KIRKUS REVIEW
Asia Seen Through the Eyes of Its Discoverers"" with the knowledgeable Lattimores as editorial guides. They keep their role to a minimum as they present the journals and accounts from the days of the Great Silk Road (a diplomatic convenience, not an economic necessity) from Rome to China (Pliny, Ptolemy, etc.) and the journeys of Buddhist pilgrims to India through those of missionaries and traders before 1500, the later ocean discoverers and empire builders, to the days when ""the white man was a burden"" (1815-1914). The last, most complete section includes the travels of Hue and Gabet in Tartary, the Japan Expedition under Perry, journeys to Tibet, China, beyond the Caspian. Marco Polo stands firm as the most engaging of the lot with his remarks on how the ""Great Kaan"" chooses a concubine and how he makes the people use paper for money. The twain meet in this volume of the Great Explorers series, a book for buffs of far places, their exotic inhabitants, and the road of high, hard adventure.