1421 - by Gavin Menzies (Paperback)

About the Book

Argues that the Chinese discovered America and established colonies there before Columbus and that European explorers such as Magellan and Cook "discovered" new lands using pre-existing Chinese maps.

From the Back Cover

On March 8, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail from China to "proceed all the way to the ends of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas." When the fleet returned home in October 1423, the emperor had fallen, leaving China in political and economic chaos. The great ships were left to rot at their moorings and the records of their journeys were destroyed. Lost in the long, self-imposed isolation that followed was the knowledge that Chinese ships had reached America seventy years before Columbus and had circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan. And they colonized America before the Europeans, transplanting the principal economic crops that have since fed and clothed the world.

Review Quotes

"[Menzies] makes history sound like pure fun . . . This high-spiritedness, which infuses every page of 1421, makes his book a seductive read." - New York Times Magazine
"Captivating . . . a historical detective story . . . that adds to our knowledge of the world, past and present." - Daily News
" is likely to be the most fascinating read of 2003." - UPI
"No matter what you think of Menzies's theories, his enthusiasm is infectious." - Christian Science Monitor
"Menzies' enthusiasm is infectious and his energy boundless. He has raised important questions and marshaled some fascinating information." - Toronto Globe and Mail
"What you've done, brilliantly, is to raise many questions that people are debating." - Diane Rehm, The Diane Rehm Show
"[Menzies] makes history sound like pure fun...a seductive read." - New York Times Magazine