Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating reading
Review: Menzie's accumulation of both hard and soft evidence that the Chinese explored the "New World" before Columbus is both promising and frustrating.In the expanded soft cover version of this book, Menzies combines the examination of historical maps with genetic reseach, the re-examination of historical diaries and a survey of ship wrecks to accumulate a convincing set of evidence that the Chinese were here before the Europeans and had an influence on the "New World" that was here when the Europeans arrived. The frustrating part is that the quality of the evidence is mixed. Some is shear speculation, while other evidence is rock solid. All the details of the final picture that Menzies so confidently paints are unlikely to stand the test of time, however his challenge to the conventional wisdom regarding the meaning of the evidence he accumulates will go a very long way to inspire both professional and amature historians to re-examine the history of China and the "New World." As momentous as the first declaration that the Vikings had been to this continent, this book is well worth reading for those who can expect to see continued discussion of this topic over the next decades.
Rating: 
Summary: Much That Is Plausible
Review: I don't think it's worth getting too worked up about what some have called this book's revisionism. Sure, Menzies goes overboard at times, as when he asserts in the Postscript that "Coronado's expedition met Chinese people in Tiguex" with nary a "might have" in sight. But isn't it just as great a stretch to suggest, as historians have, that the east coast of Australia was charted for the first time by James Cook in 1769 after sailing about 12,000 miles, when for centuries there had been highly skilled Chinese mariners and cartographers just 2000 miles to the north? Part of the great attraction of Menzies' writing is his exuberant imagination, which is all too rare in historians. On the other hand, his exuberance is tempered and his imagination is informed by a strict military discipline, formed during a career as navigator and commander in the British Royal Navy. Whatever the Chinese may have discovered or charted in 1421--South America, North America, Australia, South Africa...(with a thousand ships gone for 2 years they must have found something) it's a fantastic story. Their felling of vast forests in China and Vietnam to build the fleet and the Forbidden City has obvious parallels to the megalomania of many governments today. Their fondness for a diet rich in vegetables which protected them from scurvy in 1421 (Cook thought sour kraut was the key) was evident still in the 19th century when they built the Central Pacific railroad through the High Sierra, and for that matter evident still on any Chinese restaurant menu today. All in all a refreshing new look at the history of world exploration from a different angle.
Rating: 
Summary: Where's The Boat?
Review: Let's review the boats. Could the Polynesians have sailed to America in one of their boats? Heyerdahl built Kon-Tiki. Could the Egyptians have sailed the Mediteranian and the Atlantic in a reed boat? Hyerdahl built the Ra. Could Saint Brendan have crossed the Atlantic in a skin covered corracle? Well some Irish built one and did it. Did the Viking boat really perform well? Yes Modern Scandanavians have built them and they work just like it says in the sagas. Is a trireme possible? Sure is. Modern reconstructions with collegiate crews can get them up to high speeds. Were the boats used by Columbus really seaworthy? Indeed they were. Modern replicas have crossed the Atlantic. Finally, did the fifteenth century Chinese have boats five hundred feet long? Who knows? Maybe - maybe not. Notice that every famous maritime vessel in history has been recreated by modern shipbuilding enthusiasts, marine architects, or archiologists. All that is except the legendary Zheng He 500 foot long junks. The phenomenon of hogging argues that no wooden ship can be made so large if it is to traverse the open sea. Certainly there is no authenticated record of such a wooden ship having been built in the West or the East. This is an issue of materials. Wood simply isn't strong enough for certain tasks. Here in the Bay Area we have the Golden Gate and the Bay Bridge. Both of these have long spans of steel girders supported by steel cables. They could not have been built with wooden girders and hemp ropes. Smaller gaps can be spanned with these materials but not the Golden Gate. Similarly a rigid ship hull can't be longer than about 175 feet if made of wood. When a ship's hull in heavy weather is supported only by waves at the ends it must be strong enough to hold up the center. Similarly if it is supported only in the center it must be strong enough to hold up its ends. Of course you could make a wooden vessel of indefinite length if it were nothing but a series of rafts tied together in the form of a snake. But the Zheng He junk is described as a single vessel composed of rigid water tight compartments. Personally I think the 500 ft junk is a myth but of course I could be wrong. Show me. Do a Kon-Tiki. Establish a fund. Build a replica sail it around the world. Menzies says he is planning to do just that. However the junk being built is only about 150 feet long not the 150 meters of the mythical Zheng He boat. This will prove nothing. There have already been voyages by smaller junks from China to England. What is required is a full size replica not a 1/9th model. Until then, as a person of Irish extraction I will prefer St. Brenden as my favorite crank pre-Columbian legend. After all the the book the Brenden Voyages relates a real recreation in a full size replica. The book 1421 just repeats tall tales. Herodotus tells us that Xerxes crossed the Hellespont with two million men to invade Greece. Xerxes had an army and Zheng He had a boat no serious historian doubts that. However the exact measurements of Xerxes army and Zheng He's junk are very much in doubt. Indeed historians have to speculate on the real values because the legendary values are so clearly impossible.
