The Travels of Marco Polo

By: Marco Polo

Narrated by: Walter Covell

Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo Read by Walter Covell. Take a fascinating journey through strange and exotic countries. Marco Polo (1254-1324), is probably the most famous Westerner who traveled on the "Silk Road." With his 24-year journey through Asia he surpassed all other travelers in his determination, his writing, and his influence. He reached further than any of his predecessors, beyond Mongolia to China. He became a confidant of Kublai Khan (1214-1294). He traveled the whole of China and returned to tell the tale, which became one of the world's greatest travelogues.

©1991 Jimcin Recordings; cover design © 2003 Brian J. Killavey (P)16 Jimcin Recordings; 1991 Jimcin Recordings; 2003 Jimcin Recordings

An educational experience.

This book was not what I expected. I thought it would be a narrative travelogue of the travels of Marco Polo, however it turned out to be more of a catalog of the cities and provinces he had visited. The first chapter was an introduction and provided background to the writing of his books but the subsequent chapters were just a recitation of provinces, their cities, none of which I knew or could find in my Atlas, and the nature and customs of their peoples. After about a couple of hours of this I was about to give up but when the section on the empire of Kublai Khan started I found the description of the government and the culture fascinating. The latter chapters on the region of Cathay were also a revelation to me. I had no idea of the magnitude of the civilization in this region in the 13th century. The book seemed to end abruptly with no conclusion or wrap up however I was very glad I persevered and felt that I learned much from it.

What are you looking for?

This book and recording is a valuable item...except I want to warn against expectations.
I expected a near romantic account of starry nights on the silk trail, cumbersome caravans and exotic cultures. This is not a story nor a poetic journal. Make no mistake, this a catalog of cultures, almost scientifically explained...you will hear of 'idolators' who are 'also in the service of the Great Kahn' about seventy times as it seems to pertain to almost every culture he visits.
Good, incredible material but this is not the stuff of entertainment, it is the stuff of research. It is read well and easy to follow.

Enjoy!

Mediocre

Starts out a little dull, but picks up after a bit, when the descriptions of the Grand Khan and his lands start up. The narration is somewhat monotonous, and droning. The story is interesting, but would be more so if your understanding of the ancient names of the places is complete enough to apply it to the modern ones. I, myself, never knew precisely what place he was discussing. History and geography buffs would like this better than I did.

Fascinating

You have to be a bit of a history and travel buff combined but absolutely fascinating! To hear what Asia was like first hand in the late 1200s is great. The degree of detail amazing, also Marco P put in fascinating characters whenever he could. It may offend some, as it is written from the middle ages Christian perspective so is often quite rude about Islam and Eastern religions. However he does seem quite objective and positive about "pagan" rulers when they were doing a good job for the people they ruled. (I'm pretty sure Marco P would have been hard on the Christian Inquisition if it was his time to write about it.) I'm writing this as I load part 2, which I can't wait to listen to.

May I present to you… your map?

Would you listen to The Travels of Marco Polo again? Why?

Number ten on the National Geographic list of top one hundred adventure books.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Marco.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Walter Covell?

I have already.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No.

Any additional comments?

To all you frustrated people who wish the audiobook had a map, well, how can you hear a map? If you want to look at a map, one wonders what trouble you encountered when you suggested that your web browser furnish you with one to look at. My browser found a just fine one for me, unencumbered by copyright restrictions. I put it in the same directory in my mobile device and in my desktop computer. Give the whining a rest, eh?

The Travels of Marco polo

I Just finished Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. It is by far the most fascinating bit of history i have ever read. I assumed because they mentioned Marco Polo a lot in Genghis Khan that his book would be a good read. So far i`m finding it horrendous . Boring boring boring.
Sorry Marco Polo

Needs a map - badly!

I have seen some audiobooks have a pdf associated to them that can be downloaded. This book badly needs to have such pdf. We badly need a map to follow along, otherwise it is very frustating not to be able to relate to which country Marco Polo is talking about. I have to say that even though some of the stories are interesting, it is one of those books which I had trouble to stay connected to (my mind kept wandering) because there is a lot of repetition from one chapter to the next... length of travel, religion of the people of the place, etc.

difficult to follow

One might enjoy this narrative more with a map of the "Silk Road." It is difficult to figure out where Marco is describing most of the time as place names have changed so very much.

poor production quality

the sound quality is pretty bad to begin with, but you can hear another guy recording a different book in the background.

Sounds like the read this through the PHONE

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I could not listen to this book, it sounds like they read this through the phone. Audio is very annoying.

What was most disappointing about Marco Polo’s story?

The Narration

How could the performance have been better?

Re-do this in a Studio

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Love history, the story seem very interesting, however I did not listen to it because of the terrible sound quality.

Any additional comments?

Re-do this with good voice and narration that is not dictated over the phone!

Completely Ruined!

This should have been a fascinting listen, however it was completely ruined by the boring american monotone used by the narrator - a voice which would be more suited to the educational cartoons of the 60s and 70s! I gave up.

Boring

What would have made The Travels of Marco Polo better?

If you have watched the film then prepare yourself for a disappointment. The content is boring which is matched by the robotic voice of the reader.

What will your next listen be?

Something by Charles Dickens

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

No

Quite boring

It is just a recitation of Towns and villages that were visited describing for each, their export, and worship. It was like listening to a recitation of a store inventory.
Entire absence of context describing how he felt, smelt, hardship, description of the travel to and from etc.
The most lacking fact was that all towns and cities were described only by its ancient appelation making it impossible for a listener to immediately know where he was talking about. Since i listen to this on my driv8ng commute this was impossible.

Disappointing

Interested to listen to the story but could not put up with the dull monotone of the narrator