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3.19 AVERAGE
3.19 AVERAGE
You might have that certain relative in your family who is affable enough, but has some really weird ideas that he loves to go on about. For the sake of this review, let's call him "Uncle Gavin." Uncle Gavin is harmless, and charms your friends, but he has one pet topic that you try to steer him away from. Before you know it, he's started asking your friends who they think discovered the world and after a short time, the friend's nods and smiles go from sincerely interested to polite to barely hanging on, and they're looking around desperately for someone to rescue them from this conversation.
Uncle Gavin wrote this book. His premise sounds interesting, and perhaps sane, if far-fetched: he claims that the Chinese sailed essentially the entire world in 1421-23 and made maps of such voyages that were later used to guide the Portuguese and Spanish explorers who "discovered" America and other parts of the world. Why this has been a hidden fact for so long: the Chinese burned nearly every record of the voyages, stopped exploration, and basically forgot about the whole thing over the centuries. Why Uncle Gavin is the only person to have figured this out: he used to captain submarines and therefore knows how ocean currents work and can read a nautical chart. I'll let that sink in for a moment.
In any case, I was willing to go along with him at first, but it became apparent pretty quickly that things were spiraling out of control. I rarely make notes on audio books, but I found myself frantically scribbling things down when I was listening to this one. Things like:
"Just because Verrazzano compared some lighter-skinned Indians and their manner of dress to the "Eastern" style doesn't mean that they are descended from his [Menzies'] imaginary pregnant concubines that were put ashore from his imaginary overcrowded voyages."
I was going to list more, but as I look at that one, I think it sums up everything. Look, it's an interesting idea that the Chinese could have sent an enormous fleet out to see what there was out there, and that they could have drawn up a map of everything, and then decided to close their borders and give up on the outside world, and that the maps could have ended up in the hands of the European explorers, and that those explorers could have found knick-knacks that were Chinese and people who might have been descended from Chinese people who ended up there long-term one way or another. But if you're going to tell me, Uncle Gavin, that the Chinese took out 40 or 50 ships which were wrecked in various places and stayed and lived there, you're going to have to come up with some physical evidence. Wrecked ships off India, or eastern Africa, or Australia simply do not prove that Chinese people built the Bimini Road in the Caribbean to get their ships on land for repairs or had a settlement on Greenland (I am not kidding. I wish I were kidding.).
If this were half as long and half as crazy, it might be worth a perusal. As it is, run from this book. Read Foucault's Pendulum, which features the same sort of wild connect-the-dots game and also has going for it that it is fiction.
PS - It turns out that Menzies has also published 1434: The Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance. I imagine that he is now deep into the writing of 1468: The Year China Traveled to the Moon and Discovered Life and 1498: The Year China Invented Synthetic Life and Created the Spice Girls.
Uncle Gavin wrote this book. His premise sounds interesting, and perhaps sane, if far-fetched: he claims that the Chinese sailed essentially the entire world in 1421-23 and made maps of such voyages that were later used to guide the Portuguese and Spanish explorers who "discovered" America and other parts of the world. Why this has been a hidden fact for so long: the Chinese burned nearly every record of the voyages, stopped exploration, and basically forgot about the whole thing over the centuries. Why Uncle Gavin is the only person to have figured this out: he used to captain submarines and therefore knows how ocean currents work and can read a nautical chart. I'll let that sink in for a moment.
In any case, I was willing to go along with him at first, but it became apparent pretty quickly that things were spiraling out of control. I rarely make notes on audio books, but I found myself frantically scribbling things down when I was listening to this one. Things like:
"Just because Verrazzano compared some lighter-skinned Indians and their manner of dress to the "Eastern" style doesn't mean that they are descended from his [Menzies'] imaginary pregnant concubines that were put ashore from his imaginary overcrowded voyages."
