud -- and only an examination of the manuscript seems likely to prove it -- its creator would surely have been better rewarded by emulating Eco's "Name of the Rose," and publishing it as historical fiction of a high order.

Excellent........2002-04-11

OK, nobody else has seen the original, so there's no way of verifying if this is a true translation or a hoax. If it is a hoax, it's a danmed good one, written so well, with lots of research to back it up, that I for one don't care.
This is just brilliant, true or hoax, it gives a deep insight into the Jewish support network and all the opposition & prejudice that Jews had to deal with.
It knocks Marco Polo's account into a cocked hat; incisive philosophy, intimate desriptions of mediaeval life and trade are enough to grant this a place on anyone's bookshelf, true or not.

Boring!.......2001-08-03

In a word: BORING! This book would have been twice as good were it half as long. Selbourne has cut the end and would have done well to cut the middle as well. Jacob's incessant protestations of piety are tedious. He hypocritically condemns everyone around him for greed and self-interest but his own actions, though ostensibly high-minded, are also dictated almost solely by financial motives. For this reason his criticism of others rings hollow. His world view is remarkably narrow and parochial for someone so widely traveled. While he makes extensive observations of the conduct of others, there is no effort to appreciate their viewpoints. I am also skeptical of the provenance of this book. The social debates described have a very contemporary tenor and are relevant to our own times. If this were in fact an authenticated manuscript, this resonance would be remarkable. However, the provenance of the book is in dispute and much space is devoted to supporting its authenticity. The resolution of this issue must await examination of the original manuscript but in the meantime I am skeptical because the discussions seem too modern.

Brilliant. ...One way or another........2001-07-14

This is simply one of the best books I have ever read. And it is definitely, hands down, with a doubt, the single funniest book I have ever read... though it isn't actually intended to be. Until the actual Ancona manuscript itself is made available for scrutiny, we will never know for sure if this text is authentic or a stunningly brilliant, almost cruelly sharp-witted satirical hoax. If it is the latter, it is still extremely impressive, informative and entertaining. Nearly every sentence is punctuated by the author Jacob's constant use of "May God be praised" or "May God spare me", or, for those individuals and groups he really despises: "May God strike them down" or "May God shorten their lives". I just could not stop laughing! - nor could I put the book down. Mr. Selbourne, wherever you are, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, sir. One way or another you have given us an amazing piece of work. May God magnify and bless you, and may He extend your life! Amen, Amen, Amen!

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We are all Marco Polos now
Rediscover the wonder
Fascinating
Talk about life on the road!
Marco Polo-The Travels

The Travels of Marco Polo
Marco Polo , and Ronald Latham
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140440577

Book Description

Chosen as one of the ten best adventure books of all time by National Geographic Adventure. Liveright is proud to reissue a facsimile of its classic 1926 edition of The Travels of Marco Polo. Beginning from the traditional lyrical Marsden translation, editor Manuel Komroff corrected it against Henry Yule's magisterial two-volume work, including a chapter missing from the Marsden. The artist Witold Gordon created thirty-two two-color woodcut illustrations for the original edition, published again here for the first time in over fifty years. The Travels of Marco Polo remains a wondrous adventure narrative. Chronicling the thirteenth-century world from Venice, his birthplace, to the far reaches of Asia, Marco Polo tells of the foreign peoples he meets as he travels by foot, horse, and boat through places including Persia, the land of the Tartars, Tibet, India, and, most important, China. There he stays at the court of Kublai Khan, venturing to the capital of Beijing and to Shangtu, made immortal in Coleridge's poem "Xanadu." This is a gripping look at a legendary place and time. Two-color illustrations.

Download Description

IN a western direction from Pi-an-fu there is a large and handsome fortress named Thai-gin, 1 which is said to have been built, at a remote period, by a king who was called Dor. 2 Within the walls of the fort stands a spacious and highly-ornamented palace, the hall of which contains paintings of all the renowned princes who, from ancient times, have reigned at this place, forming together a superb exhibition. A remarkable circumstance in the history of this king Dor shall now be related. He was a powerful prince, assumed much state, and was always waited upon by young women of extraordinary beauty, a vast number of whom he entertained at his court.

