Upon returning to his native Venice from a nearly 25-year journey through Asia, Marco Polo fueled the Western imagination with his tales about the splendors of the East. This lively biography follows Marco’s intrepid family as they navigate the spice stalls, caravansaries, and dangers that once populated the Silk Road and enter Kublai Khan’s Mongol court in China, where they served as advisors. Readers will learn about the Polos’ importance as cultural emissaries at a time of limited global exchange and how Marco’s account of their travels–whether fact or fiction–heralded the later golden age of exploration.