About this title: Based on 15 years of in-depth research, "1421" traces the voyages of an extraordinary fleet of Chinese ships, whose crews actually charted America 70 years before Columbus. Four 8-page color inserts. 37 maps & diagrams.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2004-01-01
ISBN-13:9780060540944ISBN:006054094X
Description: VERY GOOD SOFTCOVER. Size: large softcover; Menzies makes the fascinating argument that the Chinese discovered the Americas a full 70 years before Columbus. Not only did the Chinese discover America first, but they also, according to the author, established a number of subsequently lost colonies in the Caribbean. Furthermore, he asserts that the Chinese circumnavigated the globe, desalinated water, and perfected the art of cartography. In fact, he believes that most of the renowned European ... read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Canada
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780965731287ISBN:0965731286
Description: New. Paperback. NEW BOOK! Shipped via USPS with Delivery Confirm for all US orders to include the continental 48 states plus Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, US Virgin Islands and all APO & FPO military addresses. Orders are shipped from San Francisco, CA. International orders are shipped via USPS AIRMAIL LETTER POST in most cases and usually takes 7-14 days to arrive depending on how backed up your local Customs Office is. All orders processed within 2 business days, with ... read more
Description: Shelf 925. 6 by 9 inches. Paperback Published by Perennial 2004. 1st Perennial Edition. Very Good condition. Sm nick in foot edge of cover. No spine lines. Clean and tight. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2008-06-01
ISBN-13:9780061564895ISBN:0061564893
Description: Good. Earlier printing _ Good reading copy with moderate wear _ This will be on its way to you TODAY! Email confirmation _ No hassle returns _ all emails answered promptly _ Outstanding Quality, Value, and Service with Always Great Products _ Check our feedback _ We appreciate your business! read more
Description: Fine. Trade Paperback. Harper Perennial, 2004. Fine Book. Overall, a clean and tight, lightly read copy. Media mail packed in protective bubble lined shipping bags, Priority in a Flat Rate Envelope. Shipped quickly. Prompt response to questions. read more
Description: Near Fine. Trade Paperback. Harper Perennial, 2004. Near Fine Book. Aside from light toning and a light crease to spine, overall a clean and tight, lightly read copy. Media mail packed in protective bubble lined shipping bags, Priority in a Flat Rate Envelope. Shipped quickly. Prompt response to questions. read more
Description: Fine. 0061564893 NEW/UNREAD! ! ! Text is Clean and Unmarked! --Be Sure to Compare Seller Feedback and Ratings before Purchasing--Has a small black line on bottom/exterior edge of pages. May have light shelf wear to cover from storage, if any. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780965731287ISBN:0965731286
Description: Fine. BL. Nearly new paperback! No spine crease. Text is clean, unmarked, tight. All items are carefully and securely packed to insure they arrive in the advertised condition. read more
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780060540944ISBN:006054094X
Description: Near Fine. 006054094X. Smooth spine. Price on cover is $15.95. Index.; 1.3 x 9 x 6 Inches; 650 pages; From cover: "On March 8, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail from China. Its mission was "to proceed all the way to the ends of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas" and unite the whole world in Confucian harmony. When it returned in October 1423, the emperor had fallen, leaving China in political and economic chaos. The great ships were left to ... read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Harper Perennial, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780061564895ISBN:0061564893
Description: Very Good. 9 h x 6w. An interesting 650 page soft cover book about China setting sail with the world's largest fleet from China to the ends of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas on March 8, 1421. Published in Great Britain in 2002, First Harper Perennial edition in 2004, this edition reissued in 2008. Number sequence 10-1 present. The author makes a compelling case that the Chinese ships has reached America seventy years before Columbus and had circumnavigated the ... read more
"Enjoyed the book very much. Interesting theories even with the backup. At least the europeans did not do everything. There is more to the world than people who came from Europe. Goes to show that winners write history and losers are lost in the dust of time. THANKS"
"Before I go any further, I have to admit, I skimmed the last three chapters of this book, as by that point I had become fed up with the book and was tired of the repetition that runs rampant in this book.
That being said, I thought this book was only okay. I had several issues with it that keep me from viewing it as an historical authority or as a good piece of writing.
