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The Travels
The Travels | Marco Polo
14 posts | 13 read | 11 to read
A sparkling new translation of one of the greatest travel books ever written: Marco Polo's seminal account of his journeys in the east, in a collectible clothbound edition. Marco Polo was the most famous traveller of his time. His voyages began in 1271 with a visit to China, after which he served the Kublai Khan on numerous diplomatic missions. On his return to the West he was made a prisoner of war and met Rustichello of Pisa, with whom he collaborated on this book. His account of his travels offers a fascinating glimpse of what he encountered abroad: unfamiliar religions, customs and societies; the spices and silks of the East; the precious gems, exotic vegetation and wild beasts of faraway lands. Evoking a remote and long-vanished world with colour and immediacy, Marco's book revolutionized western ideas about the then unknown East and is still one of the greatest travel accounts of all time. For this edition - the first completely new English translation of the Travels in over fifty years - Nigel Cliff has gone back to the original manuscript sources to produce a fresh, authoritative new version. The volume also contains invaluable editorial materials, including an introduction describing the world as it stood on the eve of Polo's departure, and examining the fantastical notions the West had developed of the East. Marco Polo was born in 1254, joining his father on a journey to China in 1271. He spent the next twenty years travelling in the service of Kublai Khan. There is evidence that Marco travelled extensively in the Mongol Empire and it is fairly certain he visited India. He wrote his famous Travels whilst a prisoner in Genoa. Nigel Cliff was previously a theatre and film critic for The Times and a regular writer for The Economist, among other publications, and now writes historical nonfiction books. His first book, The Shakespeare Riots, was published in 2007 and shortlisted for the Washington-based National Award for Arts Writing. His second book, The Last Crusade: Vasco da Gama and the Birth of the Modern World appeared in 2011 and was shortlisted for the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize.
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Texreader
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I resisted buying this book in Venice, having seen the day before where the Polos are said to have lived there. But I knew I‘d find a cheaper and lighter copy here rather than lug a copy with questionable translation home. And tonight‘s trip to HPB paid off! Looking forward to this one.

peanutnine Lovely cover! 🌄 1y
Texreader @peanutnine Yes very much so. 1y
47 likes2 comments
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Emilymdxn
The Travels | Marco Polo
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This was the longest of the texts I needed to read cover to cover for my first term of masters work and I got it done on my last day of my holiday. I loved reading it and I‘m excited to go to grad school classes prepared and with some time to mull it over.

Also excited to be done with medieval travel narratives and back to cosy mysteries for the flight home tbh… I‘ve timed this well.

Tamra Have a wonderful semester! 2y
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Emilymdxn
The Travels | Marco Polo
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Good morning from latvia! My (otherwise lovely) boyfriend spilled water on my penguin Marco Polo so he has generously funded an emergency kindle edition so I can finish on holiday before my first masters class - can‘t believe it‘s starting in less than a week! The weather here is so autumnal and gorgeous, much nicer than @moll tells me london is rn. Starting the day with pastries and coffee

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Emilymdxn
The Travels | Marco Polo
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MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm
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4 ⭐️s
I originally wanted to read this book after watching the Netflix show, but quickly learned they‘re almost nothing alike. Still, it was a fascinating and often times humorous glimpse of the perceived lives of numerous peoples. Taking most of it with a large grain of salt (Polo is not the most trustworthy narrator) I was grateful for the slew of footnotes that explained/corrected his stories.
One of my #Roll100 books for January (number 24).

PuddleJumper Wahoo! 3y
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MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm
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✨My goal is to read 100 books this year. I also want to keep my book buying down to 25 books.
✨Obstacles
✨It‘s certainly not what I expected, but I‘m finding the descriptions of distant, exotic lands as exciting and humorous as I believe people must have for centuries.
Thanks for the tag @The_Penniless_Author 🤗
I tag anyone with a reading resolution they care to share! ❤️
#ThoughtfulThursday

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kgriffith
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Car service day.

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ale.giannoccolo
Il Milione | Marco Polo
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Bookworm_97
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A treasure from Grandpa's Cupboard 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

Time travel through 13th Century India. Although he explains each current states of India as separate countries and the richest countries he've ever been to🖤🖤🖤

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Martta
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Saw these on a second hand store window. They are beautiful! 😍❤

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scripturient
The Travels | Marco Polo
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Squeee, I‘m excited!! It‘s been 13 years since I‘ve been to California. I used to travel there all the time in the 90s and even lived in Southern Cali for a while. So now I‘m going back!! Well, only for a few days to visit friends and not before February. But I‘m excited as I‘ve missed this place so much! One thing that‘s on my bucket list: The last bookstore!❤️ Is it weird that I‘m already mentally compiling book lists for the long flights? 🤣

Sarah83 Well... No ... 😍😍😍😍 5y
LeahBergen I want to go to that bookstore, too! 👏🏻👏🏻 5y
scripturient @LeahBergen Litsy meet-up??? 😁😁😁 5y
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LeeRHarry That is the first thing I think about when I book a trip 😊 5y
Christine I also have long been wanting to check out The Last Bookstore (though embarrassingly I only live a couple of hours away from it)! @LeahBergen (edited) 5y
Smrloomis Awesome! If you do a meet up, please post pictures 👍🏽 - I mean of the bookstore 😂! 5y
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Lcsmcat
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My latest #bookhaul was three weeks ago, but I'm not about to run out of things to read. #booksacrossoceans @pri_bibliophile @mellisarock

LeahBergen Oooo! 😍 7y
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izah.ahmad
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Around the world with Marco Polo. Hopefully I would not take 80 days to finish this up 😂

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Seshat
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I found a Folio Society edition of The Travels of Marco Polo...at Goodwill!

rubyslippersreads That's the kind of find we all dream of making! ❤️📚 8y
Seshat I know. I am flabbergasted, @rubyslippersreads Now, if someone would leave a Folio Society edition of The Hobbit or The Secret Garden at Goodwill... 8y
Libby1 What a find! 8y
LeahBergen What?!?! Lucky you! 8y
38 likes3 stack adds4 comments