Rating: 
Summary: Barely believable adventures.
Review: A very remarkable book written in the 13th century. Many secrets were reviled when Marco returned. And may interesting explanations of things like the origin of cinnamon.
Marco writes well enough of his travels and you feel that you are there. You can actually follow the trail if you have a map. He describes the flora and fauna of each region and describes the economics and industry of the region.
Example: "The women of the superior class are in like manner free from superfluous hairs; their skins are fare, and they are well formed."
It is interesting to see how little has changed from Marco Polo's 13th century and now.
Rating: 
Summary: Essential Travelogue, could have been better presented
Review: I have read this book while traveling in China by train. It is a very interesting description of past times, and essential reading for those interested in historical geography. Several points need to be clarified, though. First Marco Polo is not what one would call today an "unbiased observer". He traveled on the trips he wrote about while being employed as an emissary for the Mongols, and his admiration for the Mongol regime shows throughout. People and civilizations are judged by their proximity to the Mongol Khan. The point of view of the Chinese and other victims of Mongols is completely absent.Second, Marco Polo was obsessed with power, money, prostitution, and religion. Most of his descriptions center about these things, to the neglect of other aspects of human life. He divides the cities he encounters upon religious lines, even in places like China where the inhabitants themselves weren't aware or didn't care about such divisions. His admiration for Christianity and his contempt for Buddhism (whom he erroneously associates with idol worship) shows through. He often writes as if drunken with admiration for Mongol power, praising the Khan for massacring entire cities, while at the same time labeling peaceful people as "pusillanimous". Having said that, these travelogues are still interesting to read. The short-chapter format is very well-suited to reading in the bathroom. The translation by William Marsden is very well-done and easy to read. However, my edition (Wordsworth Editions, 1997) could be improved in several ways. A map for instance showing the route of his travels would go a long way assisting the reader to follow along. Otherwise one has to reconstruct the places from the crude narrative ("and then we traveled 3 days by camel heading East, then turned to left and walked 1 day ..."). Frankly, quite often I had no clue about which location he was writing. So I ended up copying a map from a history book and pasting it inside the back cover. Still one desires a more detailed map, with marks designating locations chapter by chapter. Another desperately needed improvement is a translation table. Many of the place names he used had long been ignored and replaced with new place names. In my edition there is one page glossary of place names, but that is far from adequate. For example, the glossary only translates 5 place names in China, leaving dozens other names in oblivion, and leaving me wondering whether the city of Kin-Sai, the one Marco Polo praises the most and devotes the most pages to, is modern-day SuZhou or HangZhou. This is an important deficiency that needs to be corrected. Whatever edition you decide to buy, make sure first that it has a good map and a good glossary of names!
Rating: 
Summary: Classic information from a classic read.
Review: If people really try to think back, to how things were in the ancient world, and see how improbable a journey Marco Polo and his father and uncle undertook, and then completed nearly 30 years after they started, they would probably realize how unlikely such a journey was and why so many people attack Marco Polo as a fraud. Nevertheless, simply as an historical Atlas of China, and with an incredible historical context, warts and all, it is a very illuminating book, showing Chinese cities using their ancient Mongol names (in what other context would someone serving the Mongol emperor record the city names?) and allowing the reader the opportunity to research and discover for themselves, just how fascinating and mysterious other ethnicities and other cultures were to a European of the middle ages. One of the most fascinating aspects of "The Travels" is not just some of the factual innaccuracies, but the apparent perceptions of Marco Polo, fully willing to believe he had found the final resting place of the first man, Adam, and the wizardry of other peoples, the ability to do magic, and a legend of giant "Rocs" near Madagascar, and how the Khan sent a small expedition to investigate the rumors of such. If you want a book that makes you ask searching questions about humanity, cultural bias, and the importance of lore and myth in cultures, this book is invaluable.
Rating:
Summary: "Never man explored so much as Messer Marco."
