Description: The chief source of knowledge concerning the early days of the vast empire known today as China and Mongolia is often considered to be the Travels of Marco Polo; yet Marco Polo was not the first traveler to those distant lands. He was preceded by Friar Carpini and Friar Rubruck, and was followed by Friar Odoric. Manuel Komroff, after consulting original manuscripts and documents, here presents to us, revised and edited in the light of modern research, the vivid records of bold men, the detailed pictures of a spectacular age, that remain rich and stirring in their appeal even today. Included is the first-hand account of Rabbi Benjamin Tudela's visit to Damascus, Jerusalem, Bagdad, and the ruins of the Tower of Babel, at a time when the Near East was as fabulous a realm as that of the great Khans of Tartary.
