01353pamaa2200205 4500 0000045298 20090625090000.0 090611 eng 9780007275861 (pbk.) G322 MEN 2008 Menzies 1434 : the year a magnificent Chinese fleet sailed to Italy and ignited the Renaissance Gavin Menzies. Londonpn: Batam Books, 2008. xvi, 368p: ill. (some col.), maps; 24 cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. [331]-345) and index The brilliance of the Renaissance laid the foundation of the modern world. Textbooks tell us that it came about as a result of a rediscovery of the ideas and ideals of classical Greece and Rome. But now bestselling historian Gavin Menzies makes the startling argument that in the year 1434, China--then the world's most technologically advanced civilization--provided the spark that set the European Renaissance ablaze. From that date onward, Europeans embraced Chinese intellectual ideas, discoveries, and inventions, all of which form the basis of western civilization today.--From amazon.com Discoveries in geography -- Chinese Europe -- Civilization -- Chinese influences Renaissance http://www.booksattansworld.co.uk