1421 - The Year the Chinese Discovered the World (Hardcover)

"A civilization that dwarfed every power on land and sea.
A magnificent fleet of ships that navigated the oceans of the world with astonishing knowledge and precision.
An epic voyage that took place more than seventy years before Columbus set sail..."
In this groundbreaking work, retired Royal Navy submarine captain Gavin Menzies offers an astonishing true story of Chinese naval exploration that dramatically changes global history. Supported by irrefutable scientific and archaeological evidence, 1421: The Year the Chinese Discovered the World reveals impressive documentation that the Chinese--not the Europeans--were the first to successfully circumnavigate the globe...and lay claim to one of history's greatest discoveries: America.
1421: The Year the Chinese Discovered the World
In the winter of 1421, four colossal fleets of leviathan ships, led by the emperor's loyal eunuch admirals, set sail from China on a journey of discovery that would last more than two years, circumnavigate the entire globe, and become one of history's long-hidden secrets. Their mission: to fulfill the emperor's order "to proceed all the way to the end of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the sea."
Using ancient Chinese maps and star charts, Gavin Menzies reconstructs these astounding voyages, from the first armada that sailed from China carrying silks, gold, concubines, and jewelry--gifts from Emperor Zhu Di to his fellow world leaders--through the fleets' epic journeys to Africa, North and South America, Australia, Antarctica, and the Arctic. Piecing together facts gleaned from these ancient maps (which miraculously escaped destruction and later became masterblueprints for explorers such as Columbus, da Gama, Magellan, and Cook), along with the logs and diaries of both Chinese explorers and later European adventurers, Menzies offers compelling evidence that the entire world was charted by 1428. And he reveals further evidence that the Chinese were the first to:
* Discover America--70 years before Columbus
* Develop the concept of longitude--300 years before the Europeans
* Chart both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North and South America
* Reach Australia--350 years before Cook
* Establish trade routes with Africa, India, the Americas, and Australia
Illustrated with rare maps and charts, as well as tantalizing evidence of ornate votive offerings left behind by the Chinese sailors wherever they landed, and remnants of sunken junks along their trade routes, Menzies's revolutionary theory--supported by historians, scholars, and navigational experts worldwide--may constitute one of the breakthrough findings of all time. As suspenseful and intriguing as any detective story, this fascinating work of science, exploration, and discovery offers a startling and revisionist view of history that will forever rewrite our understanding of the world.