Review: In 1260, Niccolo Polo, the father of Marco Polo, and his brother Maffeo went across Black Sea in the hope of a profitable brisk of trade. So the brothers from Venice brought many dazzling jewels and set out from Constantinople by ship to Sudak and onward to Barku. A war broke out in Barka's Land forced the brothers to travel the opposite direction from which they had come. After they had crossed the desert, they came to Bukhara (in Persia) and by fortuity met a Tartar (Mongol) envoy on the way back to the Great Khan in Khan-balik (Beijing). On learning that they were merchants from Venice whom had never been seen in the country, the envoy invited the brothers to accompany him to Khan-balik to see the Great Khan. The Great Khan received the brothers honorably and welcomed them with such lavish hospitality after a year's journey. The curious Khan asked the brothers about their Emperors, about the government of their dominions, about the maintenance of justice, about the Pope and practices of the Roman Church, and about the Latin customs. He decided to send emissaries to the Pope, and asked the brothers to accompany on the mission with one of his barons. He entrusted them a letter written in the Turkish language for the Pope and asked him to send a hundred prominent men learned in the Christian religion to condemn idolaters' performances and shun devil. These well versed were to demonstrate for the idolaters their capability of doing diabolic arts but would not, because only evil spirits performed such enchantments. As the brothers approached Egypt, they got wind of the Pope's death and so they would go to Venice and visit their families pending the election of a new Pope. During the homeward voyage, Niccolo learned that his wife had passed away and left behind a 15-years-old son Marco Polo, who authored this book. After staying in Venice for about 2 years, they left for Jerusalem to get the oil from the lamp at Christ's sepulcher which the Great Khan had requested for his deceased mother, who was a Christian. The Travels chronicles the three years' journey back to Khan-balik from Venice, via the ancient trade corridor now known as the Silk Road, and details all the peculiar sights and peoples along the present Iran, Iraq, India, Tibet, Pamir, Mongolia, and China. It also records the many regions Marco Polo traveled during his numerous emissaries for the Great Khan during his 17 years in China. The Great Khan found favor with the then 21-years-old Marco Polo, who had acquired a remarkable knowledge of the letters and customs of the Tartars. Observing his wisdom and perspicacity, Khan sent him as his emissary to Kara-jang (Yunnan) in the far southwest, a mission Marco polo fulfilled brilliantly. When he went on his mission, being well aware of mistakes of previous emissaries, he paid close attention to all the novelties and curiosities that came his way, so that he may report them to the Great Khan. On his return Marco Polo would present himself before the Khan and first gave a full account of the business on which he had been sent. Then he went on to recount these remarkable things he sighted on the way. In The Travels, one will find detailed account of interesting, if not bizarre, customs and practices at which Marco Polo marveled, the very same stories that entertained the Khan who became well disposed to the young lad. For 17 years, Kubilai (the sixth khan in the Yuan dynasty) was so well satisfied with Marco Polo's conduct of affairs that he held him in high esteem and showed him such favor as keeping him so near his person. He observed more of the peculiarities of China than any of his contemporaries, because he traveled more extensively in these outlandish regions, and not to mention he gave his mind more intently to observing and recording them. The Travels reflects the stupendous extent of his travel, as Marco Polo often bypasses many places that were of no particular interest to him. Emissaries sent Marco Polo all over Manzi (southern China) and Cathay (northern China), rendering a vivid delineation of the native people, customs, cultures with amazing verisimilitude. For example, he marveled at the funeral customs in which the deads were provided with horses, slaves, camels, clothes in great abundance - all cut out of paper (a tradition that still prevails among Chinese) and burned alongside. For the Chinese believed the deads would have all the money in gold and all the necessities in the next world, alive in fresh and bone, and that all the honor they did while he was burning would be done to the deads correspondingly in the next world by their gods and idols. Marco Polo also wrote a detailed account of India and its practices of diabolic arts and similar funeral customs. From other historical resources, he probably acquired his knowledge partly when he was there on the Khan's business, partly on his return trip with the bride for Arghun, and that he derived some of it from first-hand observation, some from reliable testimony, and some from mariners' charts. He also wrote about the life of Sakyamuni Buekhan, who was revered founder of the Buddhist religion, for he refused to be the successor of his king father but continued to lead a life of great virtue, chastity, and austerity. In 1293, the Great Khan reposed such confidence in the brothers that he entrusted to their care not only the princess of Kokachin but also the daughter of the king of the Manzi, so that they might escort them to Arghun, Khan of all the Levant. The Polo brothers' adventure in the East thus completed on the note of a successful escort to Kaikhatu. The Travels, also known as The travels of Marco Polo, chronicled all wonders of Marco Polo's encounters in the East for 33 years. 2004 (42) ©MY