Rating:
Summary: So stupid it's funny
Review: This is perhaps the silliest book I've ever read. It makes the Barry Fell book seem like solid research. It is very akin to Eric von Danekin's ideas and uses some of the same evidence but substitutes the Chinese for space aliens. It only seems more plausible than von Danekin because it starts with the real historical figure of Zheng He. After establishing that the Zheng He fleet was large and had several voyages, Menzies goes off on a fantasy about the sixth voyage. Some questions you might ask yourself about his account of the sixth voyage are: Why did the fires and political upheavals only affect this voyage? There is quite a bit of documentation about Zheng He and his voyages to Africa and the Middle East. The book itself shows the famous picture of the giraffe. Why no pictures of polar bears or American Bison, or kangaroos? Menzies proposes very convienient fires and very thorough political enemies. Menzies also suggests that the Chinese transported the now extinct mylodon around the world. There is no evidence for this whatsoever. Why didn't they go to Europe? Menzies claims the Chinese circumnavigated the planet, found Australia, Antartica, the North Pole (while circumvavigating Greenland), both coasts of both Americas, and the west coast of Africa. In other words they went everywhere there is to go except Europe. These phantom mariners seem to want to avoid people who kept records. Why such a strange mixture of competence and incompetence? Menzies tells us the exact location, date, and time of day when the mysterious Chinese reached various points. He describes their junks as huge and sophisticated but since they could not tack they had to follow the currents and sail only before the wind. He then accounts for their failure to observe various islands or mountains by proposing that they sailed past them at night. He explains missed land masses as a product of observing mountains just over the horizon from near the water line and mistaking them for islands. By his extravagant set of theories he confidently explains the exact line his Chinese took through narrow channels and the time of day. Of course there is no evidence at all for any of this except his theory that the Chinese made up a series of now lost maps that predate the fifteenth century European maps. What do you see in the maps? Menzies relies principally on map interpretation for his evidence. He uses several sixteenth century maps and a few fifteenth century maps. Almost all of them are European. In general they show Europe, the Mediteranian, and the Middle East in great detail. The maps before 1492 show one land mass with no continents in the Western Hemisphere. After 1492 they show the east coast of North America and South America. None of this is surprising. We have long known that Columbus had a world map with him and we know pretty much what it looked like (no America). Magellan also had a map or maybe even several maps. There was no shortage of world maps before Columbus and Magellan. There is no mystery here. They had maps but the maps were increasingly ficticious as they diverged from Europe. Menzies sees things in the maps that others can't see. He also fails to notice that his favorite map the Piri Reis, has many pictures of ships but they are all European ships. It also has a depiction of Saint Brenden which he doesn't mention. Maybe the Irish made a series of now lost maps? He claims that the Piri Reis map shows the Straits of Megellan. He's nuts. It shows a river. He claims it shows Antartica (without the ice pack). He's nuts. It shows the South American coast line continuously bending to the east as had Ptolomy's maps of antiquity. He sees astounding details that he says can only be explained by copying from earlier (now lost) Chinese maps. He's nuts. He never mentions the second Piri Reis map of about ten years later. Piri Reis compiled maps from the best available sources for Sullieman the Magnificent. His second map encompassed the latest information from the early sixteeth century Spanish and Portugese voyages. The second map depicts North America much more accurately. Menzies believes in a lost Golden Age of Chinese mapmaking that Europeans copied. Then why do the maps get so much better only after the Europen voyages? The first Piri Reis map is widely used by cranks to show space aliens were here or that there were pre-Pharonic Egyptians navigators. Menzies now uses it to show that the Zheng He voyages discovered America. Ha! Finally the book claims that their is all sorts of genetic evidence of Chinese voyages in the fifteeth century. He's