In The Footsteps Of Marco Polo by Stanley Johnson is out now and available to the media
Review copies of Stanley Johnson’s fascinating new book, In the Footsteps of Marco Polo are now available to the media.
Published this week through Telensky International Editions, In the Footsteps of Marco Polo recounts Mr Johnson Snr’s twin adventures to retrace the Venetian explorer’s 4,000-mile journey from Venice to
China along the Silk Road.
Guided by Marco Polo’s vivid descriptions, he completed most of the Silk Road on a motorbike with late Oxford University pals Michael de Larrabeiti, the novelist and travel writer, and Tim Severin, the historian and explorer, in 1961.
The trio made it as far as Wahkan Corridor, on the Afghanistan-China border, but were unable to cross the High Pamirs on two wheels.
They vowed to return and complete the journey together, but Michael and Tim passed away in 2008 and 2020 respectively.
Fast forward 62 years, and the story takes a new turn. In the second part of the book, Mr Johnson Snr recounts how he and his youngest son, Max, resumed Marco Polo’s trail in Far West China, beginning where Polo himself entered the country around 1272, and follows their journey along the remaining 2,500 miles to Beijing.
The narrative is enriched by his the author’s own photographs, capturing the remarkable journey he and Max undertook.
A travel documentary of the same name, inspired by the book, had its premier in London on Wednesday.
Mr Johnson Snr notes that Polo is revered in China as a crucial bridge-builder between East and West. In this context, his book—while being an informed, lively, and amusing chronicle of a personal dream realised—holds special relevance today.
To secure a review copy of In the Footsteps of Marco Polo or to request an interview with author Stanley Johnson, contact publicist Anthony Harvison.
Complimentary review copies of new travel book In the Footsteps of Marco Polo by Stanley Johnson, published by Telensky International Editions, are now available to the media.
