1421: The Year China Discovered America

1421: The Year China Discovered America by Gavin Menzies is a fascinating nonfiction discussion of the maritime accomplishments of Chinese explorers that preceded the era of Columbus.  Menzies describes well-documented voyages by Admiral Zheng He to Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East and eastern Africa under orders from Emperor Zhu Di.  Most of the book revolves around the author’s assertion that in 1421 Zheng He commanded an armada of huge ships that split into four fleets with journeys that traversed the world with discoveries of Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, North and South America, and Antarctica.  Some of the ships were 480 feet long with rudders almost as long as the Nina that carried Columbus to the New World.  Critics question the validity of much of the documentation for this work, but it raises interesting possibilities, and I found the discussion of the Ming dynasty and the accomplishments and failures of Zhu Di to be intriguing.