This is non-fiction about the great impact that the explorations & trade of Chinese people with people in the Mid-East, Europe & the Americas prior to 1434, when the Emperor forbade any further voyages. He recounts a great deal of evidence that he & others have developed (mostly others who were or are archeologists, sociologists & anthropologists). Some of what he discloses about Chinese voyagers in the Americas had appeared in his earlier 1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus. To me, what he uncovered and made known about Chinese people in Europe, particularly in Italy, was revelatory for me; and he backed up these disclosures not only with physical evidence, such as coins, silks & bones, but also genetics & written materials by contemporaneous writers of the 14th & 15th Centuries.
Another part of this book was convincing evidence that several southern European explorers & traders had been to the Americas prior to Columbus, that it was well-known among seafarers that the world was round, and further that Columbus & Magellan had maps of the Americas prior to their first voyages to "The New World" that included specifics such as the strait now called The Strait of Magellan through which Magellan sailed from the Atlantic to the Pacific. ( )

When the data from this book is looked at from the historical perspective supporting what is found in the world then the world evidence just happens to support what is in this book. For example where I live a 38 feet high rudder was found as part of the sand-mining that happened in the 1970s in Byron Bay NSW Australia that was then reburied. A 38 feet high rudder fits on a 4oo foot long Chinese Junk which was part of the Chinese fleets that were sent out into the world in the 1400s. . .

The book is fascinating, and the evidence is on my front door . . . ( )

Interesting new look at what may have been behind historical events as we learned them. While much may be impossible to prove with certainty, the author's point that before China turned inward in the 15th century, they were well ahead of Europe in both discovery as well as invention seems well researched. The author discusses Chinese advances in many areas, including voyages of discovery, mapping the stars, navigation, etc., as well as intricate inventions later taken and improved upon during the European Renaissance.

Note however that there's considerable controversy over Menzies claims. Some go so far as to call his work fraudulent (see http://www.1421exposed.com/ for more on this). ( )

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2897640.html

This book is total tosh. The contention is that Chinese knowledge was spread to Italy via a treasure fleet which sailed through the Red Sea-Nile canal in 1434. I smelt a rat when reading the chapter on celestial navigation, which is surprisingly poor for an author who claims to be ex-Navy, and started wondering when we would get some actual evidence for his claims. 50 pages in, I started googling and discovered that a lot of people had been there before me; there simply is no evidence whatsoever that Zheng He got as far as Italy in 1434. (He did get as far as the Red Sea, which is surely impressive enough.) Poorly researched, poorly argued and poorly written, and I'm generously going to include it in my non-fiction rather than fiction tally. I am hesitating whether even to give it to the charity shop, out of concern that someone might buy it and believe it. ( )

Interesting read a little top heavy to start but once you get into the latter part of the book it begins to pick up. ( )