Historical Accuracy?
After having read only about 50 pages of this book, I am seriously questioning the historical accuracy of it. I am an amateur of Medieval, and in particular Venetian, history and I find that Mr. Bergreen oversimplifies and generalizes some events and conditions of 13th C Europe to a bothering degree. For example, he paints the Venetians as merchants bent on warfare where most historical sources show that they preferred to carry on matters peacefully since that was, indeed, more profitable for business, and only engaged in warfare when they felt their business interests were threatened. He also portrays the city of Venice itself as a sinister place ripe with disease, corruption, social inequality, intrigue and abuse of women. What Mr. Bergreen fails to do is compare the conditions in Venice with other those in other European cities and states where they were no better, if not worse. In fact, in many ways 13th C Venice was arguably far more enlightened than many other places with its functioning republican government, its strong mechant marine, its developing business acumen and its strong international ties. These are just a few of the inaccuracies I found.

My concerns being thus about the first part of the book, I am skeptical about the accuracy of what I am about to read - of which I have less thorough knowledge. I am afraid I will have to take it with the proverbial "grain of salt" and also keep in mind, as another reviewer has stated, that Marco Polo's memoirs were not intended as historical fact, but as engaging adventure tales told while he was in prison.

Interesting
Marco Polo was captured by the Genoese during the Battle of Curzola in 1298 and was confined in a comfortable prison where he and the other prisoners roamed freely. Here he met Rustichello, a romance author, and together they compiled and embellished Marco's travel stories. They both profited from this endeavor by entertaining guests to while away the time, and later for monetary rewards. This collection was called "Travels."

Marco Polo's Travels, while based on his travels and the stories he heard on his travels, were never meant to be an accurate travelogue - these were stories to entertain the guests. As such, taking the Travels (of which there are several manuscripts often contradicting each other, rearranging the order of events and omitting events) as a factual account of Marco Polo's adventures is missing the point. It seems that this account is based on one of the more complete manuscripts and the text usually takes the manuscript at face value (often citing how the events could be true), except for a few well-known discrepancies.

The text itself is choppy most probably because it closely mirrors the manuscripts, which lack a coherent structure, ramble on and notoriously jump from one topic to another. The writing is repetitious and focuses on details that do not readily fit into a coherent overarching structure. While a lot of research may have gone into exploring the subject matter, the final product falls short of an engaging narrative or an insightful critique.

As far as the content is concerned, this book may be good at the high school level, but is not suitable at the college level. Unfortunately, the writing style poses additional challenges when approaching the text. A major oversight is the inexplicable absence of a single modern map. One would expect not only relevant maps, but also those showing the routes that Marco Polo claimed to have taken during his journeys. The book's attempt to add depth to Marco Polo's character, herald him as a forward-thinking globalist, pilgrim and explorer are less than convincing.

Armchair Interviews says: Heed this reviewer's comments

Marco Polo's Journeys to the East
Laurence Bergreen's MARCO POLO: FROM VENICE TO XANADU is an interesting biography about the Venetian explorer and merchant, Marco Polo. Polo opened the doors for the Western world to sail into the Orient. Adapted from Polo's legendary journals, Bergreen revisits early western trade from Constantinople to China as well as the legendary Silk Road where Polo shared eye-opening observations that westerners may never imagined before; Polo is best known for bringing back rich spices, silk, and natural remedies to the West that greatly influenced European and Asian trade and culture. In addition, Bergreen uses references to Venetian, European, Asian, and Religious history that contributes to his narrative, which is helpful when understanding the entire scope of Polo's journeys.

One of the interesting aspects of Bergreen's interpretation of Polo's enchanting journeys is his account of the meeting with Kublai Khan. Amazingly, Polo served as a Council to the Mongols, and Bergreen reveals the seventeen years in which Polo lived and experienced the most infamous Mongol Empire of the East. The book is not a lackadaisical retelling of the history of the Mongosl, but it is rather the relationship between East and West that became unified when Polo, his father, Niccolò, and brother, Maffeo, served as ambassadors to the West, were in presence of Kublai Khan's, and participated in his high court during China's Yuan Dynasty.

Polo's journals have been considered a romanticized and sensationalized depiction of the East that has been widely read by many for centuries because of its mythical and folktale quality. However, Bergreen shows that his journeys are a symbol of early globalization that forged the way for trade and diplomacy to occur between two completely different civilizations. Polo unlocked the West's somewhat unknown knowledge of the East during the thirteenth century, which preceded maritime explorations that would occur in the fifteenth century.

unsophisticated analysis
The subject matter is interesting, but the narrative and analysis are on the level of a high-school report. The text is full of trite phrases and hackneyed expressions, and the author applies a modern-day slant to his assumptions. There is too much "it was as if..." and "he might have...." The illustrations are badly selected and not always relevant. The author uses quotations ineffectively. This book just didn't work for me.

An exotic jouney to the orient
What an Excellent Read !!!!!!!!!! history, travelogue, adventure, biography ...................... totally fascinating,

The new revelations on the life, times and travel of Marco, his father and uncle are mind boggling. Based on recent research, it turned out Marco wasn't just a b.s.'ing Venetian after all.

From the great naval battle of Korcula to Marco's final days, this bio/adventure is hard to put down. The history involved, from the "Divine Wind" to Marco's visits to south east asia, india, socotra island .......... history of the great mongol empire, life and times of Kublai Khan, glimpses of the early christian church, voyages, intrepid travellers ....................... it is all here !!

excellent read, rabbie b.