This is a fascinating and timeless narrative for many reasons. On a somewhat superficial level, Polo's book is a must read for lovers of travel or adventure stories, as it reads like a great lost book of the Bible, rife with historic vengeance, heroic warriors, eccentric mystics, penultimate battles and rallying speeches that seem torn out of the best passages of Thucydides.
Many of the practices and beliefs Polo witnessed -- specifically, polygamous peoples, perspectives on sexuality, methods of execution and the dazzling ways in which the people Polo came across attempted to please the gods and interpret the cosmos -- offer a memorable glimpse into a unique historical epoch.
Particularly engrossing are the stories of violent tensions between Christian and Islamic sects in Polo's day and region. One gets a sense that not much has changed in the past 800 years as Polo details the struggles between the eastern and western world even then, many of which redound to financial issues (sound familiar?).
Polo's insistence on portraying Moslems and Buddhists as savage rogues does make for a one-dimensional and distinctly Christian view of the world as it was in Polo's day, and his language is hardly the most attractive aspect of the book, which is written in a particularly conversational and redundant style. But the stories and characters contained within these pages are epic and unforgettable. I encourage lovers of Tolkein, C.S. Lewis and Rowling to read this book. Lovers of ancient history and philosophy are also bound to adore it. Most impressively, though, is the insight Polo offers into the birth of the now-infamous rift between the western and eastern worlds. This enduring relevance guarantees that we will be reading Polo's "Travels" for centuries to come.
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