Customer Reviews:

We are all Marco Polos now.......2007-01-15

In the late 13th century, three Venetian merchants, two brothers and the son of one of them, visited China, which was then ruled by the Mongols. The Mongols distrusted the native Chinese and hired foreigners such as the young man as minor officials. The Venetian merchant-turned-official traveled extensively through North and South China, South-East Asia and India. After he returned to Venice, he took part in a war between Venice and Genoa, was taken prisoner, and in prison met a professional writer who wrote a book based on his memoirs and embellished it with the stock devices of late medieval romances. Among various Asiatic curiosities Messer Polo describes asbestos, coal, tigers, musk deer, sago and coconuts. He tells the story of the Buddha, describes the Mongol postal system (I was surprised that yamb, which is obviously the root of the Russian word yamshchik, a postal courier, is a Mongol word), Chinese paper money and the life of Indian yogis. For him, the Shinto "idols" of Japan are offensive for a Christian to read about, but the virginity test administered to prospective daughters-in-law in South China isn't. Marco Polo is no Jonathan Spence; he is not trying to get the reader inside the heads of people belonging to an alien culture; he is a merchant, and cares much more about the crops that grow in a certain kingdom or a region, and the crafts its inhabitants practice. Anyway, it is an enjoyable read if you liked Herodotus or the Russian Primary Chronicle. When I read it on the bus, the white man in the seat to the left of me was reading a textbook of Mandarin, and the white man to the right was practicing his Kanji - we are all Marco Polos now.

Rediscover the wonder.......2006-12-12

There is so little a reviewer could say about a classic that has not already been said. But, whether your interest is in travel literature, ancient history, military history, or anthropology, this book will excite and inspire you. The writing is conversational, witty, and addicting. Though the author repeats some stories, each telling seems to bring out nuances and connections that would have been missed otherwise and each telling takes you deeper into the Asian frontiers and its people. A fascinating traveller's story that never grows old. Must have for any serious student of history especially with regard to the Asian steppes and the empire of the great Khan. Rediscover the wonder of the travels for yourself, not second-hand but from the traveller himself.

Fascinating.......2006-11-04

As a geography and history buff, I was fascinated by Marco Polo's journal of his travels. I followed his routes on my atlas and discovered that he did not always follow a west to east route, but rather zigzagged north to south to east as his interests changed. In India he narrates his fascination with the role of monkeys in society, the strange vestments and customs of the people there, so alien to anything he had ever seen or experienced. Then he spends years and years in the Orient, befriending the Chinese emperor, learns to speak Chinese to the point where he practically forgets his native Italian, even becomes governor of a Chinese state. From adolescence intoto adulthood, Marco travels with his father and uncle during 30 years, discovering the marvels of a world unknown to the west, by ship, elephant or camel, or on foot over some of the world's highest mountains, against all odds but driven forth by endless curiousity and optimism.

Talk about life on the road!.......2005-08-28

Okay, what to say about Marco Polo based on his own recounting. First of all, it's amazing how much this guy saw. Even accounting for his embellishments, he was obviously getting around quite a bit. Over a period of decades he travelled through China and parts of India, usually at the behest of the Chinese Emperor Kublai Khan, one of their noteworthy historical figures. Some of the tales he tells are obviously fabricated, but others are familiar even to modern day historians. When the text recounts some of the actual events he either saw or at least heard about, the reader is treated to a succinct and pleasant story.

The format of the book, however, leaves a bit to be desired. The writing is distant, as he related his stories years after the fact to another fellow Venitian who then wrote down the words of the text. Structurally it is divided into many tiny chapters, most of two pages or less. And frankly, many of those chapters are just one or two paragraphs about a city he saw, which little more given than the time it took to walk there from the last city and something about the local economy. It's not hard reading, but much of it just isn't fascinating.

Overall, though, for someone interested in travel writing, Marco Polo provides perhaps the prototype of the style. It is probably the first extended Western look into the mysterious East ever written, and a nice piece of history to enjoy.

Marco Polo-The Travels.......2005-02-02

The Travels by Marco Polo. Penguin Books. 1958.

In any review, the reader has to be compelled to have an interest in the subject. What is it about this 800 year old story that would interest the reader? I had always believed that this book was an adventure story about the first European explorer into the mid east and China. I do not know where this notion came from but on both counts, it is wrong. I picked it up and read it because I continually see references from other modern, authors.

