1421: The Year China Discovered the World

Historiography with nuances of historical romance, 1421: The Year China Discovered the World is the global bestseller that is rewriting history.

On March 8, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail from its base in China. The ships, gigantic junks nearly 150 meters long, built from the finest teakwood, were captained by Emperor Zhu Di's loyal eunuch admirals. Their mission was to "go to the ends of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas."

Their journey would last more than two years: Chinese ships thus landed in America 70 years before Columbus, circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan, discovered Antarctica, reached Australia 320 years before Cook, and solved the problem of longitude 300 years before the Europeans.

This whole story comes to light in the book 1421: The Year China Discovered the World , a worldwide bestseller written by Gavin Menzies after long years of research.