William of Rubruck was a Franciscan friar who wrote the first great travel book about Asia. In 1253--55 he made the journey from the Holy Land to the court of the Great Khan Moengke at Qaraqorum in Mongolia and back again. . . . William was interested in all that he saw. . . . His account is particularly vivid because he related to the individual people he met. This is the first annotated translation to be made from the definitive Latin text published by A. Van den Wyngaert in 1929, and Peter Jackson and David Morgan are to be congratulated on producing an exemplary edition. The historical introduction is comprehensive and succinct, the translation excellent and idiomatic, while the notes clarify the text and explain why important variant readings have been chosen. --Bernard Hamilton, Times Literary Supplement