nuts and dishonest. The academic articles he cites say no such thing. They never mention Chinese DNA. These articles are written in response to a valid academic dispute over Native American ancestors. Some of this stems from the dispute that arose when the Monte Verdi site was found to be so much older than the Clovis site (recent vs. old). Some of it arose over the controversies around the Kenniwick Man skeleton (single Asian ancestor stock vs multiple Euro-Asian stocks). There was also a theory that the predecesors came by boat as well as by land bridge (sea vs land). In light of this controversy there is a abstract of an journal article by Novick on Alu that refers to "recent" Asian contacts and that does not support multiple ancestor lines. Menzes quotes this phrase as evidence that there were Chinese fifteenth century ancestors whereas the abstract seems to refer to 13k BC Siberians. The full article by Novick et al is not posted anywhere on the web so I cannot be completely sure, but the book cites the ambiguous phrases from the abstract several times. Menzes seems to assume that any study that finds genetic similaries between American Natives and Chinese supports his crank theory. Of course everyone has recognized the connection between American Indians and Asians since 1492 - the year Columbus deiscovered America.
Rating:
Summary: Lets find the "smoking gun" ¿ Admiral Zheng He's voyages rec
Review: I immensely enjoyed reading Gavin Menzies's book. Unfortunately, Mr. Gavin's book is based on circumstancial evidences. The "unconvertible" evidences, Admiral Zheng He's records of voyages logs and charts, are missing from the picture. Some readers complained that there is no "smoking gun" that proof Zhen He's fleet sailed around the world in the early 1400's. I have to agreed with this assesment even though I am a Chinese myself. Historians have widely accepted that Admiral Zheng He's records was destroyed or burned by the Confucians-Officials during the Ming Dynasty. Amazingly, no attempts were made to locate these records of Zheng He's fantastic voyages, despite the official history have merely said that the records disappeared from the Imperial Archive under dubious circumstances. The official history even described the circumstances of the disappearance and who was responsible for it. Here is my rough translation of the official account of the records' disappearance: ... Emperor Hong Zhi was a frivolous adolescent boy who likes to play with treasures. One day, when Liu Da Xia was the Secretary of Transportation, someone suggested to the Emperor that he should emulate his ancestor Emperor Zhu Di by sending a fleet to the Western Oceans to bring back treasures for him to play. The Emperor asked the Secretary of Defense Xiang Zhong to examine Zheng He's old records. The Defense Secretary sent an assistant to the Emperial Archive to retrieve them. Liu Da Xia rushed to the Archive first and hided the records. For three days, the assistant couldn't find them. As it happened, Xiang Zhong has other business to attend to and the matter was dropped. Later, when Xiang Zhong questioned his assistant: "how could the records have disappeared?" Liu answered: "Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean cost hundreds of thousands of dollars of food and material and lost tens of thousands of lives. Even though he returned with treasures, the voyages are still not worth the cost. If the records are still there, they should be destroyed. Why bother to pursuit this matter further." Xiang Zhong reflected upon what he heard and felt the same way. He got up and bowed to Liu, pointing to his chair and said "Your virtues are not small; someday it will be yours." Later, Liu did become Secretary of Defense based on Xiang's recommendation ... Clearly, Xiang knew Liu hided the records. He helped Liu along by reporting to the Emperor that the records were lost. At that time, Ming Dynasty was nearly bankrupted due to reckless spending by the court and rampant corruption of the officials. Both Xiang and Liu have very good reasons to dissuade the young Emperor from making another expensive expedition to the Western Oceans. Liu Da Xia is venerated by Chinese people as a compassionate, upright courageous official. He had risked his life to fight
