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|  | Author: Laurence Bergreen
Publisher: Knopf
Category: eBooks
This item is no longer available
Rating:  40 reviews
Sales Rank: 49863
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Pages: 432
Number Of Items: 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 910.4
ASIN: B000W968Z0
Publication Date: October 23, 2007
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 40
Story of an Original Adventurer November 15, 2009
ancientexplorer (USA)
This book on Marco Polo was my next stop in studying memorable persons from history. Bergreen sifts through the myths and embellishments that grew later and reveals a fascinating tale of a journey that even today would be difficult and dangerous. As much about China during these times as it is Polo, gives insight to another part of the world for students of the late Middle Ages. Perhaps sometimes bogged down in too much detail, but it is amazing that such a travel account has been preserved through the centuries. In our spoiled times we cringe at walking down to the corner store, yet Polo traveled across the Asian continent through the harshest of terrain and the Mongol empire.
 Enjoyable History November 1, 2009
Tim L. Price (Lincoln, NE (USA))
On one of my recent trips, I took along this book in its audio form. I enjoyed it very much... The book, not the audiobook form, narrates the travels of Marco Polo. In addition, it adds critique of both Marco in his superlative, perhaps self-serving, autobiographical account as well as those who have been hard on or maybe misunderstanding of the traveler. Laurence Bergreen, the author, triangulates Marco's seemingly outlandish statements with other source accounts confirming the veracity of his story. Marco is humanized in this book, bring him down from the way perhaps he saw himself as well as up from some of the stinging appraisals laid against him. Bergreen, also seeks to understand Marco Polo's travels at a deeper level than mere story and statements. Instead of seeing everything as literal, Bergreen queries at perhaps Marco's subtlety, his motives in saying things the way he did or perhaps that he could have been using allegory or even critiquing his own culture in the depiction of another. Marco's account comes through unimpeded by narration, commentary or query. Bergreen does not seek to suppress certain details among them significant amounts of explicit content. Bergreen also queries at the notion Marco perhaps experimented on various levels. In addition, commentary is given on his personal struggle between religious ideals. The reader gets a wider exposure to Marco Polo because of the history given all the way to the end of his life and how his account became mythical even though it is largely proven. Modern readers can discover the magnificence of Marco Polo's travels and their meaning in a way that may not have been available before. The book is definitely accessible to the average reader. It will challenge those who think themselves historically astute, even the intellectual as well as others who have never been exposed to this bit of history.
 A Bit Tedious August 1, 2009
N. Brown (Florida)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
After listening to the audiobook, almost in it's entirety, I can not recommend this to anyone.
The author tended to repeat himself, in several places, and I thought I had lost my place on
the CD, the repeat was almost identical to what had been said before.
The obsession Marco Polo had with "spreading his seed in fornication" was focused on too much.
I got to rolling my eyes, after the inth account of yet another free invite from the local villagers
to have adulterous sex with the womenfolk. Really, there must have been more to his travels than
sex.
I DID enjoy getting to know Kublai Khan. That was interesting.
I also liked learning about China, from this book.
All in all, I didn't get much out of this book. The whole thing could have been condensed down
to a couple of audio CDs. Marco Polo traveled around the world, had a lot of sex with other women,
enjoyed the riches of other lands, was captivated by Kublai Khan, literally and figuratively, and then
he went home. After about 20 years of trekking the world. The end.
 A Thriller Lover's Delight! May 18, 2009
Cym H. Lowell (Dallas, TX USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu, by Laurence Bergreen (Vintage Books 2007)
This is a fascinating review of the travels of Marco Polo, which is distilled from his actual Travels as transcribed during his incarceration in Genoa following his epochal return to Venice from his travels. He had assumed the position of captain of a warship in the nacy of Venice in its periodic war with Genoa for control of the trade routes.
The narrative of the story reads as a fascinating story of adventure in cultural diversity, geography, the court of Kubla Kahn, and the charming sexuality of various regions of the Mongol controlled Middle East and East. The young adventurer had a grand time, traveling with his father and uncle as merchants for their business, the Polo Company.
We all tend to think of ourselves as living in a modern age. Yet, as one reads this evolutionary story, it is perfectly apparent that nothing has really changed in the world except the passage of time. We still have all the same hassles, domestic economic conditions, international trade, conflict along the trade lines, war, domestic strife within the family, ad mauseum.
Marco Polo is not a history, nor is it a travelogue. Rather, it is a fascinating, well told adventure, which is brought into easily read context by Mr. Bergreen. Each of us experiences the journey of our lifetime. It is interesting to read about the remarkable journey of Marco Polo, and to think through the questions that it frames for our own lives.
For example, what must it have been like for Marco to return to the quaint Venice after the genuinely unique experiences he had on his 17 year journey to places where white men had apparently not been, or not been in recorded tomes? How would you feel if this had been you?
Marco's travels commenced at the culmination of the Christian defeat in the last Crusade, as well as the departure of the Papacy to Avignon, France seeking to find a more hospitable environment. There was chaos in the Chistian world, in which Islam had taken an upper hand, even as the Mongols were stretching across Indochina and China.
From the standpoint of a historian or social commentator, there are many parallels to the present time.
From the standpoint of a thriller writer, it also provides rich thesaurus of relationships and challenges to be adapted for the backgrounds of international thrillers.
A salute and tip of the hat for a great read and thought-provoking ideas for adventures and conflicts that could be woven into the fabric of a new story.
[...]
Travel with Marco March 11, 2009
C. A. Surovi (Hellertown, PA United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
After reading Bergreen's Magellin bio...I really was looking forward to this Marco Polo one. It appears that much about this man is still a mystery. What one does learn is a tremendous amount about the Far East at the time. One can easily see why much of what Polo claimed to have seen was discounted. What he brought back from his travels was a marvel. I was though, expecting to learn a bit more about the man... I must also add that you should take the advice of other readers and read the Epilogue first. I did.
Showing reviews 6-10 of 40
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