Helpful Score: 5
I usually don't read non-fiction, but I saw this book on sale at the bookstore and decided to give it a chance. I picked it up and was fascinated by Menzie's almost conversational style as he meticulously laid out the facts that countered the Euro-centric history American schools teach us. While I've known for years that Columbus discovered America quite by accident, I did not know the extent of exploration of the United States and the world prior to the late 1400s. This book is very well researched, but it doesn't read like typical non-fiction, so even those who, like me, typically avoid it, will enjoy the book. This book is a must read for anyone who likes history and/or challenging the false history s/he has been taught.
Helpful Score: 3
I did not know quite what to expect when I got this book, but it turned out to be a very interesting read. He makes a very good case that the Chinese were world travelers long before the Europeans took to the seas in any numbers. The evidence that he presents about Chinese influence in a great number of places around the world is very compelling and the book is a great read. I think he does try to strech the evidence in a couple of place, but overall a great read.
I begn reading this books and found that it was difficult to get into, so I am reading another book and will return to 1421 The Year China Discovered America, at a later date.
On March 8, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail from China to "proceed all the way to the ends of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas." When the fleet returned home in October 1423, the emperor had fallen, leaving China in political and economic chaos. The great ships were left to rot at their moorings and the records of their journeys were destroyed. Lost in the long, self-imposed isolation that followed was the knowledge that Chinese ships had reached America seventy years before Columbus and had circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan. And they colonized America before the Europeans, transplanting the principal economic crops that have since fed and clothed the world.
Beautiful Gift Copy!
Beautiful Gift Copy!
