Description of the World

Description of the World

by Marco Polo (Author)

Synopsis

Composed in a prison cell in 1298 by Venetian merchant Marco Polo and Arthurian romance writer Rustichello of Pisa, The Description of the World relates Polo's experiences in Asia and at the court of Qubilai, the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. In addition to a new translation based on the Franco-Italian F manuscript of Polo's text, this edition includes genealogies of the Mongol rulers and nine maps of Polo's journey, as well as thorough annotation and an extensive bibliography.

$18.22

Quantity

2 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 296
Edition: UK ed.
Publisher: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc (US)
Published: 01 Mar 2016

ISBN 10: 1624664369
ISBN 13: 9781624664366

Media Reviews
Marco Polo's account provided both what was thought to be a reliable guide to East Asia -- Columbus carried with him a heavily annotated copy of Marco Polo's work during his own expedition to the Americas -- and an intriguingly fantastical account that for centuries has continued to fuel the imagination of poets and artists. Kinoshita's superb, groundbreaking translation brilliantly renders into modern English this crucial text of the Middle Ages. Indispensable in the undergraduate and graduate classroom, The Description of the World will also appeal to a wide range of readers curious about the medieval encounter of East and West. -- Suzanne Conklin Akbari, University of Toronto
This excellent and lucid translation is comprehensible to 21st-century students, yet retains the medieval flair of the original text. Kinoshita's footnotes, which support a reading of the text without overwhelming the reader, properly address and consider the latest scholarship. This will undoubtedly become the standard translation of Marco Polo for classroom use . -- Timothy May, University of North Georgia
Ever since Marco Polo and Rustichello's creation first piqued the interests of the reading public, it has been shaped and reshaped, reformed and deformed to meet the desires of the medieval and modern readers. With this new translation, Kinoshita gives English-speakers for the first time something like the original Description of the World that electrified medieval Europe. Racy and readable , this translation is the only one that actually aims to recreate the type of language that Polo and Rustichello used to reach their public. -- Christopher Atwood, Indiana University
An excellent book, both an accessible edition of Polo's text and a scholarly one. The translation reads well, following the oddities of the Franco-Italian without compromising readability in English. Kinoshita's introduction is brief but highly informative and offers much to scholars as well as students in different disciplines; the notes are likewise informative and to the point. This is the Polo that students and scholars alike will want to read if they are not going to read the original(s). -- Iain Macleod Higgins, University of Victoria
Author Bio
Sharon Kinoshita is Professor of Literature, University of California, Santa Cruz.