ISBN10: 0140440577, ISBN13: 9780140440577, [publisher: Penguin Publishing Group] Softcover 384 pages. cover worn and tapedMarco Polo was the most famous traveller of his time. His voyages began in 1271 with a visit to China, after which he served the Kubilai Khan on numerous diplom atic missions. On his return to the West he was made a prisoner o f war and met Rustichello of Pisa, with whom he collaborated on t his book. The accounts of his travels provide a fascinating glimp se of the different societies he encountered: their religions, cu stoms, ceremonies and way of life; on the spices and silks of the East; on precious gems, exotic vegetation and wild beasts. He te lls the story of the holy shoemaker, the wicked caliph and the th ree kings, among a great many others, evoking a remote and long-v anished world with colour and immediacy. For more than seventy y ears, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literatur e in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Pen guin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works thr oughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductio ns and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
[Wellington, New Zealand] [Publication Year: 1958]