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Did Marco Polo reach China? This richly illustrated companion volume to the public television film chronicles the remarkable two-year expedition of explorers Denis Belliveau and Francis O'Donnell as they sought the answer to this controversial 700-year-old question. With Polo's book, The Travels of Marco Polo, as their guide, they journeyed over 25,000 miles becoming the first to retrace his entire path by land and sea without resorting to helicopters or airplanes.
Surviving deadly skirmishes and capture in Afghanistan, they were the first Westerners in a generation to cross its ancient forgotten passageway to China, the Wakhan Corridor. Their camel caravan on the southern Silk Road encountered the deadly singing sands of the Taklamakan and Gobi deserts. In Sumatra, where Polo was stranded waiting for trade winds, they lived with the Mentawai tribes, whose culture has remained unchanged since the Bronze Age. They became among the first Americans granted visas to enter Iran, where Polo fulfilled an important mission for Kublai Khan.
Accompanied by 200 stunning full-color photographs, the text provides a fascinating account of the lands and peoples the two hardy adventurers encountered during their perilous journey. The authors' experiences are remarkably similar to descriptions from Polo's account of his own travels and life. Laden with adventure, humor, diplomacy, history, and art, this book is compelling proof that travel is the enemy of bigotry—a truth that resonates from Marco Polo's time to our own.
- Sales Rank: #867099 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Rowman n Littlefield Publishers
- Published on: 2008-11-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 10.90" h x .87" w x 8.94" l, 2.50 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 288 pages
- Used Book in Good Condition
From Publishers Weekly
The harrowing route of Marco Polo's 13th-century trek from Venice to ancient Cathay over the traditional Silk Road to Kublai Khan's territories consumed 24 years of the famous explorer's life. Award-winning photographer Belliveau and sculptor/lecturer O'Donnell, a former marine, spent two years retracing the journey,, to [t]raverse the world's largest land mass and back, climb its highest mountains, cross its most desolate deserts and seas. The curious, intrepid risk-takers forgo air travel to recreate the 25,000-mile experience, facing rolls of red tape, internecine politics, horrendous climates, language barriers, civil war and border authorities while traveling through what is now Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Tibet, China and Mongolia, among others. The authors have a remarkable ability to form relationships in varied cultures, as with a group of rough Afghan soldiers: All had in common... losses so terrible that we had stopped asking questions about families. Fascinatingly, many of the customs, locales and physical landscapes are identical, 700 years later, to Polo's descriptions. Alongside Belliveau and O'Donnell's enthusiastic narrative are marvelous full-color photos that bring the travelogue to vivid life. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School—Following in the footsteps of arguably the greatest traveler in history is no easy task. In accessible, lively text, and with more than 200 striking photographs, Belliveau and O'Donnell make the enormity of the task abundantly clear. The determined explorers follow the long and arduous route Marco Polo took more than 700 years ago, becoming the first to retrace the entire distance on land and sea. The dangers were many: sand storms in the Taklamakan desert, subzero temperatures in the mountain passes of Tajikistan, horribly rough seas off the coast of Sumatra, and suspicious, gun-wielding soldiers at nearly every border and everywhere in Afghanistan. Marco Polo faced many of these same obstacles, but one he did not have to confront was the ridiculous complexity of postmodern bureaucracy. The greatest roadblock to the success of the authors' expedition proved to be the red tape and outright hostility involved in securing visas for travel in Afghanistan, China, India, and especially Iran. The two Americans resorted to some clever, and dangerous, maneuvers to sidestep overly zealous (and gun-toting) officials. In the end, their persistence was well worth the effort. Like Marco Polo in the 13th century, Belliveau and O'Donnell in 1994–'95 witnessed amazing sights, met wonderfully gracious and helpful people, and learned countless valuable lessons. This lavish travelogue in the grand tradition of exotic exploration should find a place in all collections.—Robert Saunderson, formerly at Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Seven centuries after his journeys across Asia, there are still a few skeptics who doubt that Marco Polo reached China and served in the court of the Great Khan. The authors of this lush, stimulating, and often thrilling chronicle never doubted it, and their two-year expedition that traces his travels from Venice to China confirms it. Belliveau is a photographer and cameraman for PBS, and O’Donnell is a sculptor and lecturer. Together, they have effectively combined the genre of popular history and travelogue; they illuminate the highlights of Polo’s travels and adventures and juxtapose them against their own experiences as they travel across fascinating and sometimes dangerous areas of Asia. The text is well written and highly informative, and it conveys a sense of wonder and excitement, enhanced by hundreds of excellent photographs that reveal the past and present diversity and richness of the cultures Polo encountered. For general readers, this excellent work and companion to the public-television film is a valuable introduction to the life and times of one of the world’s great adventurers. --Jay Freeman
Most helpful customer reviews
52 of 54 people found the following review helpful.
