“The Seven Voyages of Zheng He; The Real Sinbad the Sailor,” is a mid-grade (ages 10-18) biography about the 15th Century Chinese explorer, Zheng He. At the instigation of Ming Emperor Zhu Di, Zheng He built a fleet of over 300 treasure ships, some of them larger than a football field, and led them on seven expeditions to S.E. Asia, India, Arabia, and Africa. Some historians believe he may also have sailed to Australia, Europe, and the Americas sixty years before Columbus set out to discover the New World. His journeys may have been the inspiration for the Legend of Sinbad the Sailor. Zheng He was a Muslim by birth, a Buddhist by training and, in practice, a follower of Matsu, the Chinese Goddess of the Seas. He was also exemplary in that he was able to spread the power and influence of the Ming Dynasty by peaceful means rather than through military conquest.