Picture of author.

Gavin Menzies (1937–2020)

Author of 1421: The Year China Discovered America

4+ Works 4,282 Members 112 Reviews 1 Favorited

About the Author

Gavin Menzies is the bestselling author of 1421: The Year China Discovered America; 1434: The Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance; and The Lost Empire of Atlantis: History's Greatest Mystery Revealed. He served in the Royal Navy between 1953 and 1970. His show more knowledge of seafaring and navigation sparked his interest in the epic voyages of Chinese admiral Zheng He. Menzies lives in London. show less

Includes the names: Menzis Gavin, Gavin Menzies

Image credit: Gavin Menzies

Works by Gavin Menzies

Associated Works

1421: The Year China Discovered America [2002 TV movie] (2004) — Original book — 7 copies

Tagged

1421 (14) 15th century (74) alternate history (19) America (41) American history (35) Americas (15) ancient history (14) archaeology (17) Asia (38) Asian History (26) Atlantis (19) China (496) China History (24) Chinese (20) Chinese history (83) discovery (35) exploration (169) explorers (14) fiction (12) geography (33) history (858) Italy (23) maps (12) maritime (14) medieval (12) Middle Ages (11) Ming Dynasty (29) navigation (39) NF (14) non-fiction (287) North America (14) pseudohistory (11) read (22) Renaissance (42) sailing (13) to-read (149) travel (22) unread (28) world history (56) Zheng He (23)

Common Knowledge

Members

Reviews

Not sure I believe Menzies thesis, but it this was a terrific read.
 
Flagged
MylesKesten | 90 other reviews | Jan 23, 2024 |
This book looks bigger than it really is - the last 200 pages being appendices....

Whilst the story itself was interesting, I still had difficulty with the way of writing. Plenty of references to "when I was in the Navy" and "When I was in command of xxx submarine" (oh get over yourself!). Also the publication seemed a little rushed as there was plenty of mentions to "investigations are ongoing blah, details will be on the website (the details of which get mentioned the first and possibly the only time buried somewhere in the postscript). Dont know what the rush for the publication was for, or where he got all the money to fund the research.… (more)
 
Flagged
nordie | 90 other reviews | Oct 14, 2023 |
This is non-fiction about the great impact that the explorations & trade of Chinese people with people in the Mid-East, Europe & the Americas prior to 1434, when the Emperor forbade any further voyages. He recounts a great deal of evidence that he & others have developed (mostly others who were or are archeologists, sociologists & anthropologists). Some of what he discloses about Chinese voyagers in the Americas had appeared in his earlier 1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus. To me, what he uncovered and made known about Chinese people in Europe, particularly in Italy, was revelatory for me; and he backed up these disclosures not only with physical evidence, such as coins, silks & bones, but also genetics & written materials by contemporaneous writers of the 14th & 15th Centuries.
Another part of this book was convincing evidence that several southern European explorers & traders had been to the Americas prior to Columbus, that it was well-known among seafarers that the world was round, and further that Columbus & Magellan had maps of the Americas prior to their first voyages to "The New World" that included specifics such as the strait now called The Strait of Magellan through which Magellan sailed from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
… (more)
 
Flagged
RickGeissal | 14 other reviews | Aug 16, 2023 |
Interesting, and more believable than Menzies' previous book, 1421. I think it's likely that the Minoans could be the source for the tales of Atlantis. And it's believable that they traveled around Europe at least. However, Menzies still states theories as though they were fact, and acts as though he was the first person who ever thought of some of these ideas. He does a lot of research and refers to many sources, while continually attacking scholars of history. Who does he think wrote the resources he is quoting from? All in all, the early parts of the book have believable ideas, but the theories get more and more extreme by the end. For example, there are stone circles all over Europe. Could the Minoans possibly be responsible for all of them? Could the Minoans really have crossed the Atlantic the way Columbus did, rather than following ice and land routes around the northern Atlantic the way the Vikings did? Given the lack of supporting evidence in Menzies' earlier books, I'm doubtful about a lot of his claims here.… (more)
 
Flagged
atozgrl | 2 other reviews | Jan 7, 2023 |

Lists

Awards

You May Also Like

Associated Authors

Statistics

Works
4
Also by
1
Members
4,282
Popularity
#5,869
Rating
3.2
Reviews
112
ISBNs
90
Languages
13
Favorited
1

Charts & Graphs