1. I was actually enjoying it at first, with one exception: the author's constant fawning over the supremacy of Ming China over all others. The beginning of the book was filled will statements such as "and they did this centuries before the Europeans!" We get it. They were more technologically advanced. The point does not have to be shoved down the reader's throat. The author even went as far as to say that he considers the Chinese culture of the time to be possibly superior to European, Middle Eastern, and African culture. Cultural comparisons as such are, in my opinion, in bad taste. I personally don't think that cultures can be compared that way.
2. Menzies arguments based on cartography seem very flimsy. There were several times when he remarks on the amazingly accurate detail of coastlines on maps that he assumes to have Chinese origin, for example, that of the Cape of Good Hope, when the maps he shows in reality have very little detail. He also keeps changing his argument as he goes from one geographic area to another. He remarks on the accuracy of coastlines from Africa to South America, and yet when the Caribbean maps don't match up, he suddenly points out that the water level was much lower back then, and so his theory is still correct.
3. His book is full of arguments based on personal convictions, i.e. "this led me to believe" or "I was convinced." His work lacks the characteristics needed for it to be considered scholarly.
Was this book intriguing? Yes. The comparisons of South American and Chinese art certainly were interesting. But an intriguing story is not always true. Menzies readily admits that he lacks much of the DNA and carbon dating data that would support his claims. Why then he decided to publish his book when he did is beyond me."
"The one-phrase rundown: a really cool idea, but it will take a while for the nerds to sort it out.
I read this book a few years ago. I was reminded of it when another book I was reading repeated the notion of the huge Chinese fleets sailing all over the world in the fifteenth century. I find the concept absolutely fascinating and Menzies (a former Royal Navy officer) is often engaging in his zeal to tell the story.
Having said that, often is not enough to carry the entire book, and I found as I read on that more and more details began to bog down the flow. The reason for these intricate discussions is obvious: Menzies is fervently selling his interpretation of a host of historical clues. Some of his statements have already been proven wrong, and his detractors are many, but the idea of Chinese ships sailing to the Americas decades before Columbus seems to be gaining credence. Hopefully the historians and conspiracy theorists will eventually give us the final word."
"I finally finished this book. For some reason, when I read non-fiction, I fall asleep, no matter how interesting the subject matter. So this is a long time coming. Basically, the book is about how towards the end of China's expansive age, they sent out a gianormous fleet of huge ships to collect tribute from all the nations of the earth in a good Buddhist way. And as a bonus, they were to chart the world and update all their scientific data (or whatever the 15th century Chinese terminology for it was). And then, because they did this, the charts spread to Europe and gave them the boost they needed to go exploring and try to catch up to Chinese navigational superiority. It did help that while this big fleet was gone, the Chinese government turned upside down and they decided they didn't want to deal with the outside world anymore, so they burned all their evidence that these voyages ever happened. When I picked up this book, I was all ready to accept every word. OF COURSE the Chinese discovered the world first. Now that I've finished it, I find myself pretty skeptical. Of this author's version of things at least. How do people really know which plants and animals originated where? Were they there? Is carbon dating really all that accurate? If we are trusting DNA and carbon records, are we following it in the right directions? (OK, those are mostly my own stumbling blocks.) How come the Chinese didn't already know about America and have their own rudimentary maps, the same way that the Europeans did? (In the end he hints that they might have...part of the problem is that they got rid of their own records to be isolationists.) Shouldn't they have sent people directly across the Pacific instead of the long way 'round? (Again, he says prevailing winds and currents make the long way a little easier. Plus they were apparently dropping off people in India. But still, nobody thought of this option?) On a similar note, why was there no exploration of the eastern side of Central America? Shouldn't one of the priorities have been to create that direct route--especially with a fleet so large? No maps ever show farther than the Caribbean Islands. If one of the points of the exercise was to take detailed notes and charts, why weren't the people who stayed in the places they landed at (shipwrecked usually) still interested in keeping records? They had promises that they would be rescued, and since they didn't know the political climate at home, they should have assumed any records from actually living in the land would be as valuable or more to their homeland. So why has no one found these kinds of records? Anyway. Those are some of my concerns. Mostly, I didn't like the parts where he puts his conjecture forward as though this is the only way it could have possibly happened. I did like when he tied it all back to the Europeans though--the way they got ahold of the charts and began to use them for themselves. I believe that people were exploring the oceans and the world before the Europeans became the driving force behind things. I don't think that means we should think less of the European explorers (give Columbus his holiday back!). I would most certainly not be here or the same without them. Especially since the European influence has been stronger, even if it was not as nice as the Chinese who "colonized" America first."
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