“Marco Polo” by Laurence Bergreen [Book REVIEW]

“Marco Polo” by Laurence Bergreen tells the life saga of one of history’s most famous explorers. Let me tell you what this book is all about. If Marco Polo is just a name to you, or you think you may know a few tidbits about him, the book “Marco Polo” by Laurence Bergreen will blow your mind all they way from Venice to Xanadu and back.

STAR RATINGS:

“MARCO POLO” BOOK STATS:

• Published 2007
• 415 total pages
• 361 pages of text
• 15 chapters
• 1 Dramatis Personae section
• Two 4-page color picture insets
• 1 Notes on Sources section
• 1 Select Bibliography section
• 1 Index section
• No maps section
• Hardcover only

“MARCO POLO” BOOK REVIEW:

“Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu” by Laurence Bergreen captures the life and foibles of Master Marco Polo almost too well. Let me explain. If the book is an analogy of Marco Polo’s life, then as a reader you often feel that you are ill equipped to complete your literary journey.

By that I mean just as Marco Polo did not have everything he needed to make his journey, so the reader is left without a few bare necessities to comfortably complete this book. Namely, references such as maps and place names, and a fuller text that does not sacrifice the experiences of Marco Polo for the life stories of those he is observing.

Marco Polo, along with his father Niccolo and uncle Maffeo, really had no clue how long it was going to take to get from Venice all the way to the court of Kublai Khan in Shang-tu (Xanadu) and Cambulac (Beijing) when they left in 1271. They traveled over 5,600 miles and it took them over three and a half years just to get to China!

After Marco’s journey was complete in 1295, looking back in hindsight, Marco was able to regale his audiences with superbly-woven tales and even detailed maps of his travels. Sadly, over 730 years later, I don’t feel like I had any advantage over 13th century readers. Laurence Bergreen could have provisioned my page-turning journey a bit better.

My point is that there is a dire lack of MAPS and PLACE NAME REFERENCES in Laurence Bergreen’s treatment of the Marco Polo journeys. From a modern reader’s perspective I would have loved more maps with more details on them. Also, whenever you mention an ancient place name, have its modern equivalent available to the reader.

All that is needed are: (1) a maps section; (2) to embed local maps in the text where you talk about specific places; and, (3) place name references, either in a separate section or parenthetical.

Ironically, the problem is that Bergreen is a master at weaving spellbinding stories! For example, when he mentions Marco’s visit to “Dagroian,” a place where there are terrible and mystifying cannibalistic rituals, I’d sure as heck would like to know where that is on today’s map with its modern place name equivalent. But no, nothing! It’s the same with about 15 other places.

I know Laurence Bergreen to be a fantastic writer. Having devoured his book “Columbus: The Four Voyages” he can weave a historical narrative with the best of them. That’s not in question.

Another strike against this book, and why I gave it a 3.5, is that it vacillated too much between the life of Marco Polo and his master Kublai Khan. One often wondered who this book was actually about? Marco’s presence at events only punctuated his musings on the Great Khan and the Mongols. Fair enough, the Mongols were fascinating people to learn about; however, I think they occupied too much textual space in my opinion.

Now that we have a few negatives of “Marco Polo” by Laurence Bergreen out of the way, let’s get down to why this book was still super amazing.

Author Laurence Bergreen tells the story of Marco Polo so well that you actually feel like you are tucked away in his rucksack somewhere as a silent observer. You get to experience the “wow” moments such as when he first gazes his sights on the great cities and armies of the age.

Instilled in this book is the European perspective on what Asia might have looked like to a medieval person in terms of language, culture, and perceptions. I think that is the most engaging aspects of Bergreen’s writing is that I can imagine if an ancestor of mine were in Marco Polo’s expedition, how they would react and what they might be thinking. Bergreen brings that tertiary reality to life.

I was actually thoroughly overwhelmed with just how many places and cultures Marco Polo came into contact on his expedition! It was absolutely mind-boggling to think that it took the Polos over three and a half years just to get from Venice to the court of Kublai Khan in Xanadu.

That was just the beginning! Marco Polo left when he was 17 years old and didn’t return until he was 41! That’s 24 years he was gone. That puts a lot into perspective.

Overall, “Marco Polo” by Laurence Bergreen is a wonderful exposition on the life and travels of Marco Polo, the contributions of his father and family to the voyages, as well as a statement on European perspectives of the time. It is marvelously anecdotal and incredibly well researched.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• Bergreen, Laurence. 2007. Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
• ISBN-13: 978-1400043453
• AMAZON LINK