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outlander's review against another edition
Just not enough evidence to back up his claims. I’m not wasting my time on pseudo history.
shiradest's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. The preponderance of evidence not only turns accepted European history and world history on its head, but also makes one wonder about the question the author poses as to whether or not we could be speaking Chinese now, rather than English, and have Buddhism as the dominant world religion, as well as my own personal question : did someone perhaps decide that the world was better off allowing Europe to take another three centuries to figure out what the Chinese already knew?
Given the cruelty of the conquests we saw by the Europeans, versus the kindness with which visited populations were treated by the Chinese fleet, it seems safe to predict that history might have turned out quite differently for the human race had that information of how to navigate the world remained in benevolent hands.
Given the cruelty of the conquests we saw by the Europeans, versus the kindness with which visited populations were treated by the Chinese fleet, it seems safe to predict that history might have turned out quite differently for the human race had that information of how to navigate the world remained in benevolent hands.
amslersf's review against another edition
2.0
If the story of Columbus teaches you anything it should be skepticism in the face of discovery. Menzies got past me. His unquenchable optimism was unnerving, but his tale of how the Chinese circled the world and built enduring relationships with people from South America to North American long before the Europeans was too alluring. I was too ready to believe that all these eurocentric historians had missed the greatest discoveries in navigation. Once I finished the book, I headed online to do some checking. It doesn't look like 1421 holds much water. Folks agree that the Chinese Treasure Fleet and its travels were an amazing accomplishment, but as for colonies in the Americas and circumnavigation? We'll have to wait.
braxwall's review against another edition
1.0
Författaren studerar gamla kartor och fantiserar fritt om hur den kinesiska flottan under Mingdynastin företog storskaliga marina expeditioner över hela världen åren 1421-1423. Tyvärr har all kinesisk dokumentation om detta därefter förstörts av den mandariska byråkratin. I de bästa stunder handlar det om spännande spekulativ pseudohistoria, då det inte finns någon dokumentation som styrker resor bortom Afrikas östkust, i de sämsta om rent bedrägeri. Källkritiken är minst sagt undermålig och anektodiska uppgifter tas för sanningar. Författaren frågar sig stundvis "kan detta verkligen stämma?" och beskriver i nästa mening hur han efter lite funderingar skakar på huvudet av häpnad och förundran över de kinesiska sjömännens ofattbara skicklighet. Eftersom det också är rätt illa skrivet så är det helt enkelt inte värt att lägga tid på detta.
spiderfelt's review against another edition
4.0
After reading a raft of reviews, it seems there is much doubt about whether the claims could possibly be true, and yet the evidence brought forth by the narrator certainly makes it seem like the only possible answer for many strange historical artificats, genetic material and the spread of both botanical and animals species around the world.
My inability to stay fully engaged in the material is the only reason I wouldn't give it five stars. Perhaps I am too easily distracted, or couldn't keep the names and dates straight while listening to the audiobook, but I found my mind wandered as the narrator read.
My inability to stay fully engaged in the material is the only reason I wouldn't give it five stars. Perhaps I am too easily distracted, or couldn't keep the names and dates straight while listening to the audiobook, but I found my mind wandered as the narrator read.
laurenc18's review against another edition
2.0
This book was somewhat interesting and my history teacher recommended it to my class. The evidence was conclusive but at the same time not conclusive. I liked reading about this highly-likely theory of the Chinese reaching America before any Europeans, but I felt the way the author showed this information was confusing and weirdly written. The author did a lot of research for this book, but some of the book was just hard to get through.
booksbecreads's review against another edition
2.0
I wouldn't recommend this one unless you were particularly interested in Chinese history and charting the globe. I found the theory of who discovered the world first interesting however and I'm not sure how the evidence stacks up to make a call on whether his theory is right or wrong (it seems plausible, but maybe Gavin Menzies is just a convincing writer).
kalkie's review against another edition
3.0
Absolutely fascinating. Though dry in places and I admit I skipped a bit towards the end.