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Loading... The Travels of Marco Poloby Marco Polo
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. Name of the traslator does not appear (  )  GlenRalph | Jul 16, 2009 |  A book that is a bit of a mystery, but it seems to have been the record of a real journey to the East. ( ) GlenRalph | Jul 16, 2009 | Polo's Travels are a good look at the exploration boom in 14th Century Europe. His forays into the Asian continent and his descriptions of the geography, peoples, and customs culminate in Columbus's Great Adventure in 1492. These stories are told in the third person, as Polo himself dictated them to Rustichello to collect for a book. While his descriptions sometime border on the quick and simplistic, the sheer amount of locales as well as the many fantastical stories is indeed marvelous. ( ) NielsenGW | Mar 7, 2009 | Marco Polo did not, really, write this book - it was put together by a hack romantic writer by the name of Rustichello; however, we should be wary of diminishing Polo's contribution to this classical volume, since he, with his father and uncle, travelled further and more comprehensively than any other man of his times. The modern equivalent would probably require a trip to Saturn or something. However, just because it is a classic doesn't mean that 'The Travels' was well-written. There are many mistakes and repetitions in the work, and at times it becomes a slog working through accounts of peoples described as being 'idolators, subject to the great Khan's rule, who use paper money.' Really, there are pages of that stuff - every paragraph begins the same way. That said, it is surprising, considering the nearly eight hundred years that have passed since the book was written, that it is as readable as it is. ( ) soylentgreen23 | Sep 15, 2008 | This was quite a fascinating read, even if the end notes slowed me down a bit, as well as the fact that there seems to be a bit of confusion about place names and customs, etc.. I'm not sure if the confusion is due to Marco Polo not having notes available when he told the story to Rustichello while he was in prison, to the difficulties of translation or to fact that much of what he related was second-hand. Probably it was a combination of these factors, although more of the last. I do regret the fact that my edition has no map, as it would have been fun to follow the route visually. My edition does contain an itinerary, though, so that made up for the lack somewhat. I do wish that Marco Polo had dwelt more on his (and his father and uncle's) personal experiences while traveling, though. I can only imagine some of the hardships they faced. On then other hand, I loved the descriptions of cities, palaces, customs, etc.. It certainly is an incredible read - so rich in Eastern history, culture, and lore. (  ) bookseller525 | Jan 4, 2008 |  no reviews | add a review
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(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:00 -0400)
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