I was going to list more, but as I look at that one, I think it sums up everything. Look, it's an interesting idea that the Chinese could have sent an enormous fleet out to see what there was out there, and that they could have drawn up a map of everything, and then decided to close their borders and give up on the outside world, and that the maps could have ended up in the hands of the European explorers, and that those explorers could have found knick-knacks that were Chinese and people who might have been descended from Chinese people who ended up there long-term one way or another. But if you're going to tell me, Uncle Gavin, that the Chinese took out 40 or 50 ships which were wrecked in various places and stayed and lived there, you're going to have to come up with some physical evidence. Wrecked ships off India, or eastern Africa, or Australia simply do not prove that Chinese people built the Bimini Road in the Caribbean to get their ships on land for repairs or had a settlement on Greenland (I am not kidding. I wish I were kidding.).
If this were half as long and half as crazy, it might be worth a perusal. As it is, run from this book. Read Foucault's Pendulum, which features the same sort of wild connect-the-dots game and also has going for it that it is fiction.
PS - It turns out that Menzies has also published 1434: The Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance. I imagine that he is now deep into the writing of 1468: The Year China Traveled to the Moon and Discovered Life and 1498: The Year China Invented Synthetic Life and Created the Spice Girls.
Though riddled with several baseless conjectures, the book also presents some pretty solid evidence for its thesis. I remain not completely convinced, but do not deny that it was a very well-written, interesting read.
At 1009 reviews that all basically say the same thing, there isn't much I could really add. This book really wasn't great, or particularly enjoyable, or even good historically (both in terms of method and narrative).
But honestly, the most disappointing thing, is that this book should have been cool. It should have been an interesting and insightful argument that would have had really important implications for human expansion and exploration...but it just wasn't. Maybe a later, and better, book will be published if more evidence comes forward, but for now, yeah, this book just wasn't great or good or interesting.
But honestly, the most disappointing thing, is that this book should have been cool. It should have been an interesting and insightful argument that would have had really important implications for human expansion and exploration...but it just wasn't. Maybe a later, and better, book will be published if more evidence comes forward, but for now, yeah, this book just wasn't great or good or interesting.
A fascinating series of speculations, although many of them require leaps of faith that strain the credulity of experts in the various fields the author touches on.
Where his narrative is on the most solid ground, though, is fascinating enough. The withdrawal of China into its own insular world is a phenomenon that finds a persuasive explanation here, and the events leading up to it are exciting enough for anyone who wants to understand the patterns of exploration prior to the European explosion across the globe in the latter half of the 15th century and later.
Where his narrative is on the most solid ground, though, is fascinating enough. The withdrawal of China into its own insular world is a phenomenon that finds a persuasive explanation here, and the events leading up to it are exciting enough for anyone who wants to understand the patterns of exploration prior to the European explosion across the globe in the latter half of the 15th century and later.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
La teoría del libro es que las flotas del tesoro chinas de 1421 podrían haber "descubierto" América, la Antártida, Australia y dado la vuelta al mundo...Una pena que los argumentos estén pillados con alfileres, porque el punto de partida es muy chulo.
No resultó el libro que esperaba, ya que el autor parece basarse en muchas conjeturas, en cuanto a su tesis de que los chinos fueron los primeros en descubrir el mundo. Sin duda, hoy nadie disputa que Colón y los europeos no fueron los primeros en descubrir América, y sin duda, no sería extraño que una civilización tan avanzada en la época -lo que correspondió a la Edad Media europea- hubiera hecho viajes de exploración. Lo que molesta en este libro es que el autor parece basarse en meras suposiciones y en pruebas que "deberán ser exploradas con más detenimiento". Por otra parte, y está es una opinión personal, si bien los europeos no descubrieron América, una cosa es el descubrimiento y otra muy distinta la colonización. Incluso con asentamientos chinos que datarán del siglo XV lo cierto es que, por lo menos América, es un continente nacido de la conquista europea y por tanto, no pudo ser colonizado por los chinos.
Interesante en algunos capítulos, en general la obra del autor inglés deja mucho que desear.
Interesante en algunos capítulos, en general la obra del autor inglés deja mucho que desear.
This is my first audiobook review, but this isn't my first audiobook. I've started listening to audiobooks on my drive into work recently - it builds my energy for the day, and it keeps my energy up after work. I'm a lifelong learner, affectionately known as a bookworm or nerd. I'm also not a fan of commutes during rush hour traffic. I get anxious and hate driving, to the point of speeding just so I cut down the time I'm in the car and get to work faster. With audiobooks, I could care less if my drive is a little longer because I'm basically sitting in my own surround sound lecture hall (nerd).
