Denis Belliveau

This book was written by two American adventurers who repeated Marco Polo’s journey in 1993, 700 years after the famed explorer, and were actually the first ones to do so – and no wonder. They crossed 20 Asian countries by camel, horse, bus, car, and sometimes by sea, through high mountain passes, deserts, jungle, and civil wars. It took them 2 years, starting from Venice and returning there, as Marco Polo had done. It’s an interesting book which describes places few other writers visit, and it’s beautifully published and illustrated. Quotes from Marco Polo’s book appear in this book, and it’s amazing how accurate his descriptions often still are and how little many of the places he had passed through have changed.… (mehr)

This is an incredible book, which is well-written and filled with beautiful photography. Denis Belliveau and Francis O'Donnell traveled along the route of Marco Polo and shared stories of their adventures, dangers, discoveries, frustrations, and joys as they made their arduous, 25,000-mile journey from Venice to the Holy Land, Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan, Balkh, Tajikistan, China, Tibet, Xanadu, Lesser India, Mongolia, Hong Kong, Sumatra, Ceylon, India, Iran, and back to Venice. The authors described each place they visited as they saw it, especially focusing on the people and their daily lives, and they also included quotes from Marco Polo's accounts of each place sprinkled with just the right amount of history. The style of writing was quite friendly and often humorous.

This is a book that is hard to put down, and the photography is absolutely amazing. Enjoy!… (mehr)