Engineering an Empire

I first discovered this remarkable series essentially by accident, but the results were mindblowing. After viewing a few episodes on YouTube, I was craving for more almost immediately. Hosted by actor Peter Weller (of Robocop fame and apparently holding a Master's Degree in Italian Renaissance art history- see "Da Vinci's World"), the series originally premiered in 2006 and is divided in 14 episodes, each covering a specific culture and/or time period:

1- Rome
2- Egypt
3- Greece
4- Greece: Age of Alexander
5- The Aztecs
6- Carthage
7- The Maya: Death Empire
8- Russia
9- Britain: Blood and Steel
10- The Persians
11- China
12- Napoleon: Steel Monster
13- The Byzantines
14- Da Vinci's World

I've always been a fan of historical documentaries, but Engineering an Empire was something else altogether. In addition to superbly rendered 3-D virtual reconstructions of famous monuments and palaces,  much of the series was filmed on the actual locations where many of the events took place. To cap it all, actors dressed up in historically accurate costumes to portray the famous rulers and other personalities that once walked through those locations and made those events possible. All of these features make the history easier to relate to and well as adding more "realism" to the mix, setting Engineering apart from almost any other documentary series ever made.

The one small drawback of the series (although not one immediately obvious to me- it came via later contemplation) was that there was a little too much emphasis on "western" cultures. The Aztec, Mayan, Persian and Chinese episodes were all well and good, but on the DVD set the Roman and Egyptian episodes were each given their own disks, while the other disks each contained three episodes. Granted, those two episodes were twice the length of all the others, but 4 more episodes would have balanced the whole set out (I thought coverage of India, Japan, the Mongols and the Incas would round out the series very nicely).

In spite of this minor issue, I can safely say that this is one of the most remarkable and diverse historical documentary series' ever produced, and have no qualms about calling it a 'must-have' for any history or engineering enthusiast.

Movie Review: Marco Polo

 

I first came upon this film without the faintest idea of the brilliance in store. It was August 8th 2008, mere hours before the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics was set to begin. I was browsing the "Free Movies on Demand" channel with my father and this title came up. Interested, we set it to play, and I was awed as I rarely have been in my entire life.

The film chronicles the incredible story of the Venetian trader who, at barely twenty years of age, traversed practically the entire breadth of the Asian continent and spent over a decade in service of the legendary Mongol emperor of China, Kublai Khan. Facing danger at every turn, both inside and outside the confines of the palace, young Marco saw wonders that most other Europeans would not behold for centuries and wrote perhaps the world's most famous travel guide, which (according to the ending scene of the film) has never been out of print since its first publication nearly 800 years ago.

In films like this, the issue of historical accuracy is always a prominent one. I don't claim to be an expert on the period, yet I had my doubts about certain aspects portrayed in the film; some seemed to have been created merely as romanticizing elements to further the story, yet others have proven, based on my recent research and observations, to be surprisingly correct. Regardless of specific inaccuracies, one thing the film did exceptionally well was show the contrasts between Europe and China (culturally, technologically and intellectually) which, at this time (13th century), were very significant.

The film was not big on special effects by any means (if anything there was a noticeable lack of them), but that was hardly an issue. I did have some qualms-perhaps not initially but after wards- about the casting choices (namely Ian Somerhalder and Brian Dennehy, an American and Irishman, respectively, playing famous Italian and Chinese historical figures), but lavish sets, costumes and cinematography, coupled with dramatic storytelling and fascinating characters affected me in ways that few other movies ever have. So much so, that I re-watched the movie about a dozen more times over the following two weeks and got my hands on the DVD (which contained a lot of extra footage) at the first opportunity. 

Book Review: The Silver Lotus

"Like father, like son". This is one phrase that we hear all the time, and was probably one of the first we heard as children. In the case of Thomas Steinbeck, eldest son of legendary American author John Steinbeck, however, this saying has never been more true. I was a fan of the father's work in high school (The Red Pony, The Pearl, Of Mice and Men), and now have discovered the literary magic of the son through his magnificent novel The Silver Lotus.

Spanning roughly from the 1890's until the 1910's (though this is difficult to determine, since actual dates are mentioned maybe three times in the entire book), The Silver Lotus takes its title from the name of its main character: Lady Yee is the youngest daughter of a wealthy merchant in the Chinese port city of Canton. Unsurpassed in beauty and unbelievably intelligent, Lady Yee is the jewel of her father's existence.

On the surface, captain Jeremiah Macy Hammond is the last person one would expect to be integrated into such a prominent Chinese family (an American merchant captain descended from a Nantucket whaling family). Nonetheless, his fine morals, deep sense of dignity and shrewd yet honest business ways earn him the singular honor of Lady Yee's hand in marriage.

Together, Captain Hammond and Lady Yee have many adventures sailing and trading across the Pacific, and when they finally settle down in Monterey, California, Lady Yee's almost superhuman instincts of perception combine with her husband's vast business network to profoundly change the sociopolitical culture and situation of ethnic minorities of the California coast.

The most remarkable feature about Steinbeck Jr.'s work is that the book contains very little dialog. In 342 pages the amount of actual spoken words adds up to perhaps five pages at most- hence the entire story is told in retrospect, making the reader feel like they are reading a historical account. Its been a while since I read anything by Steinbeck Sr., so I don't recall if this was his style as well. Nonetheless, it was still a very interesting literary technique.

Although some are extensively featured and others are only a passing reference, the sheer number of cultures, nationalities and religions (not to mention their foods, clothes and vast amounts of trade goods) paints an almost global picture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries while still focusing on the simple and loving relationship between an American merchant captain and his beautiful Chinese wife.

Thomas Steinbeck has written other books besides this one, and they apparently have been well received. Whether I will eventually read them or not is uncertain, but one thing is certain; in his firm grasp of characters and storytelling, Steinbeck Jr. is every bit as good as his father, and perhaps in some instances has even surpassed him.