corruptions. He is not a stupid and ignorance official some historians would like us to believe. Confucian-Scholars-Officials pride themselves to be the guardians and maintainers of Chinese cultures and history. Burning and destroying historical records simply do not fit in with their beliefs. Some modern scholars attacked Liu as the most stupid person in Chinese history for "burning" Zheng He's records. In truth, he saved the Ming Dynasty from imminent disaster. His actions probably saved the records from actual destruction by somebody else. Here is an account on how he became the Defense Secretary: ... On the seventeenth year's reign of Hong Zhi (1504), the Emperor asked Liu Da Xia to be his Secretary of Defense for many times, but Liu decline the appointment every time. Finally, the Emperor asked Liu: "Why did you refused all my requests to be the Defense Secretary? Liu answered: "It's because the people are now desperately poor and treasury is broke. When rebellions began to appeared, it will be my job to suppress them. I am afraid my ability is not up to this task." The Emperor was shocked. He asked: "How could the empire became like this? I though the taxation is fair and orderly, since the empire was established?" Liu answered: "The problem is that taxation was not fair and orderly. Each year the state demands tens of thousands of dollars of wood and medicines from the provinces. Even just the small items like these, the costs run into tens of thousands of dollars. You can imagine what other items are like." The Emperor then ask about the situation of army, Liu said: "The soldiers are as poor and wretched as the people, because the officers deducted at least half of their pay." The Emperors issued many edicts to ban corruptions, but it was little effects. ... For people who can read Chinese, please read the following stories about Liu Da Xia: http://www.jingtu.org/yg/lsgytjyy/lsgytjyy168.htm
http://www.novelscape.com/js/w/wangsongshan/gjjh/070.htm
http://www.shuku.net:8080/novels/zatan/qgzzgls/qgzzgls07.html http://www.mypcera.com/book/li/ming/044.htm My point is that Liu was a highly responsible person and virtuous official. He could not have destroyed the records of Zheng He. In fact, history did not said he destroyed the records, but merely stated that he hided them. It is possible that the records are still exists somewhere in China, since there were no eye-witness accounts that they were destroyed. We should ask the Chinese government to locate Liu's descendants to search for clues of the records. Why keep looking for circumstantial evidences if the records could answer everything? Let's not beat around the brushes but search directly for the Zheng He's records. The descendants of famous Chinese people are not hard to find, because the Chinese are proud of their illustrious ancestors and keeps extensive records of them. Let's help find those amazing records. This is the Internet age. Everyone can be a detective in this game of life. Let's complete what Mr. Menzies has started. History should not be left alone for the historian. We could make history ourselves!
Rating: 
Summary: More than a coax
Review: *
EXTRAORDINARY CLAIMS REQUIRE EXTRAORDINARY PROOF. If allowed, I would have given 0 star. For mysterious reasons, my submissions since 1/27 were never posted. The book based on a proposition that Antilia mapped in a 1424 map was Puerto Rico. But Menizes did NOT tell you:
a. He rotated Antilia to make it looks like Puerto Rico
b. Antilia is much much larger than Puerto Rico
c. He forgot all the previous research on Pizzigano Chart -- especially a 1986 "discovery" that Antilia was Nova Scotia Menzies asked no-brainers to believe that wooden sailing boat could be built in the past as long as an aircraft carrier in the late 1930s and as tall as a 40-floor building. Such ship has a displacement between 20,000 to 30,000 tons. Its requires a draught of 30 to 40 ft. Menzies wants you to believer that in the 15th century that seaports from Africa to China had a water depth of 50 ft. He also asked you to believe that the naval expedition was a luxurious sea cruise with fine restaurants, brothels, and so on. By his calculation, the expeditions visited 3000 countries in a period of 100 months (7 expeditions X an average of 15 months per expedition). Assuming no repeated visits, the expeditions had to berth one country per day. What Menzies asked you to believe is that these ships did not sail in the water at all! It is more than a coax given the marketing support and coordinate worldwide promotion. Also Menzies rented a room from Royal Geographical Society to announce his "findings." Readers should carefully examine his association (or the lack of association) with the Society. In my previous review submissions, I listed over 10 Chinese and English sources debunking the book. Smart readers should check the internet for Louise Levathes, Natalie Danford, Manuel Luciano da Silva, and Jeng-Horng Chen.
