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Marco Polo: A Photographer's Journey
This volume brings to life Marco Polo's 13th-century legendary expedition from Italy to China and his homeward sea journey via Sumatra and India. During a three-year assignment for National Geographic Michael Yamashita, one of the most famous and brilliant travel photographers, has followed in Marco Polo's footsteps capturing spectacular images throughout two continents, from Venice to the famous Marco Polo Bridge near Beijing. This beautifully illustrated book is a sort of visual journey that, thanks to the evocative texts by the historian Gianni Guadalupi and a selection of maps, recreates the incredible experiences of Marco Polo, who crossed the deserts of Asia and ventured into distant Cathay.
504 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 23, 2026
Bulgarian review first, followed by the English translation below
Какво свързва млад затворник с нереализирани писателски заложби от 13-ти век, откриването на Америка от Колумб през 15-ти век и фотограф на Нешънъл Джиографик от 20-ти век? Отговорът е: Марко Поло.
Ако Марко Поло не беше попаднал в генуезки плен през 1298 г., нямаше да срещне в затвора своя писател в сянка, който да опише невероятните му приключения в Азия. Ако книгата на свой ред не беше се превърнала в бестселър за времето си, с точните си и ясни детайли (без разните грифони, дракони и русалки, населяващи географски въображението тогавашния европеец), Колумб нямаше да се сдобие с екземпляр от нея. Нямаше прилежно да подчертава пасажите за Китай и Япония, и нямаше да поеме на дълго плаване. А - 700 години след Марко - Майкъл Ямашита нямаше да тръгне по стъпките му, и в рамките само на 3 години в края на 20-ти век да пресъздаде в кадри 24 годишното пътешествие на Марко Поло от 13-ти век. Започнало във Венеция, пресякло Светите Земи, Афганистан, Иран, Ирак, Китай, Монголия, Виетнам, Филипините и куп други екзотични за стедновековна Европа земи.
Ямашита е създал въздействащ фотографски пътепис с ярки кадри, кратки цитати от разказите на Марко Поло и с подбрани моменти от собствените си фотографски перипетии. За щастие или за нещастие, много по-малко неща са се променили за тези 700 години, отколкото читателят/зрителят би предположил.
4,5 звезди - след втори преглед закръглям на 5.
What connects a young 13th-century prisoner with unfulfilled literary ambitions, Columbus’s 15th-century discovery of America, and a 20th-century National Geographic photographer? The answer is: Marco Polo.
If Marco Polo had not been captured by the Genoese in 1298, he would never have met his ghostwriter in prison to document his incredible Asian adventures. If that book, in turn, hadn’t become a bestseller of its time—noted for its precise and clear details (devoid of the griffins, dragons, and mermaids that typically populated the medieval European imagination)—Columbus would never have acquired a copy. He wouldn't have meticulously underlined the passages about China and Japan, and he wouldn't have set sail on his long voyage. And—700 years after Marco—Michael Yamashita would not have retraced his steps, recreating in just three years at the end of the 20th century the 24-year journey Polo took in the 13th century. A journey that began in Venice, crossed the Holy Land, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, China, Mongolia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and a host of other lands exotic to medieval Europe.
Yamashita has created a powerful photographic travelogue featuring vivid imagery, brief quotes from Marco Polo’s chronicles, and selected moments from his own photographic trials. For better or worse, far fewer things have changed in those 700 years than the reader or viewer might expect.
Какво свързва млад затворник с нереализирани писателски заложби от 13-ти век, откриването на Америка от Колумб през 15-ти век и фотограф на Нешънъл Джиографик от 20-ти век? Отговорът е: Марко Поло.
Ако Марко Поло не беше попаднал в генуезки плен през 1298 г., нямаше да срещне в затвора своя писател в сянка, който да опише невероятните му приключения в Азия. Ако книгата на свой ред не беше се превърнала в бестселър за времето си, с точните си и ясни детайли (без разните грифони, дракони и русалки, населяващи географски въображението тогавашния европеец), Колумб нямаше да се сдобие с екземпляр от нея. Нямаше прилежно да подчертава пасажите за Китай и Япония, и нямаше да поеме на дълго плаване. А - 700 години след Марко - Майкъл Ямашита нямаше да тръгне по стъпките му, и в рамките само на 3 години в края на 20-ти век да пресъздаде в кадри 24 годишното пътешествие на Марко Поло от 13-ти век. Започнало във Венеция, пресякло Светите Земи, Афганистан, Иран, Ирак, Китай, Монголия, Виетнам, Филипините и куп други екзотични за стедновековна Европа земи.
Ямашита е създал въздействащ фотографски пътепис с ярки кадри, кратки цитати от разказите на Марко Поло и с подбрани моменти от собствените си фотографски перипетии. За щастие или за нещастие, много по-малко неща са се променили за тези 700 години, отколкото читателят/зрителят би предположил.
4,5 звезди - след втори преглед закръглям на 5.
What connects a young 13th-century prisoner with unfulfilled literary ambitions, Columbus’s 15th-century discovery of America, and a 20th-century National Geographic photographer? The answer is: Marco Polo.
If Marco Polo had not been captured by the Genoese in 1298, he would never have met his ghostwriter in prison to document his incredible Asian adventures. If that book, in turn, hadn’t become a bestseller of its time—noted for its precise and clear details (devoid of the griffins, dragons, and mermaids that typically populated the medieval European imagination)—Columbus would never have acquired a copy. He wouldn't have meticulously underlined the passages about China and Japan, and he wouldn't have set sail on his long voyage. And—700 years after Marco—Michael Yamashita would not have retraced his steps, recreating in just three years at the end of the 20th century the 24-year journey Polo took in the 13th century. A journey that began in Venice, crossed the Holy Land, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, China, Mongolia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and a host of other lands exotic to medieval Europe.
Yamashita has created a powerful photographic travelogue featuring vivid imagery, brief quotes from Marco Polo’s chronicles, and selected moments from his own photographic trials. For better or worse, far fewer things have changed in those 700 years than the reader or viewer might expect.
January 12, 2020
I read this along with Marco Polo’s book, which worked extremely well.
January 16, 2020
Super spannend mit Wechseln zwischen Gegenwart und Vergangenheit sowohl in Bildern als auch im Text.
September 26, 2014
I wanted more after I finished the last Marco Polo book, so I found this book of photos by a National Geographic photographer who retraced Marco Polo's journey. I realized partway through that the photographer was deliberately hiding evidence that the modern world had come to all these places along his route, but it was fascinating to see the same cultures and monuments that Marco Polo described still standing. I happened to see another couple references to Marco Polo this week. One is that a large percentage of boys from Venice are named Marco, because (of course) of the tomb of St. Mark, who is the symbol of the city (the winged lion.) The other reference was in the movie Ip Man, where hostilities between the Japanese and Chinese leading up to World War II really heated up after an incident on the Marco Polo bridge.
November 15, 2012
It was one of the books that compelled me to embark on my own photographic pilgrimage which directed me to a trilogy of lifelong projects, namely, Advocacy Photography Series, The Philippines' Series and lastly, The Earth Series.
September 2, 2013
I read this with Sterling Signature's 2012 edition of The Travels of Marco Polo, and this was the perfect complement to The Travels. The photography brought to life many of the stories, and the commentary on both The Travels and how the photos were taken enhanced the whole experience.
August 11, 2012
This book is amazing. The photography is wonderful!
May 19, 2016
The new female Marco Polo, I proudly present: Petra Cecilia Maria Hermans
Amen
(Well, someone has to do it)
Amen
(Well, someone has to do it)
August 11, 2016
Beautiful photographs with rich historical and contemporary context.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews