The Travels of Marco Polo

I was highly impressed by this book. I had no prior knowledge of its existance untill I had to read it in order to complete this review and an essay. Marco Polo describes ever aspect of his travels in great detail. It was very interesting to see first hand reports of the daily way of life of people who lived 800 years ago on the other side of the globe. Iwould recommend this book to a fellow student. My generation doesn't read nearly enough so I would recommend any book that I have read to another student. It is a fantastic first hand account of the ancient world. It is well written and very fluent. It was not a bore, but rather more like hearing a collection of wonderful stories from a wise elderly family member who has seen an innumerable amount of things in their life. It is not a timeline or a history textbook, these are very interesting and intimate descriptions of ancient people, their customs and their homes.

Excellent read and a good way to rethink the connecting routes between Europe and Asia. Marco Polo narrates the story of his travels through a mediator, Rustichello da Pisa, complicating further notions of authorship and textual authenticity (the original manuscript has gone lost). But does it really matter? What I enjoyed the most is the mapping of mercantile interests of the late Middle Ages, the inventories of commodities as well as local customs and artifacts. But also recognizing the names of cities that in the course of history, and particularly our recent history, have had such a tragic fate (e.g., Iraq's Mosul).

All of us have read history as part of our curriculum, rarely, if ever, have we thought of the sources out of which historical narratives emerge. So, it was thrilling novelty reading Marco Polo's travelogue is an invaluable source, perennially referenced. That was an added incentive to read it. Marco Polo's narratuon of encounters, at times bizarre and previously unheard of , with varied peoples and ethnic groups all along the ancient silk route ,his acute observations of their social traditions in the thirteenth century is fascinating and immersive. As it is rendered in modern English reading is facile, fluid , and the cornucopia of anecdotes touching a very broad sweep of diverse cultures keeps readers hooked. Copious footnotes immensely help understanding. An authentic slice of medieval history that readers with a historical bent of mind must read.

有名な本なので読んでみました。 ベネツイアから中国まで、よくもこんな長旅をしたものだと思います。そのエネルギーに敬服します。宗教、食べ物、結婚の習慣など多様な地方の様子や、彼が聞いた地方の物語、戦争の様子などが詳細に書かれています。モンゴル軍が初めてビルマ（たぶん）で象と戦う場面や、アフリカ沿岸の海賊（このころから現代までずっといるのですね。）等の話は面白く読みました。エスキモーやアフリカ、それから日本などへは行っていないと思うのですが聞いた話として書かれています。 ひとつ残念なのは本に載っているかなりの地名が、当時の呼び方なのか、特定困難なことです。 現代の地名との対応表というのが付いてはいるのですがほんの一部しか載っていません。ここから南東へ馬で２日、とか、河に囲まれた都市、という情報を基にグーグル地図で当たりをつけるのですが判然としない場所が多いのです。もし地名が明確に特定できる本があったらそれをお勧めします。でも当時の世界（ヨーロッパから見た全世界）の様子は伝わってきます。

I first read this book when a teacher lent it to me in 7th grade, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was fascinating to read his adventures. As he traveled along, he explained each town he went to, and the explanations and information were interesting to read, seeing what each town was like, who they were under the rule of, and so on. The middle part of the book explains some of his journeys and events while he was visiting the Great Khan, and the latter parts explaining his trip back to Europe by sea. This edition also includes footnotes, which the edition my teacher had didn't, correcting some of the mistakes and giving more context to the text. The language and construction of the sentences are a bit more formal and declarative than works one would more commonly read today, but it wasn't difficult to understand or comprehend. The beginning of the book focuses on Marco's first adventure to China with his father and uncle, and overall, the entire beginning was a bit hard to get through, but once you get past it, it becomes more enjoyable. Overall, I would recommend this book.