Khubilai Khan's Lost Fleet: In Search of a Legendary Armada - Brossura

Delgado, James P.

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0520265858 ISBN 13: 9780520265851

Casa editrice: Univ of California Pr, 2010

Riassunto

In 1279, near what is now Hong Kong, Mongol ruler Khubilai Khan fulfilled the dream of his grandfather, Genghis Khan, by conquering China. The Grand Khan now ruled the largest empire the world has ever seenone that stretched from the China Sea to the plains of Hungary. He also inherited the world's largest navymore than seven hundred ships. Yet within fifteen years, Khubilai Khan's massive fleet was gone. What actually happened to the Mongol navy, considered for seven centuries to be little more than legend, has finally been revealed. Renowned archaeologist and historian James P. Delgado has gone diving with a Japanese team currently studying the remains of the Khan's lost fleet. Drawing from diverse sourcessunken ships, hand-painted scrolls, drowned bodies, and historical and literary records in this gripping account that moves deftly between the present and the past, Delgado pieces together the fascinating tale of Khubilai Khan's maritime forays and unravels one of history's greatest mysteries: What sank the great Mongol fleet?

Copub: Douglas & McIntyre

Su questo libro

L'autore:

James P. Delgado is the President of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology. His many previous books include theBritish Museum Encyclopedia of Underwater and Maritime Archaeology, and, most recently,Gold Rush Port: The Maritime Archaeology of San Francisco's Waterfront (UC Press). Delgado has hosted theNational Geographic television series "The Sea Hunters."

Dalla seconda/terza di copertina:

James Delgado is one of the world's preeminent marine archaeolgists; he's also a terrific writer, andKhubilai Khan's Lost Fleet is a fascinating adventure tale packed with insights into a maritime empire about which most Westerners know almost nothing.”Nathaniel Philbrick, author ofIn the Heart of the Sea

The attempts by Khubilai Khan to invade Japan with his all-conquering Mongol armies were instrumental in forging Japan's national consciousness, yet the precise details of the operations have for centuries remained a mystery. Through brilliant and painstaking research James Delgado has brought Khubilai Khan's lost fleet to the surface, showing for the first time the true nature of the doomed adventure.”Stephen Turnbull, author ofThe Samurai Sourcebook

This is two stories in one: how the armada sent by Khubilai Khan to invade Japan in 1281the greatest fleet in history before D-Daywas churned to bits by a typhoon and how some of those bits are being retrieved in one of the greatest feats of modern marine archaeology. James Delgado has been at the heart of this project. He ranges widely, showing how the past and present illuminate each other. (To the Japanese, the typhoon was the originalkamikaze, the 'divine wind' after which their World War II suicide bombers were named.) Objectivity is matched with personal involvement, scholarship with narrative skill. This is history at its best: rigorous, original, and vivid.”John Man, author ofKublai Khan and The Terra Cotta Army

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Univ of California Pr
• Data di pubblicazione: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0520265858
• ISBN 13: 9780520265851
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 225