Anyway, back to the book itself. Menzies is not a tried and true historian, but he packs a solid punch working with a variety of researchers in different fields. At times, I found his "trust me, I KNOW what I'm doing" lines a little annoying - but given that he first started his research based on old maps with striking geographic accuracy, it's a little understandable. I appreciated that Menzies acknowledged that he was basically overturning longstanding historical "facts" - his thesis being that Europeans made daring voyages, but the Chinese treasure fleets were the ones who actually made the discoveries. Menzies' fresh perspective offers a wealth of insight into coastlines, ocean weather patterns, currents, and ocean navigation. My major criticisms of the book are not of Menzies' methods, nor his thesis itself. As a writer, Menzies can fall flat at times and the pacing feels slow. I found myself a little bored (and as a result, anxious) listening to the audiobook while driving. I felt like there was no spark, no compelling force, illuminating these theories. What should have been exciting seemed dull.
The Bottom Line:
Menzies' research was enough to keep me engaged, but Menzies' writing was not enough to drive me to read his latest book, 1434.
Anyway, back to the book itself. Menzies is not a tried and true historian, but he packs a solid punch working with a variety of researchers in different fields. At times, I found his "trust me, I KNOW what I'm doing" lines a little annoying - but given that he first started his research based on old maps with striking geographic accuracy, it's a little understandable. I appreciated that Menzies acknowledged that he was basically overturning longstanding historical "facts" - his thesis being that Europeans made daring voyages, but the Chinese treasure fleets were the ones who actually made the discoveries. Menzies' fresh perspective offers a wealth of insight into coastlines, ocean weather patterns, currents, and ocean navigation. My major criticisms of the book are not of Menzies' methods, nor his thesis itself. As a writer, Menzies can fall flat at times and the pacing feels slow. I found myself a little bored (and as a result, anxious) listening to the audiobook while driving. I felt like there was no spark, no compelling force, illuminating these theories. What should have been exciting seemed dull.
The Bottom Line:
Menzies' research was enough to keep me engaged, but Menzies' writing was not enough to drive me to read his latest book, 1434.
I see this book in every History section of every bookshop and the idea of something challenging conventional History does seem rather appealing, so I figured I'd give it a go.
And...
Well, it is certainly is an interesting read. I admit, I tend to read history books moderately critically, but not without immediately running to find any arguments and counter-arguments about it. But with this, right from the off, I was itching to see what other historians said about it. It's written in an engaging style, albeit one which does get repetitive after a while (it's looooooooooong). But it strained against credibility at times, as each successive discovery blasted away any lingering doubt the author's theories.
As it turns out most historians think this is a whole load of bunk. The way it presents itself as an injection of new perspectives and knowledge into the staid convention is well done in the text, but the holes, the convenient omissions, are all noticeable for the discerning reader (as you should be with any history books). It's a shame because it's seductively written, at least for the first 350 or so pages before the repetition renders it less compelling.
So two stars for being entertaining but the mislabelling of it as History means I couldn't really give it much more. History is one genre of books which can't be read in isolation, sorry.
And...
Well, it is certainly is an interesting read. I admit, I tend to read history books moderately critically, but not without immediately running to find any arguments and counter-arguments about it. But with this, right from the off, I was itching to see what other historians said about it. It's written in an engaging style, albeit one which does get repetitive after a while (it's looooooooooong). But it strained against credibility at times, as each successive discovery blasted away any lingering doubt the author's theories.
As it turns out most historians think this is a whole load of bunk. The way it presents itself as an injection of new perspectives and knowledge into the staid convention is well done in the text, but the holes, the convenient omissions, are all noticeable for the discerning reader (as you should be with any history books). It's a shame because it's seductively written, at least for the first 350 or so pages before the repetition renders it less compelling.
So two stars for being entertaining but the mislabelling of it as History means I couldn't really give it much more. History is one genre of books which can't be read in isolation, sorry.
Contained within a lot of pages are juicy historical tidbits mixed in with a lot of conjecture (historical mind-reading).