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Summary: The best presentation of Marco Polo's travels
Review: Marco Polo appertains to an exeptionally small group of historical personalities widely known on all continents. Such knowledge in the first place is based on the passing from generation to generation tales of adventurers and marvellous riches of the Asian World in the Middle Ages. To evaluate in this way of Marco Polo's book is the result of a renaissance interpretation of above all a rational text. No matter how interesting, such an image has made that text to reader of all ages over the past seven centuries, it has concealed its values: understanding of the reality and connection of numerous people and their cultures present on the extended Euro-Asian area. Colonel Henry Yule, himself a great admirer of these infinite diversities; such as geographical, climatic, ethnic, cultural and what else not, has unselfishly made available his great experience of a scientist and researcher, talent and good will in verifiying the saying of Marco Polo and presented it to the scientists and public. The summary of this extremely complex, professional and meticulous work is laid out on these 1680 pages (vols. 1 & 2). Numerous illustrations and detailed descriptions of itineraries and places from the Mediterranean to the Pacific and India, an area of abundant testimonies of great cultures; where great armies have roamed; obstinate missionaries and merchants, diplomats and spies have operated and what we called The Silk Roads, introduce the reader into the great world of Marco Polo and are a valuable source of information for everyone who intends to see these wordless testimonies and numerous fascinating landscapes of vast deserts and their oasis, mountain ranges and green valleys, where life runs slowly but with dignity as Marco Polo has seen and described it. Marco Polo and his work have been in the focus of many individual researchers and teams before and after Mr. Henry Yule, giving valuable contributions. However, for the overall knowledge, vision and comprehension of Marco Polo and his achivements, the book written by colonel Henry Yule "The Book of Marco Polo" has maintained the very top position won by its first presentation to the public in the distant year of 1871.
Rating:
Summary: Bonus Points for Visual Style
Review: Marco Polo's memoir of his life and travels in the medieval Asian empire of Kublai Khan is the ultimate adventure tale, a true one-of-a-kind. As a teenager, Marco Polo, scion of a Venetian trading family, embarked on a two-decade adventure into the remotest corners of the known world through his family's connection with the Great Khan and his court. Year later, (after dictating his story in a prison back in civilized Europe), Polo published a dazzling account of sights he witnessed in lands little known to Europeans of the Middle Ages. So extraordinary and exotic were his reports, that Polo's tales both fired imaginations and inspired skepticism. For the modern reader, the book offers a fascinating picture of a lost world and a sense of ultimate adventure. One element that makes this an appealing edition of an opt-published classic is the use of 32 woodcut illustrations by Witold Gordon originally created for a 1930 edition of the book.
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Summary: Marco Polo-The Travels
Review: The Travels by Marco Polo. Penguin Books. 1958.
In any review, the reader has to be compelled to have an interest in the subject. What is it about this 800 year old story that would interest the reader? I had always believed that this book was an adventure story about the first European explorer into the mid east and China. I do not know where this notion came from but on both counts, it is wrong. I picked it up and read it because I continually see references from other modern, authors.
What is compelling about the book is the writer's anthropological approach (however primitive) to viewing the societies that were racially and culturally different from the upper crust European society he was raised in. There is a generosity of spirit in this book that will be detailed more further down.
It should be noted that like, Benvenuto Cellini's Autobiography, this book features hyperbole if not out right fantasy throughout. There is more than one version of The Travels as well. This book is not written in the first person as it actually is an "As told to" account that apparently was "told to" more than one transcriber. There has been much debate over the years about its veracity but that is for someone else to write about. I chose to read this book as if it were fact and not to fret over the overall truth or its details. That being said lets get into the story.
Over a period of about 24 years, the young Marco Polo joined his merchant father and his uncle in pursuit of the expansion of their mercantile trade into new regions. This concept should be familiar to any reader who reads about venture capitalism and Red China today. The dynamics may differ but the logic is the same. While this effort led the Polos to discover spices, material and trade routes, it also provided Marco, the opportunity to explore and log his experience with new cultures.
He is pretty magnanimous in his descriptions of the peoples he met as he traveled from Asia Minor through cities we hear about today such as Hormuz and Baghdad onto China (known then as Cathay) and into parts of Mongolia and Russia. I say that he is big hearted because he added very little value judgment in relating his experience with these cultures. Unfortunately, he limited what he could describe to a small variety of things.