What is compelling about the book is the writer's anthropological approach (however primitive) to viewing the societies that were racially and culturally different from the upper crust European society he was raised in. There is a generosity of spirit in this book that will be detailed more further down.

It should be noted that like, Benvenuto Cellini's Autobiography, this book features hyperbole if not out right fantasy throughout. There is more than one version of The Travels as well. This book is not written in the first person as it actually is an "As told to" account that apparently was "told to" more than one transcriber. There has been much debate over the years about its veracity but that is for someone else to write about. I chose to read this book as if it were fact and not to fret over the overall truth or its details. That being said lets get into the story.

Over a period of about 24 years, the young Marco Polo joined his merchant father and his uncle in pursuit of the expansion of their mercantile trade into new regions. This concept should be familiar to any reader who reads about venture capitalism and Red China today. The dynamics may differ but the logic is the same. While this effort led the Polos to discover spices, material and trade routes, it also provided Marco, the opportunity to explore and log his experience with new cultures.

He is pretty magnanimous in his descriptions of the peoples he met as he traveled from Asia Minor through cities we hear about today such as Hormuz and Baghdad onto China (known then as Cathay) and into parts of Mongolia and Russia. I say that he is big hearted because he added very little value judgment in relating his experience with these cultures. Unfortunately, he limited what he could describe to a small variety of things.

Religion was broken into three categories. There were Christians (he did break them into a few groups such as Nestorian and Greek Orthodox), followers of Mahomet (Islam) and Idolaters (the rest). In some cases though few, he describes the cultures as having no religion as unlikely as that is. It is my suspicion that they were not devout peoples or their customs were too unusual for Polo to understand their worship. He did not render serious value judgments to the religions that were not Christian though he sort of favored that belief system. Specifically, the heroes of battle between people of differing religions was biased toward the Christians just as the performance of any miracles was.

Polo described the Great Kings, such as Kublai Khan and the lesser kings who gave allegiance to the former. This was important to him and was noted ad nauseum. He had great respect for Khan including the addition of a Genealogical Chart at the end of the book. He wrote of the Emperor's largesse-assisting the poor, providing examples of fair play and Solomon like wisdom. He also described the ruthless ability to hold power, destroy his enemies and land/nation plundering. He describes these latter events without a hint that anything was wrong with that. Perhaps at this juncture in history, Khan's methods were more civil and humane than the kings in Europe. Based on the North American conquests and slaughtering of Natives 200 years hence, this would seem possible. In my own opinion, the description of Khan reads something like Mario Puzo's Godfather.

Another area of special interests lies in Polo's interest with the spices, foods, material for clothing and adornment as well as native wood and building styles. This makes sense because that was Marco's career. He was a merchant. He describes in detail, the reasons different techniques were used to build a ship for instance. The description shows that he had a rudimentary scientific method and imparted that to the reader by explaining why certain procedures were performed based on supplies, climate and water conditions among other things.

Polo was a man of the world and that is obvious by his travels but he was clearly educated well. He brought to his journeys and writing, a skill and perception that would only be a result of solid education. His minimal judgmental phrasing also suggests to me that he saw the world as a big place and was not fettered by provincialism that might be expected from an upper crust 13th century European.

It is important to note however that the book reveals some of the Magical Realism that undoubtedly prevailed largely in his time. He believed in miracles, reported them on a second hand basis and claimed to see a few himself. It seems again, that by imagining the times and place that this was written, it would be nearly impossible to write a book that denied miracles. He does however toss a tiny bit of skepticism when describing a faith healer (a non Christian one of course). "You must not suppose that because I speak of `Diabolic Art' that that is their account of the matter: They attribute their knowledge to the power of the gods working through a medium of their art". He continues to describe these healers having ready made answers when their "cure" fails and of course it is Divine. Perhaps Benny Hine was acquainted with this book.

Polo was fairly interested in the sexual practices of these cultures and he reported some of the more lurid ones. In several cultures that he visited he found that the practice of entertaining visitors (of which he was one) by providing them with the sexual favors of their wives, sisters, nieces etc. The men would make the introductions and then depart to some distant retreat while their dear ones essentially prostituted themselves for the visitors satisfaction. He ended one such description by indicating that a man of 16 to 24 would find such a visit much to their liking. This made me wonder how Polo himself liked it but he did not mention such. Another thing to wonder, based on frank discussion of this and details of a pregnancy test in one of his towns, whether sexuality and the Christian's 6th commandment was considered as taboo as it was in say the Victorian Era. I don't know, it is just a thought.