Rating:
Summary: FANTASY OR FABRICATION?
Review: -
Adjust view/encoding to read Chinese text 0 star if I may EXTRAORDINARY CLAIMS REQUIRE EXTRAORDINARY PROOF. Don¡¯t read 1421 unless you have read Louise Levathes¡¯ When China Ruled the Seas. 1. 1421 is based on the premise that Puerto Rico was mapped in the 1424 before any European had arrived there. Menizes argued that since the Chinese had launched large-scale expeditions to the ¡°West Ocean¡±; it had to be the Chinese who discovered America. This premise collapses if:
a. that island is not Puerto Rico, or
b. the Chart was not made in 1424, or
c. the portion of the Chart that shows that island was added after Columbus arrived the Caribbean. Menzies never discussed these three possibilities. Rather, he was ignorant of (or ignoring?) previous research on the Pizzigano Chart. In particular, he omitted the finding made by Manuel Luciano da Silva about ¡°Antilia¡± Menzies rotated the Pizzigano Chart to make Antilia look like Puerto Rico. 2. Menzies ignored all Chinese sources specific to the expeditions. The Chinese had debated about the expeditions for decades. A credible book has to sort out the controversies and debates from Chinese sources. 3. Menzies also failed to incorporate a vast amount English-writing articles on the Zheng He expeditions. 4. Menzies is handicapped by his inability to read Chinese. In relying on translations of old Chinese text he frequently misinterpreted the true meaning. In some occasions, he left out evidence against his argument. On page 55, Menizes stated that Liu Daxia, (Áõ'óÏÄ) destroyed the navigation logs. Menzies footnoted that to Joseph Needham. Readers should check whether misquotation happened. In fact, books, navigational instructions, and many other materials were published contemporary and immediately after the expedition era. There was no systematic purge of records. Regardless of what Needham and Duyvendak said, let us go to the original source on which such allegation was based -- ¡¶ÊâÓòÖÜ×ɼ¡·(An Account of Traveling in Exotic Territories) written in 1574. The Account mentioned that around 1466 to 1469, Liu Daxia refused to hand over old government files on the expeditions to the Minister of War. In defending his action, Liu said:
¡°The Zheng¡¯s expeditions cost hundred thousands of money and grains; It wasted tens of thousands lives of civilians and military personnel. Even the expeditions brought exotic treasures, what kind of good would it give to the country? Any officials should remonstrate strongly with the emperor against this evil policy. The old files are around but they should be destroyed to stop such stupidity. Why do you complain about not having them?¡± Menzies quoted parts of this paragraph and mixed it with other quotes. The official historical record (made in early Ching Dynasty) stated a slightly different version: Liu hid the files from being used for the preparation of a military campaign in Northern Vietnam. Both sources do NOT indicate file destruction. Since the mandarins were against these expeditions, had Liu really destroyed these files, he would have been honored as a national hero. It is likely that those files just got misplaced by the end of the Dynasty. Or they were destroyed during the 1645 fire when the mob invaded Beijing and the palace. 