Scan barcode
sarahmilan's review against another edition
2.0
It's interesting to read, but his theories have been criticized more than they have been acclaimed by historical scholars.
evaseyler's review against another edition
OK so even if this IS pseudohistory as some say, it's a compelling theory. The author tends to repeat himself a lot, which was a little annoying, but I feel like he can't be ABSOLUTELY proven wrong any more than he can absolutely be proven right.
itsneilcochrane's review against another edition
I made it to page 37, but between the debunking in other reviews, the weird exotic pedestaling of ancient China, and the fact that he can't stop talking about concubines in the same breath as entertainment and food? I'm out.
diannehult16's review against another edition
3.0
Lots of assumptions not necessarily based on any scientific data. Perhaps the Chinese were here in circa 1421 sailing up the Taunton River and leaving artifacts in Acton. I'd like to see the proof.
rellihttocs's review against another edition
1.0
The premise of the book is intriguing and the author wholeheartedly believes what he is writing, however it is difficult to take research seriously when the author makes such blatantly obvious errors particularly when those errors aren't even related to the research. For example in the postscript he refers to his book in 2002 being released in several countries including "West Germany". West Germany ceased to be a country over a decade earlier when West and East Germany were reunited. Also in the postscript he refers to areas "further up the Mississippi [river], in Wisconsin and Michigan ..." The Mississippi River at no point flows through Michigan. It flows through MINNESOTA. Early in the book he refers to a compass pointing to magnetic south instead of magnetic north. He also describes reefing a sail as "taking it down." STRIKING a sail is taking it down, to reef a sail is to make it smaller (usually in poor weather). As a Naval officer he should know the difference even if he sailed a submarine not a sailing ship.
sapphic_book_dragon's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
kaydee_reads's review against another edition
Fascinating start when we’re still grounded in the history of China, that then leads to a lot of conjecture that seems unlikely. Wasn’t able to stay engaged at that point and put it down.
statman's review against another edition
2.0
Before you read this book, Google the topic and make sure you read some of the stuff from historians who claim this book is a sham and completely unsubstantiated. Then you can decide if you want to ready it. It is quite a spectacular and controversial claim to say the Chinese sailed the whole world before any of the Europeans did. It was harder to get through because of the writing style. The first 100 pages or so were not too bad but then the author just keeps repeating the same claims over and over again without really providing much evidence. When you get something so controversial like this book, it is a good bet that neither of the extreme views is correct with the truth somewhere in the middle.