Khubilai Khan's Lost Fleet—In Search of a Legendary Armada

"James Delgado is one of the world's preeminent marine archaeolgists; he's also a terrific writer, and Khubilai Khan's Lost Fleet is a fascinating adventure tale packed with insights into a maritime empire about which most Westerners know almost nothing."--Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Heart of the Sea

"The attempts by Khubilai Khan to invade Japan with his all-conquering Mongol armies were instrumental in forging Japan's national consciousness, yet the precise details of the operations have for centuries remained a mystery. Through brilliant and painstaking research James Delgado has brought Khubilai Khan's lost fleet to the surface, showing for the first time the true nature of the doomed adventure."--Stephen Turnbull, author of The Samurai Sourcebook

"This is two stories in one: how the armada sent by Khubilai Khan to invade Japan in 1281--the greatest fleet in history before D-Day--was churned to bits by a typhoon and how some of those bits are being retrieved in one of the greatest feats of modern marine archaeology. James Delgado has been at the heart of this project. He ranges widely, showing how the past and present illuminate each other. (To the Japanese, the typhoon was the original kamikaze, the 'divine wind' after which their World War II suicide bombers were named.) Objectivity is matched with personal involvement, scholarship with narrative skill. This is history at its best: rigorous, original, and vivid."--John Man, author of Kublai Khan and The Terra Cotta Army

James P. Delgado is the President of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology. His many previous books include the British Museum Encyclopedia of Underwater and Maritime Archaeology, and, most recently, Gold Rush Port: The Maritime Archaeology of San Francisco's Waterfront (UC Press). Delgado has hosted the National Geographic television series "The Sea Hunters."