|
1421: The Year China Discovered America (P.S.) | 
 enlarge | Author: Gavin Menzies
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy New: $9.22
You Save: $6.73 (42%)
New (29) Used (10) from $9.08
Rating:  249 reviews
Sales Rank: 13110
Media: Paperback
Pages: 672
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6 x 1.6
ISBN: 0061564893
Dewey Decimal Number: 909
EAN: 9780061564895
ASIN: 0061564893
Publication Date: June 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Absolutely Brand New & In Stock. 100% 30-Day Money Back. Direct from our warehouse. Ships by USPS. 1+ million customers served-In business since 1986. Happy Customers is Our #1 Goal. Toll Free Support
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
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.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Kept in the dark August 28, 2008
David Evans (USA)
Easy, fascinating read. Well researched and presented in a balanced way that allows you to follow the authors' thinking and discoveries. The book exposes the fallacies of conventional western teaching of history and Europe `discovering' the world.
 A Great Read. August 28, 2008
Amytris Faus (USA)
This is no more "fantasy" than the "accepted" version of events!
It was a great read, especially compared to official (probably made-up)Eurocentric boring accounts.
If Menzies can get people passionate about ancient history then who cares just WHO went where and when? It's a good read.
Just who did sail the oceans blue? August 15, 2008
BookMan (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA)
1421 is a highly intriguing (and certainly controversial) book which postulates a theory that the Chinese were not only the first to "discover" the New World but had; indeed, circumvented the globe well before Magellan's expedition. While the author, Gavin Menzies, makes many assumptions and, at times, makes what appear to be rather wild suggestions concerning his theories, many of them do remain quite plausible.
Unlike others who have made outlandish claims as regarding early settlers in the Americas first (including the claims by one of this country's largest cults that continues to assert, in light of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that a non-existent group of ancient Israelis, the Nephites and the Lamanites are the ancestors of Native Americans), many of Menzies' intriguing ideas are capable of being further tested and examined for their veracity.
I was particularly fascinated with Menzies' (a former commander of a British submarine) use of ancient maps as the impetus for his theory. Granted, there are those that will rush to snub their noses at Menzies' ideas but certainly with further study, which is something that I believe the author would personally encourage, they will eventually be proven or discarded. Regardless, 1421 is a fascinating book and I would recommend it to anyone who might be interested in examining alternative views of history (of course, with both eyes open to test the veracity of this book).
Finally some answers! August 4, 2008
J. George (APO, AE United States)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've been interested in different aspects of history for quite some time but the book, "1421: The Year China Discovered America" is the first to really light up my imagination! Gavin Menzies' writing style is almost conversational making it an easy read but he has included enough references and quotes to thoroughly prove his premise that the Chinese discovered and mapped the world long before the European explorers "discovered" anything. I recommend 1421 to even the most casual history buffs as I believe his view of world exploration explains many of the questions that have been raised over the years.
 "Facts" August 3, 2008
Peter Lycurgus (Saratoga, CA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is based on misconceived ideas and supported by "facts" that make no sense if you have any historical knowledge. No historian backs Menzies in this book or 1434.
|
|
|
Navy Advancement Study Guide
Top Selling Navy Enlisted Books | |