5. Menzies never discussed the technical feasibility of building the treasure ship. This ship measured 480 ft (160 m) in length and their masts were over 400 ft tall. This is a ship two-third of the length of the Titanic and the mast height, according to 1421, equals to that of a 40-story building. It has a draught of 30 to 40 ft, so it could not sail through channels less than 40 ft deep. Can we build it today? Should Menzies consult shipbuilding experts? 6. Menzies is evasive regarding archeological evidences. Where are the exact locations? Who are involved in the dig? What is the reputation of the digging team? When did it take place and where was the findings published? Independent verification and transparency are so important in archeology. 7. The test of the presence of Chinese, from an anthropological perspective, is to see whether chopsticks are used. Additional sources (only for serious readers who would do an Internet research): In English
a. Louise Levathes¡¯ review of 1421 on January 19, 2003 in The Washington Post. b. Natalie Danford ¡°The Chinese discovered America -- Or did they?¡± January 7, 2003. c. Manuel Luciano da Silva¡¯s ¡°The discovery of America by the Chinese in 1421 is a big lie!¡± d. de Silva¡¯s report: ¡°The True Antilles are in Canada: Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward¡±
Copyright in the Library of the Congress, Washington, D. C. January 12, 1987. e. Jeng-Horng Chen . 2003 ¡°Hydrodynamic Performances of Typical Chinese Junks and a Working Model of Zheng-He¡¯s Treasure Ship¡±. In Chinese a. Öì¼øÇï Zhu "Fictitious Global Voyage" Ðé¹¹µÄ»·Çòº½ÐÐ--ÆÀÃÏϯ˹¡¶1421¡·µÄ±¦'¬¶Óº½Ïß. b. The debate on the length of the treasure ship in a Zheng He discussion newsletter. àºÍÑо¿Åc»î„Óº†Ó,µÚÎåÆÚ June 20, 2002. c. ¡°Conference Commemorating the 600 Year Anniversary of Zheng He¡¯s Expedition¡± (¼ÍÄîÖ£ºÍÏÂÎ÷Ñó600ÖÜÄ꺣ϿÁ½°¶Ñ§ÊõÑÐÌÖ»á). d. A review of 1421 by Professor Su ÌKÃ÷ê- atàºÍÑо¿Åc»î„Óº†ÓµÚ¾ÅÆÚ December 30, 2002. e. An interview with Menzies by a Chinese newspaper Öлª¶ÁÊ鱨 January 29, 2003. f. Jeng-Horng Chen et al êÕþºê ¡±Preliminary Comparison of the Performance of the Replica Model of Zheng-He¡¯s Treasure Ship¡± àºÍŒš'¬ÍÔÄ£ÐÍÐÔÄÜÖ®³õ²½±ÈÝ^Ñо¿2001.
*
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U Penn
Rating:
Summary: A great pastime and an eye-opener
Review: I bought this book at an airport bookstore, hoping that it would keep me busy during a transatlantic flight. It did. At the end of my flight I wasn't even halfway through and I had not put the book down for even one second. That tells you something about the sheer volume of information contained in this book. On the other hand it is also very well written. Instead of simply pouring out facts and figures in an academic manner, Gavin Menzies describes a journey, and illustrates it so brilliantly that you the reader feel as if you are onboard these vessels sailing into the unknown.
The evidence he puts forward is convincing, confusing and overwhelming at the same time.
The bibliography is immense and there's no doubt in my mind that he is onto something.
For anyone who loves geography maps and exploration this is a book that will keep you reading and reading, but most of all, it will keep you wondering. Last not least, this book will change your mind about history as we in the West have come to know it.