It's THE travel/expedition/adventure book of the decade
By A. Sethi
Denis and Fran live the French proverb: "leap, and the net will appear."
And so they begin...in the spring of 1993 when the friends were both 30, with a dash of reckless bravado and a lot of testosterone, they read The Travels of Marco Polo -- finding his descriptions come to life for them, literally jumping off the pages of his book. I suggest now that they have done for modern readers what hasn't been done in the over 700 years since Polo put pen to paper.
In writing about their own travels, Denis and Fran bring to life for us contemporary readers a world only Marco Polo knew. But since we can't all travel to such exotic and distant places -- it's all the more important that their book delivers on the insights of their two years abroad. That "travel is the enemy of bigotry," that this book will easily help teach our children: "intolerance just doesn't make any sense," as Fran says.
This book is for you...if you follow your bliss, and if you can live vicariously through our dynamic duo, achieving something most of us couldn't even dream up. Hey, 1,000 people have climbed Everest. Only 2 have done what these guys did.
You'll discover that the book works on 3 levels:
1. The authors effortlessly weave exciting historical passages from Marco Polo's diaries (exciting? history? really!). Their first person narrative is the truest form of storytelling, unfolding more like Indiana Jones, then any boring History 101 class. You can almost hear the Harrison Ford voiceover as they blend their own "in the moment" thoughts with text lifted directly from Polo's journals.
2. To anchor the reader, in context, they connect their wacked, Dali-like travels to their normal lives back in NYC. This ebb and flow, is exceptionally effective to help us internalize adventures we couldn't possibly fathom -- delivered through the eyes of two ardent travelers.
3. And, at 50, I appreciate the simple fact they've used large type, lots of white space, short chapters, stunning photos, all making the book readable in small chunks.
It's all so seamless. Making it...THE travel/expedition/adventure book of the decade.
A couple of themes flow constantly throughout. The pair suggest often that they couldn't seem to conquer the biggest barrier of all, bureaucracy. Learning that all visa officers are the same everywhere, liars, "...you have my word." Ha! And it seems that in every chapter I read their same one line, "it was over[sigh]." Every chapter. Patently false. These guys slid in and out of borders, with stealth. Some passages read right out of a 007 novel. As with their clandestine flight from NYC to DC (page 2), to meet with the mysterious "Mr. K." Landing in DC, quickly ducking inside a phone booth, and calling a number scribbled on a scrap of paper, from their "source." We move from Bond, to a scene from Die Hard 3, where the pair bolt from location to location, reaching just in time to make the next call, only to be given more instructions. If they don't get there in 15 minutes, the deal is off. No Mr. K. So, its taxi, hotel, phone call...rinse, then repeat.
Or, describing how a KGB agent masquerading as a bureaucrat questioned them (p 33). How they indignantly grabbed their passports back, before he could ascertain that their visas were actually forged. How dare he?! Jeez, Marco Polo never needed to forge a visa. But the real Bond cliche is their "letters of transit," given to them by Mr. K, addressed to various warlords along the dangerous Afghanistan route -- these letters were sewn into their clothes...no kidding. Also, describing one of many near-death experiences (p 46). Staring down the muzzle of a Kalashnikov, held by a small child. On their knees, in the dirt, in a land the US long abandoned, thinking "this is it, my life's over, done, I'm dead."