The reader can enjoy this book for the fantastic descriptions of unicorns (probably rhinos), enormous and scary beasts (probably crocodiles) and men with tails. The reader might enjoy the descriptions of royalty which is one place that hyperbole abounds, for instance it is not uncommon for the story to pronounce that some king had thousands of concubines and thousands of servants and hundreds of thousands of soldiers for single battles.

The reader might also notice miracles which are plentiful, stories about hens with no feathers, cannibalism and people who live for 150-200 years. They might also marvel at the science that did prevail at the time. There is a description of a messaging system that is easily comparable to America's own Pony Express. Likewise the details of a sewer system that essentially matches our more modern ones, the logic behind curfews and birthing customs all suggest something of interest to me. Specifically, while technology has grown at an extremely rapid pace, people and their logic and belief systems have not really changed dramatically. Nearly, if not all stories that Polo related, have easy counterparts to something or someone that is visible in the media today.

There is a down side of this book. Previously it was mentioned that the veracity of The Travels was subject to question. Apparently in Asian historical chronicles there is no mention of this Italian visitor though there is mention of other European guests. He also describes many societies the same, almost verbatim. This may be due to very little difference between one culture and another or perhaps Polo simple cheated and threw in information that he did not have first hand (a little like the ever growing band of journalists, historians etc. that get revealed regularly in our current world).

Perhaps the most significant negative comment that could be said about this book is that by our 21st century standards it is just very poorly written. At times it is simply torturous to wade through a meaningless and repetitive description. The book is also written much like we talk. By that I mean phrases like ..."I nearly failed to mention..." are used throughout. Of course in our day the forgotten piece would simply be edited into its correct location and there would be no need for the brief apologetic line.

I assigned this book to myself for this book review. I enjoyed it despite its flaws and quite frankly, it may be all the fantasy of Polo or his transcriber, but I think the book gives us some insight into the 13th century mind of a learned traveler. For that it passes the litmus test of worthwhile reading.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

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Check and see
Suprise! Suprise!
Prescient St Augustine?
Something of a disappointment
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621066

Product Description

`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.

Customer Reviews:

Check and see.......2007-06-21

I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.

Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22

Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.

Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05

We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:

a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;

b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;

c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.

Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:

It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.

- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.

- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.

Fomenko goes by the following axioms:

- Chronology is the basis of history;

- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;

- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;

- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;

- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;

- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.

Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?

The Russians:

Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.

The Westerners:

Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.

The Chinese:

Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.

The Arabs:

Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.

The Divinity:

Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.

According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.

St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."

Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09

After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.

However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:

- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.

I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.

The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.

It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?

Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.

Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).

Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30

If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?

Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.

Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..

Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.

Average customer rating:

Buyer beware!

Marco? Polo! (Time Warp Trio)
Jon Scieszka
Manufacturer: Viking Juvenile
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Action & Adventure | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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Time Warp Trio: Nightmare on Joe's Street (Time Warp Trio)

ASIN: 0670061042
Release Date: 2006-11-02

Book Description

Did you ever wonder what might happen if someone had a time-warping book they got from their uncle who was a magician and they took it to the local YMCA pool while they played Marco? Polo! with their two best friends?

Well, wonder no more. In the sixteenth adventure of the Time Warp Trio, it happens to Joe (and Fred and Sam). And what happens is: sandstorms, desert bandits, a smelly camel, strange horoscopes, the emperor of all China, hungry hunting dogs, attack leopards, killer hawks, and one very famous (if he doesn't get lost) explorer. If the explorer is Marco Polo, this must be 13th century China. And the Time Warp Trio's horoscope says, "Beware of mean cats, mad dogs, and even madder Chinese astrologers."

Customer Reviews:

Buyer beware!.......2007-02-08

Our first edition copy of this book had a printer error. Pages 29 and 30 were completely blank. I sent it back to amazon and they promised me a refund. I don't know if all of the first edition books are like this, or if we were just unlucky. But if you want this book, you might consider waiting for the second edition or the paperback to come out.

