1434: The Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance
by Gavin Menziesbook data
47 ratings, 3.64 average rating, 20 reviews
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published
June 1st 2008
by William Morrow
binding
Hardcover, 400 pages
isbn
0061492175
(isbn13: 9780061492174)
description
<blockquote>
The New York Times bestselling author of 1421 offers another stunning reappraisal of history, presenting compelli...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 146)
Read in July, 2008
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com:]. I am the original author of this review, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)
We Westerners are of course familiar with the historical period known as the Renaissance; taking place between the 1300s and 1600s, it's the period when Europeans finally crawled out of their Dark-Age hole, rediscovered such ...more
We Westerners are of course familiar with the historical period known as the Renaissance; taking place between the 1300s and 1600s, it's the period when Europeans finally crawled out of their Dark-Age hole, rediscovered such ...more
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Read in June, 2008
I'm sorry I haven't logged in to GoodReads recently... you see, I walked by my favorite book store the other day and saw that Gavin Menzies had a new book out. So I overdrew my bank account, bought the book, and have had my nose in it ever since.
1434 is the followup to his brilliant and astonishing previous book, 1421.
In 1421 Mr. Menzies puts across a compelling argument that an enormous Chinese fleet circumnavigated the globe in the year 1421, and made "first contact" with all...more
1434 is the followup to his brilliant and astonishing previous book, 1421.
In 1421 Mr. Menzies puts across a compelling argument that an enormous Chinese fleet circumnavigated the globe in the year 1421, and made "first contact" with all...more
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recommends it for:
Renaissance history or Chinese history enthusiasts
OK, I'll preface this by saying I gave this book Four Stars based on my flipping through it, and on what it is meant to be -- a historical non-fiction book. What I THOUGHT I'd bought was a historical fictional book, along the lines of Shogun. That was my fault, not the book's.
I did flip through the book over the course of an hour or so, and can say that if you are looking for history, and provocative thought, 1434 will fit the bill. I was interested in a number of passages about how the E...more
I did flip through the book over the course of an hour or so, and can say that if you are looking for history, and provocative thought, 1434 will fit the bill. I was interested in a number of passages about how the E...more
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Read in November, 2008
Interesting new look at what may have been behind historical events as we learned them. While much may be impossible to prove with certainty, the author's point that before China turned inward in the 15th century, they were well ahead of Europe in both discovery as well as invention seems well researched. The author discusses Chinese advances in many areas, including voyages of discovery, mapping the stars, navigation, etc., as well as intricate inventions later taken and improved upon during ...more
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Read in September, 2008
After reading most of this, I had to ask myself why I had never heard any of this stuff before. Looking at scholarly reviews of he book, I discovered why - this book is bunk. I'll admit that I was intrigued by what amounts to an engaging facade of hard research, but people who actually know about these sources can easily show how Menzies gets it all wrong. Despite everyone's desire to find that some unschooled layman can prove all the professionals wrong, this is not the case in this case. The r...more
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Very interesting subject; seems like it was written in a hurry.
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OK, so I have moved this book back to the to-read shelf because it was due back at the library yesterday andI absolutely despise overdue fees. I'll put it back on the old library queue and try to get to it sooner than I did on my last check-out.
I've read the first several chapters and it looks like an interesting read. A little technical in the Chinese history department, with lots of unfamiliar names to me since I am unversed in this area of history [along with many other :)]. I think it...more
I've read the first several chapters and it looks like an interesting read. A little technical in the Chinese history department, with lots of unfamiliar names to me since I am unversed in this area of history [along with many other :)]. I think it...more
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This is a fascinating book that describes the Chinese fleet that in 1434 sailed into the Mediterranean bringing the entire Chinese encyclopedia, maps, drawings of inventions and shared them. The author states that both Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci as well as Portuguese navigators had the Chinese maps and that the Chinese inventions led to the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci and others. This history was all new to me and astonishing. This was not an easy read for me, but it was worth...more
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Read in August, 2008
So there were some interesting bits. I enjoyed the first few pages, the last chapter, and some bits in the middle about DaVinchi. The rest was monotinous and slow and boring as all hell. The author kept telling the reader to visit his website for more information. It read more like a series of articles that should be in a magazine rather than a book. This tried to be many things, and got lost along the way. Just not my style of history book.
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Read in October, 2008
Well it was written in the same style as 1421. Again, just amazing things uncovered in this book changing everything we know about the Renaissance and those we know as the Renaissance men. A must read for all teachers, professors, historians, and students of history and humanity. Do yourselves a favor and curl up with this one if you want to be shocked about the lies you were taught in kindergarten through college.
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I've always been a big fiction reader, but lately I've been getting in to history books. I guess I can thank my father-in-law for hooking me up with Menzies. He sent me 1421 and now I'm hooked. This follow-up is very good, but not as good as 1421 was. Still a five star for me. Lot's of interesting info. Maybe I'm just hooked on China (white).
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Promising subject matter undone by unreadable prose and inscrutable logical progression. I can't explain the author's lengthy digressions into maritime minutiae while broadly glossing over more fundamental questions raised by his thesis, other than by supposing he's a sailor first and author second.
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This book was aimed more toward what the Chinese did for early Italy. It leads to what became the Renissance. You might look differently at da Vinci, and all those other famous Italians. Nonetheless, you will learn just how much the Chinese really had to do with the beginning of just about everything.
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Read in July, 2008
Former British naval officer Menzies, contends that Chinese admiral Zheng He's fleet sailed west as far as Florence causing a major transfer of knowledge from China to the 'west'(including technology) and stimulating the renaissance....
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Excellent book on the Chinese influence on European History. Ties Chinese trade to the age of discover and invention. Challenges most commonly held assumptions of western history.
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I listened to the first two cds and haven't been able to finish it yet. The subject matter is interesting, but the writing style is overly complicated and hard to follow.
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Controversial alternative theory of Renaissance. Makes you wondering what world look like if things that described on book never happened.
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interesting relook at history
birthday gift from parents
birthday gift from parents
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