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marc129 's review for:
1421: The Year China Discovered America
by Gavin Menzies
I was 13, I read "Were the Gods kosmonauts?" by von Däniken, and I was immeditaly swept away: it all seemed very plausible and convincing. With this book I almost had the same experience. Menzies writes well, knows how to tell a story, and so he seems to convince you that a giant Chinese flotilla at the beginning of the 15th Century explored the world, and discovered America and Australia.
But then you think about it: the author doesn't understand one word of Chinese and does not but put up a chain of suppositions. Now, indeed, there's convincing evidence that some giant Chinese vessels did explore South Asia and even the East coast of Africa. But some simple checks through internet reveil that his assertions about America and Australia are based upon nothing and lots of experts in the meantime have unmasked Menzies as a fraud. Alas, this book is an enticing read and that's probably why it captivates so many people, we just want these kind of stories to be true.
But then you think about it: the author doesn't understand one word of Chinese and does not but put up a chain of suppositions. Now, indeed, there's convincing evidence that some giant Chinese vessels did explore South Asia and even the East coast of Africa. But some simple checks through internet reveil that his assertions about America and Australia are based upon nothing and lots of experts in the meantime have unmasked Menzies as a fraud. Alas, this book is an enticing read and that's probably why it captivates so many people, we just want these kind of stories to be true.