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The Travels of Marco Polo
Marco Polo
Manufacturer: Cosimo Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Travel | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 160206024X

Book Description

It was perhaps the first book to achieve best-seller status before the invention of the printing press-it was certainly the most controversial. Did Venetian trader and explorer MARCO POLO (1254-1324) actually reach the court of Kublai Khan, serve the emperor as his emissary, and journey the distant lands of Cathay for 17 years, as he relates in his Travels of Marco Polo? The question still hasn't quite been settled today... but whether Polo experienced firsthand the wonders of ancient China, retold tales he heard from Arab travelers along the Silk Road, or simply invented half his stories, this remains a delightful read for fans of history, adventure, and medieval literature.

Marco Polo for Kids: His Marvelous Journey to China, 21 Activities (For Kids series)

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Marco Polo for Kids: His Marvelous Journey to China, 21 Activities (For Kids series)
Janis Herbert
Manufacturer: Chicago Review Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Exploration & Discovery | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1556523777

Book Description

The Far East comes alive in this activity book centered on Marco Polo’s journey to China from Venice along the 13th-century Silk Road. Kids will join Marco as he travels by caravan through vast deserts and over steep mountain ranges, stopping in exotic cities and humble villages, until at last he arrives at the palace of the Kublai Khan. Woven throughout the tale are 21 activities that highlight the diverse cultures Marco encountered along the way. Activities include making a mythical map, creating a mosaic, fun with Feng Shui, making paper, and putting on a wayang-kulit (shadow-puppet play). Just for fun, kids will learn a few words of Turkish, Persian, Mongol, Hindi, and Chinese. A complete resource section with magnificent museums and their Web sites invites kids to embark on their own expedition of discovery.

Retracing Marco Polo: A Tale Of Modern Travelers Who Locate And Follow Marco Polo's Route To China And Burma

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Great trip, great read.
A modern family's journey to retrace Marco Polo's route

Retracing Marco Polo: A Tale Of Modern Travelers Who Locate And Follow Marco Polo's Route To China And Burma
jack, jr. Spain
Manufacturer: Gilgit Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0974628328

Customer Reviews:

Great trip, great read........2004-11-25

This is a delightful and charming book. Shortly after starting it the reader will feel that he/she is part of this clever, adventurous and personable family and will learn a lot along the route. I highly recommend this book to you and to any one to whom you want to give a good book.

A modern family's journey to retrace Marco Polo's route.......2004-10-30

Retracing Marco Polo is the travelogue of a modern family's journey to retrace Marco Polo's route to China. Comparing older texts and modern maps to plot a course, then following a winding route through Venice, Jerusalem, Turkey, and China (the trail through current-day Iran and Afghanistan was closed to them, so they went through Pakistan instead), they took in the sights, scenery, and experiences of pure adventure. Inset sections of color photograph plates illustrate this enjoyable narrative of setting out to walk in the footsteps of greatness.

The Life and Times of Marco Polo (Biography from Ancient Civilizations)

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The Life and Times of Marco Polo (Biography from Ancient Civilizations)
Susan Zannos
Manufacturer: Mitchell Lane Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1584152648

Book Description

Marco Polo, the first European to travel to China and return to write about his adventures, was born in Venice in 1254. Marco's father had left on a journey to Asia before the boy was born. Marco did not see his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo Polo, until fifteen years later. In 1271 the three Polos left Venice and headed for the court of Kublai Khan in eastern China. The journey took them more than three years—they arrived in 1275. Marco Polo became a favorite of the Great Kahn, and was sent on important missions all over the Mongol Empire. Marco and his father and uncle served Kublai Kahn for 17 years. When they returned to Venice in 1295, Marco became the captain of a merchant ship and was captured and imprisoned in Genoa. While in prison he and another prisoner who was a writer of romances wrote the story of Marco Polo's adventures.

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Junior World Explorers Series - Marco Polo

Marco Polo (Junior World Explorers)
Charles Parlin Graves
Manufacturer: Chelsea House Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

Exploration & Discovery | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 079101505X

Customer Reviews:

Junior World Explorers Series - Marco Polo.......2001-01-07

This is an excellent series that teaches history to the 8-12year old child. The book is excellently written, 96 pages with blackand white sketches along the way.

...we are very impressed at thecontent and reading style of this series. Highly recommended.

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