Marco Polo : from Venice to Xanadu
(Book)

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Average Rating
Published
New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2007.
Edition
1st ed.
Physical Desc
415 pages : ill. (chiefly col.), maps ; 25 cm.
Status
Moab Library - Adult Biography
92 POLO
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Published
New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2007.
Format
Book
Edition
1st ed.
Language
English

Notes

Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (p. [383]-391) and index.
Description
Marco Poloś incredible odyssey--along the Silk Road and through all the fantastic circumstances of his life--is chronicled in sumptuous and illuminating detail. We meet him as a callow young man, the scion of a wealthy Venetian merchant family, only seventeen when he sets out in 1271 with his father and uncle on their journey to Asia. We see him gain the confidence of Kublai Khan, the worldś most feared and powerful leader, and watch him become a trusted diplomat and intelligence agent in the rulerś inner circle. We are privy to his far-flung adventures on behalf of the Khan, living among the Mongols and other tribes, and traveling to magical cities, some far advanced over the West. We learn the customs of the Khanś court, both erotic and mercantile, and Poloś uncanny ability to adapt to them. We follow him on his journey back to Venice, laden with riches, the latest inventions, and twenty-four years ́worth of extraordinary tales. And we see his collaboration with the famed writer Rustichello of Pisa, who immediately saw in Polo the story of a lifetime; enlivened by his genius for observation, Poloś tales needed little embellishment. Recorded by Rustichello as the two languished as prisoners of war in a Genoese jail, the Travels would explode the notion of non-Europeans as untutored savages and stand as the definitive description of China until the nineteenth century. Drawing on original sources in more than half a dozen languages, and on his own travels along Poloś route in China and Mongolia, Bergreen explores the lingering controversies surrounding Poloś legend, settling age-old questions and testing others for significance. Synthesizing history, biography, and travelogue, this is the timely chronicle of a man who extended the boundaries of human knowledge and imagination.

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Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Bergreen, L. (2007). Marco Polo: from Venice to Xanadu . Alfred A. Knopf.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Bergreen, Laurence. 2007. Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu. Alfred A. Knopf.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Bergreen, Laurence. Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu Alfred A. Knopf, 2007.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Bergreen, Laurence. Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu Alfred A. Knopf, 2007.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

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