Rating:
Summary: a hoax
Review: 1421 would make a good case study for a class in debunkery. With so many claims, the class could be split into groups, each assigned a different set of claims to follow trails of evidence. They'll find dead ends. I'll list a few problems. The book begins with history of the 15th century Chinese fleets, of which little is known among most Westerners. This part is engaging, and judging from footnotes, seems well grounded in fact. Real flight of fancy begins on pp. 103-104, with discussion of an old inscription on a stone (Pedra do Letreiro) on Cape Verde. Experts have long tried but failed to determine the language of this inscription. The author faxes a picture (not shown in the book) to the Bank of India and asks if they know. Their reply: "It looks like Malayalam." The author has never heard of Malayalam. The Bank informs him that this "was the language of Kerala" and "has largely ceased to be spoken today." To the author, this communication constitutes proof that the inscription IS in Malayalam (and "I punched the air in my excitement"). Any encyclopedia or web search will reveal that Malayalam is an official language of India today, spoken by 30+ million people, and the official language of the state of Kerala. Ironically, Kerala's main claim to fame is its 100% literacy rate. So what do all those Malayalam-reading Keralans make of the inscription? We are not told. When the author was on book tour in January 2004, I asked him about this Malayalam inscription. He was still waiting to hear from the experts. He had tracked down the world's leading expert in Malayalam, but unfortunately this person couldn't help because he is blind. Sadly, nobody in the room laughed. The declaration of a "Malayalam" inscription seems to be the signal that thoughtful readers should put the book down now, so the author can continue for the gullible who won't think of hard questions. You don't even have to look anything up to see things that don't make sense. Page 257: "Sea levels in 1421 were lower than they are today. Global warming has caused the polar ice to melt, causing sea levels to rise slowly but inexorably." Page 306: "Greenland was circumnavigable in 1421-2, for not only was the maximum limit of the polar ice well to the north of its present position, the climate of Greenland was far warmer than it is today." Not only is that a contradiction, but the author also ignores the most natural ways to find data on both sea levels and Greenland temperatures. We can find Greenland temperature history data over centuries by doing a web search, turning up what scientists have learned from Greenland ice cores. The author ignores this evidence and instead relies on evidence from types of flies found in Greenland house excavations (p. 306). As for sea levels, he writes (p. 257) that "reputable oceanographers" put the rise over the past few centuries at somewhere between one and four millimetres a year. Concluding: "In the almost six centuries since 1421 it is safe to say that sea levels have risen between just under four and just under eight feet." The math is OK, but what's the point of calculating such a rough ESTIMATE when some coastal areas of Europe and Asia have historic RECORDS of local sea levels going back to 1421 and earlier? The book has some purported linguistic evidence, of similarities between Chinese words and those of indigenous American languages. This type of word list comparison has been done before with other pairs of unrelated languages, and doesn't prove anything, because you can always find a few words that look as if they may be related. For example, see sci.lang newsgroup archives for a discussion of Mandan (of North Dakota) and Welsh. 1421 has a strong undertone of disparagement of non-Eurasian cultures. For example, p. 320: "While serving in HMS Newfoundland, I travelled thousands of miles along the East African coast from Kenya to South Africa. In 1958 it was largely unspoilt, lined by the remains of old Arab and Portuguese slave towns and the occasional musty British club, the last remnants of empire." (Unspoilt?) Other chapters include put-downs of native Americans who supposedly couldn't have invented much of what they did by themselves and must have had help from the Chinese. The author puts great promise in DNA evidence linking distant peoples with the Chinese. But he presents none of this evidence. According to the book, there should be supplementary information on the 1421 website, but check it out: it's practically empty. I also wonder, why the rush to publication? The author even admits that some parts are incomplete, and more details will be filled in later, either on the website or in future editions of the book. Also, the index leaves much to be desired. American readers will enjoy references to "Bahía California" (p. 402), "the Mississippi River west of Kansas City" (p. 415), and "the Pacific coast of New Mexico" (p. 417). They may challenge themselves to see how "San Francisco and Los Angeles are clearly depicted at correct latitudes on the Waldseemüller chart," (p. 202) with the chart between pp. 296-297. According to the book jacket, the author served in the Royal Navy from 1953 until 1970 (the year he turned 33), and commanded the submarine HMS Rorqual from 1968 to 1970. He makes many, many references in the book to things "I know from my own naval career" to explain away some oddities in old maps. There is a curious omission on p. 227: "When I commanded HMS Rorqual, I took her through the South China Sea and Philippine Islands to Subic Bay." He does not inform us that on June 13, 1969, HMS Rorqual rammed into the USS Endurance when the Endurance was moored at Subic Bay. It would have been interesting to read his side of that story!
Rating:
Summary: Speculative
Review: High on speculation, medium on facts, this book should interest you if you like the era and topic. However, it is FAR from scientific and the author seems to attribute every anamolie ever found to the chinese: The vinlad map, the Bimini stones..list goes on and on. While I do not doubt the Chinese, Africans, Polynesians and arabs visited and traded with the America's for hundreds of years (thousands?), I do doubt some of the authors dubious claims.
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