2007, ISBN: 140004345X

[EAN: 9781400043453], Neubuch, [PU: Alfred A. Knopf, Borzoi Books, Random House, Inc., New York], HISTORY: EXPLORATION & DISCOVERY: EARLY VOYAGES: BERGREEN, LAURENCE: MARCO POLO: FROM VEN… Mehr…

[EAN: 9781400043453], Neubuch, [PU: Alfred A. Knopf, Borzoi Books, Random House, Inc., New York], HISTORY: EXPLORATION & DISCOVERY: EARLY VOYAGES: BERGREEN, LAURENCE: MARCO POLO: FROM VENICE TO XANADU:, Jacket, BRILLIANT: DEFINITIVE: ENCHANTING: MASTERFUL: INCREDIBLE: FANTASTIC: SUMPTUOUS: ILLUMINATING: AUTHORITATIVE: NEW First Edition hardcover (Orig. October 2007) First Printing: NEW beautifully-illus. unclipped gloss-laminated jacket showing orig. $28.95 pub. price at top-right inside-front flyleaf, NEW cover w/ clay-rose library-durable linen wrapping spine & extending 1.36" over front & back panels covered in ocher-gold paper, IMMACULATE text block exterior w/ cut-page-style "deckle" side-edging, IMPECCABLE cream-white card-stock end-papers, PRISTINE interior printed w/ handsome clarity on EXCELLENT paper * 6.50" x 9.50" x 1.36", 0.82 kg, xiv+432 pp * 24 gloss-laminated pp full color illus., 3 Maps * ABOUT THE BOOK: As the most celebrated European to explore Asia, Marco Polo was the original global traveler & the earliest bridge between East & West. A universal icon of adventure & discovery, he has inspired 6 centuries of popular fascination & spurious mythology. Here, from the acclaimed author of "Over the Edge of the World: Magellan’s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe", is the first fully AUTHORITATIVE biography of one of the most ENCHANTING figures in world history. In this MASTERFUL work, Marco Polo's INCREDIBLE odyssey along the Silk Road & through all the FANTASTIC circumstances of his life—is chronicled in SUMPTUOUS & ILLUMINATING detail. We meet him as a callow young man, the scion of a wealthy Venetian merchant family, only 17 when he sets out in 1271 w/ his father & uncle on their journey to Asia. We see him gain the confidence of Kublai Khan, the world’s most feared & powerful leader, & watch him become a trusted diplomat & intelligence agent in the ruler's inner circle. We are privy to his far-flung adventures on behalf of the Khan, living among the Mongols & other tribes, & traveling to magical cities, some far advanced over the West. We learn the customs of the Khan's court, both erotic & mercantile, & Polo's uncanny ability to adapt to them. We follow him on his journey back to Venice, laden w/ riches, the latest inventions, & 24 years' worth of extraordinary tales & we see his collaboration w/ the famed writer Rustichello of Pisa, who immediately saw in Polo the story of a lifetime; enlivened by his genius for observation, Polo's tales needed little embellishment. Recorded by Rustichello as the 2 languished as prisoners of war in a Genoese jail, the 'Travels' would explode the notion of non-Europeans as untutored savages & stand as the definitive description of China until the 19th century. Drawing on orig. sources in more than half a dozen languages & on his own travels along Polo's route in China & Mongolia, Bergreen explores the lingering controversies surrounding Polo's legend, settling age-old questions & testing others for significance. Synthesizing history, biography, & travelogue, this is the timely chronicle of a man who extended the boundaries of human knowledge & imagination. Destined to be the DEFINITIVE account of its subject for decades to come, Marco Polo takes us on a journey to the limits of history, & beyond. * HIGHEST PRAISE: "At last! Marco Polo comes to life. Laurence Bergreen has created a triumph of fascinations, a classic portrait that now surely can never be bettered." -Simon Winchester, author of "The Map That Changed the World". * ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Laurence Bergreen is the prize-winning author of "Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe", "James Agee: A Life", "Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life", "Capone: The Man & the Era" & "As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin", ea. the definitive work on its subject. A graduate of Harvard University, he lives in NYC. * SHIPPING: MNEMOSYNE carefully wraps, labels & custom-packages this fine book for FREE domestic shipment via USPS MEDIA MAIL or USPS PRIORITY MAIL for a below-cost additional fee w/ INTERNATIONAL RATES, Books<