I gotta admit that although I'm staunchly American, by page 70, as the pair marches through Afghanistan, Denis and Fran describe firsthand the destruction of these people. Giving the reader some understanding of the effect our US has on this world. That with such great power, comes great responsibility. It's thought-provoking.
The lads struggle in a way sometimes painful to read. Day after day of bureaucracy, boredom, hunger and danger, on-and-on. But then they bring the reader back to why we travel in the first place. Like on page 116 when Denis is feeling sorry for himself that today's breakfast doesn't include Eggs Benedict, hash browns, and the smell of bacon. On the other hand, he posits, "I was on THE Silk Road, on the outskirts of the largest desert in the world, in China, a place I've always dreamed of going...I shouted over to Fran, "there will be no Eggs Benedict or coffee today..." Obviously, Fran shrugs, looking perplexed at his travel mate. Both of them couldn't think of a better place to be -- amen, brother.
Similarly, when Fran throws his arm over Denis' shoulder, proclaiming "I don't want to leave. I could see myself getting a Mongol princess and settling down... Xanadu is really here... These people are really living! I just don't know if I'll be able to fit back into my old life after being here." To which Denis cautiously offers, "I don't blame you for wanting to stay, but if you do...I'll have to kill you, pack you up in salted pork, and ship you back to Venice with me." I bet the typical Condé Nast traveler never gets to utter words like that?
This book is...more than just Denis' National Geographic quality photographs. More than just an adventure novel, of the first order. More than just an expedition travelogue.
IT'S A GIFT.
It's easily a gift from a parent or grandparent to spend a little time reading to a child. Some history here, funny passages there, imagery everywhere, all laid out in an easy-to-read format. The imagery reminds me of the scene in the movie Forrest Gump, where he's sitting by the bedside of his long love, as she's dying of AIDS. He describes to her, in vivid word pictures, the things that he's done, and the sites that he's seen. In a weak voice, she says "...I wish I'd been there with you." And, you just know it's so authentic when Forrest says to her... "you were." This book does that for the reader. Don't buy this book for yourself. Gift it, by reading it aloud this Christmas, to someone you care for.
Finally, know that their writing style runs from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (dude, lots of "dude"), all the way to Mary Poppins -- as on page 135, where they launch into a singsong babble when a Chinese cop demands their passports. "...no no, don't you agree, Fran?" "Oh yes, yes, we couldn't do that, no, no, that wouldn't be appropriate....no, you should always keep your passport..." LOL.
"I haven't told you half of what I've seen." -- Marco Polo.
I'm so jealous.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
In the footsteps of Marco, Denis and Francis:The Journey of a Lifetime!
By John Coltelli
While following their dream and the footsteps of Marco Polo, our intrepid Queens residents travel well beyond the borders of their borough, and their own psychological and spiritual limits, to discover the universality of the human condition. While encountering distant peoples and cultures these two friends confront dangers and adventures that re-establish their own places in themselves and in the world at large. Through their travels and personal growth we are presented with a revelation that is crucial in todays evermore complicated international relations, namely, that despite ethnicity, race, religion and nationality- common folks are open, decent, loving, and reflective of the God that created them. The warmth portrayed will encourage even the most faint hearted pessimist among us! A must see film, a must read book!
john coltelli
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
An Adventure from the comfort of my living room
By Judith A. Dickinson
I expected it to be a coffee table book, when my daughter gave it to me, that no one ever looks at. But once I started reading, it was as compelling as any thriller I've read. I was truly sorry to put it down at the end and look forward to sharing it with family and friends. I genuinely felt like a travel companion experiencing the same ups and downs, exhiliarating and depressing times as they felt. They brought Marco Polo's travels alive and the text and gorgeous pictures beautifully complimented each other.
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