Rivers writes that Menzies contradicts himself by saying elsewhere in his book that Taccola had started his work on his technical sketches in 1431, when Zheng He's fleet was still assembled in China, and that the Italian engineer finished his technical sketches in 1433—one year before the purported arrival of the Chinese fleet. But ultimately it is a futile book. This is pretty much a sideshow, Menzies is not once quoted. Menzies claimed that the knowledge of the winds, currents, and sea conditions that he gained on this voyage was essential to reconstructing the 1421 Chinese voyage that he discusses in his first book. Now, a two hundred and fifty year old map, apparently copied from one made in 1418, will be revealed to the public and may permanently change the way we think about the … According to Menzies, they told him, "You know, if you want to get your story over, you've got to make it readable, and you can't write, basically." One claim by supporters of the 1421 theory is that the Apache speak Chinese. While this book presents itself as a revelation, it lacks citations or footnotes or much evidence for that matter to support such wild claims. About the Author. The authors relied entirely on Menzies for factual information and never brought in any fact checkers or reputable historians to make sure that the information in the book was accurate. The so called critics slam his research material but I have a open mind. The real prize was IDR75000, but I got it for only IDR49000 (still one of expensive books I've ever bought). Bomb, Book & Compass: Joseph Needham & the Great Secrets of China, Morgan Jerkins Journeys Across the USA to Retrace Black History. The Chinese had circumnavigated the world and provided this information to the courts of Europe. On 21 July 2004, the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) broadcast a two-hour-long documentary debunking all of Menzies's major claims, featuring professional Chinese historians. The reason History is a social science is partly becaus. I bought this book December 2006 on Indonesia Book Fair. From time to time, this reviewer comes across a publication so crackpot that I hardly know where to start in reviewing it here. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. This fascinating documentary examines the mystery surrounding the sailing exploits of the legendary Admiral Zheng and his 30 year command of a gigantic Ming fleet. This book, and its accompanying website that is constantly being updated with new evidence from around the world, are going to change how we teach history. I was about two chapters in when I really started to think about the logic of this and decided to do a little research. My fellow reviewers here have also offered some important critiques. Submitted by Khalid on Wed, 2005/07/13 - 03:07. Lost in China's long, self-imposed isolation that followed was the knowledge that Chinese ships had reached America 70 years before Columbus & had circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan. I am not some jaded professor who believes in the current historical status quo, but to make such claims without good scholarly follow-through just begs for it to be debunked. Gavin Menzies, a former submarine commander in the British navy and amateur historian, argues in this book that between 1421 and 1423 squadrons from Zheng He's fleets reached the Americas prior to the Europeans. I'd rather just drop a book unworthy of finishing and move on to a new one. Perhaps the most substantial is Robert Finlay's review "How Not to (Re)Write World History: Gavin Menzies and the Chinese Discovery of America" in the Journal of World History, June 2004, where Finlay shows that there are no "lost years" in Ming dynasty sailing, and so Menzies' book is completely without foundation. Menzies spent years working on the book and, by the time it was finished, it was a massive volume spanning 1,500 pages. Sadly it became a long, non-stop series of suppositions along the lines of Chariots of the Gods. For the sake of this review, let's call him "Uncle Gavin." The great ships were left to rot a. This book is heavily mired in controversy, and here's why. Refresh and try again. Not the least convincing, and what a good deal of the book focuses on, are the maps that many. Have you noticed that the whole map section bears no relationship to Menzies thesis? Highly speculative. To see what your friends thought of this book, Fantasy. [4][28][29][15] A particular point of objection is Menzies' use of maps to argue that the Chinese mapped both the Eastern and Western hemispheres as they circumnavigated the world in the 15th century. It is hard to explain the awfulness of this book fact-wise(the fact that there is actually a web site dedicated to to doing this should tell you something). Buy 1421 : The Year China Discovered the World Bantam New Edition by Menzies, Gavin (ISBN: 9780553815221) from Amazon's Book Store. Not the least convincing, and what a good deal of the book focuses on, are the maps that many of the "great" European explorers used that show the areas that they are setting out to discover. Not a single document or artifact has been found to support his new claims on the supposed Ming naval expeditions beyond Africa...Menzies' numerous claims and the hundreds of pieces of "evidence" he has assembled have been thoroughly and entirely discredited by historians, maritime experts and oceanographers from China, the U.S., Europe and elsewhere. Gavin Menzies, author of the best-selling and controversial "1421: The Year China Discovered America," claimed two more major pieces of evidence to prove his theory. First, it makes an extraordinary claim: that Chinese explorers in their 1421-23 exploration didn't just map the Indian Ocean, as generally accepted, but also visited West Africa, both coasts of South America, the Caribbean, and even left colonies in New England and Greenland. I gave it one star for the few things I actually found interesting, but given the. 1421 | The Year China Discovered America | Top Documentary Films. In 2008 Menzies released a second book entitled 1434: The Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance. [27], Menzies has created a website for his readers to send him any information they can find that might support his hypothesis. It seemed like an interesting concept: China sent out huge ships to bring back treasure and knowledge, and just happened to find America 70 years before Christopher Columbus. 15 ] and had no formal training in historical studies one claim by supporters of 1421... History '' it to be extinct book focuses on, are the maps that many us know what s... Series of suppositions along the lines of Chariots of the 1421 theory is that the had! To steer him away from do a little research no reputable scholar supports the that! The Chinese beat the Europeans to the guy who loaned it to be extinct training historical. But really, what incited my interest was a book unworthy of and... 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