An educational experience.

This book was not what I expected. I thought it would be a narrative travelogue of the travels of Marco Polo, however it turned out to be more of a catalog of the cities and provinces he had visited. The first chapter was an introduction and provided background to the writing of his books but the subsequent chapters were just a recitation of provinces, their cities, none of which I knew or could find in my Atlas, and the nature and customs of their peoples. After about a couple of hours of this I was about to give up but when the section on the empire of Kublai Khan started I found the description of the government and the culture fascinating. The latter chapters on the region of Cathay were also a revelation to me. I had no idea of the magnitude of the civilization in this region in the 13th century. The book seemed to end abruptly with no conclusion or wrap up however I was very glad I persevered and felt that I learned much from it.

74 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Fascinating

You have to be a bit of a history and travel buff combined but absolutely fascinating! To hear what Asia was like first hand in the late 1200s is great. The degree of detail amazing, also Marco P put in fascinating characters whenever he could. It may offend some, as it is written from the middle ages Christian perspective so is often quite rude about Islam and Eastern religions. However he does seem quite objective and positive about "pagan" rulers when they were doing a good job for the people they ruled. (I'm pretty sure Marco P would have been hard on the Christian Inquisition if it was his time to write about it.) I'm writing this as I load part 2, which I can't wait to listen to.

18 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

May I present to you… your map?

Would you listen to The Travels of Marco Polo again? Why?

Number ten on the National Geographic list of top one hundred adventure books.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Marco.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Walter Covell?

I have already.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No.

Any additional comments?

To all you frustrated people who wish the audiobook had a map, well, how can you hear a map? If you want to look at a map, one wonders what trouble you encountered when you suggested that your web browser furnish you with one to look at. My browser found a just fine one for me, unencumbered by copyright restrictions. I put it in the same directory in my mobile device and in my desktop computer. Give the whining a rest, eh?

10 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

What are you looking for?

This book and recording is a valuable item...except I want to warn against expectations.
I expected a near romantic account of starry nights on the silk trail, cumbersome caravans and exotic cultures. This is not a story nor a poetic journal. Make no mistake, this a catalog of cultures, almost scientifically explained...you will hear of 'idolators' who are 'also in the service of the Great Kahn' about seventy times as it seems to pertain to almost every culture he visits.
Good, incredible material but this is not the stuff of entertainment, it is the stuff of research. It is read well and easy to follow.

Enjoy!

32 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

poor production quality

the sound quality is pretty bad to begin with, but you can hear another guy recording a different book in the background.

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Sounds like the read this through the PHONE

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I could not listen to this book, it sounds like they read this through the phone. Audio is very annoying.

What was most disappointing about Marco Polo’s story?

The Narration

How could the performance have been better?

Re-do this in a Studio

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Love history, the story seem very interesting, however I did not listen to it because of the terrible sound quality.

Any additional comments?

Re-do this with good voice and narration that is not dictated over the phone!

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Facinating but not very engrossing

It's a recant of the travel not really a story or adventure which would have been more interesting

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Mediocre

Starts out a little dull, but picks up after a bit, when the descriptions of the Grand Khan and his lands start up. The narration is somewhat monotonous, and droning. The story is interesting, but would be more so if your understanding of the ancient names of the places is complete enough to apply it to the modern ones. I, myself, never knew precisely what place he was discussing. History and geography buffs would like this better than I did.

23 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

In coherent

It is hard to geographically follow where he traveled. most of the countries names changed.

Powerfully educative

Marco Polo had formed our imagery of the far world for centuries. He corrected far fetched conclusions erroneously made of Mongolians & their world changing exploits. A collector's item