Religion was broken into three categories. There were Christians (he did break them into a few groups such as Nestorian and Greek Orthodox), followers of Mahomet (Islam) and Idolaters (the rest). In some cases though few, he describes the cultures as having no religion as unlikely as that is. It is my suspicion that they were not devout peoples or their customs were too unusual for Polo to understand their worship. He did not render serious value judgments to the religions that were not Christian though he sort of favored that belief system. Specifically, the heroes of battle between people of differing religions was biased toward the Christians just as the performance of any miracles was.
Polo described the Great Kings, such as Kublai Khan and the lesser kings who gave allegiance to the former. This was important to him and was noted ad nauseum. He had great respect for Khan including the addition of a Genealogical Chart at the end of the book. He wrote of the Emperor's largesse-assisting the poor, providing examples of fair play and Solomon like wisdom. He also described the ruthless ability to hold power, destroy his enemies and land/nation plundering. He describes these latter events without a hint that anything was wrong with that. Perhaps at this juncture in history, Khan's methods were more civil and humane than the kings in Europe. Based on the North American conquests and slaughtering of Natives 200 years hence, this would seem possible. In my own opinion, the description of Khan reads something like Mario Puzo's Godfather.
Another area of special interests lies in Polo's interest with the spices, foods, material for clothing and adornment as well as native wood and building styles. This makes sense because that was Marco's career. He was a merchant. He describes in detail, the reasons different techniques were used to build a ship for instance. The description shows that he had a rudimentary scientific method and imparted that to the reader by explaining why certain procedures were performed based on supplies, climate and water conditions among other things.
Polo was a man of the world and that is obvious by his travels but he was clearly educated well. He brought to his journeys and writing, a skill and perception that would only be a result of solid education. His minimal judgmental phrasing also suggests to me that he saw the world as a big place and was not fettered by provincialism that might be expected from an upper crust 13th century European.
It is important to note however that the book reveals some of the Magical Realism that undoubtedly prevailed largely in his time. He believed in miracles, reported them on a second hand basis and claimed to see a few himself. It seems again, that by imagining the times and place that this was written, it would be nearly impossible to write a book that denied miracles. He does however toss a tiny bit of skepticism when describing a faith healer (a non Christian one of course). "You must not suppose that because I speak of `Diabolic Art' that that is their account of the matter: They attribute their knowledge to the power of the gods working through a medium of their art". He continues to describe these healers having ready made answers when their "cure" fails and of course it is Divine. Perhaps Benny Hine was acquainted with this book.
Polo was fairly interested in the sexual practices of these cultures and he reported some of the more lurid ones. In several cultures that he visited he found that the practice of entertaining visitors (of which he was one) by providing them with the sexual favors of their wives, sisters, nieces etc. The men would make the introductions and then depart to some distant retreat while their dear ones essentially prostituted themselves for the visitors satisfaction. He ended one such description by indicating that a man of 16 to 24 would find such a visit much to their liking. This made me wonder how Polo himself liked it but he did not mention such. Another thing to wonder, based on frank discussion of this and details of a pregnancy test in one of his towns, whether sexuality and the Christian's 6th commandment was considered as taboo as it was in say the Victorian Era. I don't know, it is just a thought.
The reader can enjoy this book for the fantastic descriptions of unicorns (probably rhinos), enormous and scary beasts (probably crocodiles) and men with tails. The reader might enjoy the descriptions of royalty which is one place that hyperbole abounds, for instance it is not uncommon for the story to pronounce that some king had thousands of concubines and thousands of servants and hundreds of thousands of soldiers for single battles.
The reader might also notice miracles which are plentiful, stories about hens with no feathers, cannibalism and people who live for 150-200 years. They might also marvel at the science that did prevail at the time. There is a description of a messaging system that is easily comparable to America's own Pony Express. Likewise the details of a sewer system that essentially matches our more modern ones, the logic behind curfews and birthing customs all suggest something of interest to me. Specifically, while technology has grown at an extremely rapid pace, people and their logic and belief systems have not really changed dramatically. Nearly, if not all stories that Polo related, have easy counterparts to something or someone that is visible in the media today.
There is a down side of this book. Previously it was mentioned that the veracity of The Travels was subject to question. Apparently in Asian historical chronicles there is no mention of this Italian visitor though there is mention of other European guests. He also describes many societies the same, almost verbatim. This may be due to very little difference between one culture and another or perhaps Polo simple cheated and threw in information that he did not have first hand (a little like the ever growing band of journalists, historians etc. that get revealed regularly in our current world).
Perhaps the most significant negative comment that could be said about this book is that by our 21st century standards it is just very poorly written. At times it is simply torturous to wade through a meaningless and repetitive description. The book is also written much like we talk. By that I mean phrases like ..."I nearly failed to mention..." are used throughout. Of course in our day the forgotten piece would simply be edited into its correct location and there would be no need for the brief apologetic line.
I assigned this book to myself for this book review. I enjoyed it despite its flaws and quite frankly, it may be all the fantasy of Polo or his transcriber, but I think the book gives us some insight into the 13th century mind of a learned traveler. For that it passes the litmus test of worthwhile reading.
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Summary: EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about Marco Polo!
Review: This is a fabulous edition of a well-loved book, especially for the scholar or Asian history enthusiast. The translation is taken from several of the earliest manuscripts, including important variations from each. However, the strength of the book is the extremely extensive annotation by Henry Yule, author of "Hobson-Jobson" and Henri Cordier. There are chapters which are one paragraph long that have six pages of footnotes. Yule leaves no stone unturned in his magnificent effort to provide not only explanatory material, but a vast amount of background. As an example, in the introductory biography when discussing Marco's capture by the Genoese while commanding a Venetian galley, Yule goes into a fascinating account of the development of oar-powered warships, including a discussion of the knotty topic of how rowers actually sat in biremes and triremes. Yule habitually also gives the differing opinions of other scholars as well as his own. If you love words and placenames, also, Yule is your man. His knowledge of etymology is immense, and he clarifies many, many terms very well indeed. My only criticism, though, is in this very area: it's obvious from some of the notes that his knowledge of Chinese was not as deep as it could have been for an editor of Polo's book. That, however, is a very minor complaint. You can really wallow in this book. Virgos will love it. I give it my highest recommendation.
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Summary: Fascinating and Enduring
Review: This is a fascinating and timeless narrative for many reasons. On a somewhat superficial level, Polo's book is a must read for lovers of travel or adventure stories, as it reads like a great lost book of the Bible, rife with historic vengeance, heroic warriors, eccentric mystics, penultimate battles and rallying speeches that seem torn out of the best passages of Thucydides. Many of the practices and beliefs Polo witnessed -- specifically, polygamous peoples, perspectives on sexuality, methods of execution and the dazzling ways in which the people Polo came across attempted to please the gods and interpret the cosmos -- offer a memorable glimpse into a unique historical epoch. Particularly engrossing are the stories of violent tensions between Christian and Islamic sects in Polo's day and region. One gets a sense that not much has changed in the past 800 years as Polo details the struggles between the eastern and western world even then, many of which redound to financial issues (sound familiar?). Polo's insistence on portraying Moslems and Buddhists as savage rogues does make for a one-dimensional and distinctly Christian view of the world as it was in Polo's day, and his language is hardly the most attractive aspect of the book, which is written in a particularly conversational and redundant style. But the stories and characters contained within these pages are epic and unforgettable. I encourage lovers of Tolkein, C.S. Lewis and Rowling to read this book. Lovers of ancient history and philosophy are also bound to adore it. Most impressively, though, is the insight Polo offers into the birth of the now-infamous rift between the western and eastern worlds. This enduring relevance guarantees that we will be reading Polo's "Travels" for centuries to come.
Rating:
Summary: Go to the Source
Review: This volume will enthrall anyone interested in true adventure. Marco Polo was the original Indiana Jones and then some. Please do not waste time on Gary Jennings' The Journeyer. This is the real deal and needs no dramatic embellishments. The Travels takes you on a trip from 13th century Venice to "Cathay" and back again. You will learn how Europeans found out about fireworks, paper currency, printing and pasta. The harrowing journey across the Gobi desert is particularly well reported. Marco Polo was more than an explorer. He was one of the world's first anthropologists. This is an exciting read, an account of how medieval Europe initially perceived China and the far east, and of how the Mongol rulers and Chinese emperors perceived them. Highly recommended. As to the print quality of the Penguin edition, I have had my copy since the early eighties and it has yellowed only slightly. Viking is now printing on acid-free paper. One must remember that these editions were printed primarily to reach the widest audience for the least amount of expense at the time. For years, Penguins were accessible to students and to the collector who couldn't afford an elaborate, fully illustrated, fully mapped volume of a particular work. I couldn't have read as many of them as I did in my late teens and early twenties if that were not the case. I owe a lifelong debt to the editors for their efforts. I've also never read a bad translation of any Penguin Classic.
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