The first part of the book was a good read. It covered the life of Genghis Kahn sufficiently to get the sense of the man as a human being rather than the monster history has often shown him to be.

However, the last part of the book seems to step out of the history telling mode and into what seemed to me to be a quite biased view of the legacy of Kahn.

To me, the last part of the book (maybe the last 1/3), was a waste of time. It made one doubt the honest scholarship in the preceding 2/3 of the book. Thus, to get the full picture of Genghis Kahn, one has to look farther afield than this book only. If this is the only book you read about Genghis Kahn, you will have an incomplete idea of who he was and the impact he had on history.

It would be very foolish and unwise to not read this book if your a history lover.
The author's writes very fluid and concise and easy to follow. This book really help broaden my understanding of the middle ages and how the Mongolian empire operated.
I never knew the Mongols were the key catalyst in linking the separate middle age kingdoms of the world into the modern world.
Mongols never created or invented anything. What they did do was link the worlds of Asia, Europe and Muslim into a global integrated world. Mongols took the best of each civilization and passed it to the next. The Europe region was the most poor and backwards and benefited the most. The Muslim world was the most advanced and wealthy and suffered the worse Mongolian wreckage.
While Genghis was not a saint he pioneered a new world order that would form the modern global world. Mongols pioneered free trade and international commerce. Really the first empire to do this since the Romans.

Mongols were the greatest warriors of the middle ages. They made the heavy slow armored knights of Europe absolute. They perfected Chinese siege technology to the highest levels. Mongols crushed any resistance from the slow European armies to Muslims to the Chinese without any trouble.
In the end, like most empires the Mongolian world suffered a fragmented world where sons of previous Khans could never co-exist or get along. The empire became weaker and more fragmented. Finally the Black Death of the 14th Century put in end to most of the great empire.
Don't want to give out all the great details . Just get the book. I finished it in a week it was that good and i read slow.

I bought this book because I didn't know much about Genghis Khan. It was the best book purchase ever. The author takes you through the amazing life of Genghis Khan, but, more importantly, you come away with a better knowledge of how the modern world was established. So many of my history lessons in school were taught through a Western perspective. Jack Weatherford writes a book that reads like a novel and shows the other side of the story, without taking sides himself. His years of research as an anthropoligist create a book that sheds light on the mongol tribes, the establishment of countries from Europe to Asia, the creation of money and trade, religious development and tolerance, the minds of great leaders, including strong mongol women...you won't be able to put it down.

I have to concur with some of the criticisms. Weatherford's is a good read if you're looking for the basics of Mongol history, but use caution when buying into his revisionist ideas of the glory and influence of their empire. The thesis is interesting, yet the author almost goes too far in his praise of all things Mongol, sometimes basing fairly sweeping generalities on what really isn't much direct evidence. Revisionism of this sort is tricky business, particularly when couched in what almost certainly has to be hyperbole.

A careful reading of his endnotes demonstrates that there really just isn't that much primary information out there other than "Secret History," and many of the sweeping tidbits of praise are based off of secondary source materials, invalidating for me the seriousness of the scholarship put forth.

Still, it's a decent read if you read it for the framework history of the Mongols and view his praise with deep skepticism. To be cliche, answers often DO lie in the middle.

Who do you think is the most re-known barbarian in World History? There are probably a lot of names you are thinking of, and I am sure that Genghis Khan is at the top of that list or towards to the top. I have always been curious about the person Genghis Khan as a conqueror and an emperor that established trade networks within his empire. Some questions might be: why is Genghis Khan perceived as a barbarian or what made him do these barbaric acts. These are some interesting questions and when I saw this book while browsing the bookstore, I had to buy it; I was looking forward to the possibility that the author may answer some of these questions.

So I started my journey with Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World written by Jack Weatherford. Dr. Jack Weatherford is a professor of Anthropology at Macalester College, and he also received an honorary Doctorate degree of Humanities from Chinggis Khaan College in Mongolia. He spent time in Mongolia experiencing the life of a steppe nomad while researching Genghis Khan, and after I completed reading this book it was evident that the life and times of Genghis Khan was thoroughly researched and analyzed.

The story covered the entire life of Genghis Khan in three parts: the first part describes the time from his birth to his rise as emperor, the second part describes the Mongol World conquests, and the third part focuses on how the Mongolian Dynasty impacted modern society. The transition between these sections was fluid and logical. The book was an easy read and I also learned a lot of interesting historical nuggets, which I always enjoy. The following from the book captures the essence of Genghis Khan concisely:

"Genghis Khan's ability to manipulate people and technology represented the experienced knowledge of more than four decades of nearly constant warfare. At no single, crucial moment in his life did he suddenly acquire his genius at warfare, his ability to inspire the loyalty of his followers, or his unprecedented skill for organizing on a global scale........In each struggle, he combined the new ideas into a constantly changing set of military tactics, strategies, and weapons. He never fought the same war twice."

The author does answer all the questions I had about Genghis Khan before reading this book and more than that. Along the way he also cites primary source references to support his story. I gained a good appreciation of the life and times of Genghis Khan. He was a survivor of the Mongolian steppe traditions and this means to overcome many dangerous obstacles, such as defending his life from other potential Mongol warlord leaders. He was not only a survivor; he was successful and made the Mongols a force of their time. Although he is much known for the barbaric streak, which is the reason for his rise to be a Mongol leader, he did implement many innovative ideas to enrich and grow his empire. For example he established a trading post network throughout the empire, every region of the empire would have to share resources with each other, and the "capital" region would get a form of tax if you want to call it that from all the other regions. This increased the standard of living throughout the empire.

Furthermore, I found that the author's inclusion of maps throughout the book (before the start of certain chapters), and not just in the beginning of the book made it easier to follow the changing landscape of the Mongolian Empire (without having to flip back to the front of the book) and also the major cities within the empire.

I wanted to conclude with the following passage from the book, which I thought concisely honed in on the impact of great figures and events is on history:

"The great actors of history cannot be neatly tucked between the covers of a book and filed away like so many passed botanical specimens. Their actions cannot be explained according to a specific timetable like the coming and going of so many trains. Although scholars may designate the beginning and ending of an era with exact precision, great historical events, particularly those that erupt suddenly and violently, build up slowly, and, once having begun, never end. Their efforts linger long after the action faded from view."

Overall the book was an easy read and provided good information. I would recommend this book to any lover of history and particularly someone that is interested in the history of Genghis Khan.

History is not simple.
It is a mistake we learn in our schools when we are taught history through memorizing dates in a linear fashion. History is alive, it is complex and there are always small events leading up to a big episode. Professor Weatherford's book builds a fascinating story around the many achievements of Genghis Kahn, as well as his military genius and leadership skills.

Even though I have heard the name Genghis Kahn before, I've never done much reading on him or the Mongol Empire. I missed out on a fascinating story and glad I found this book. The narrative is written in such a way which the reader understands the socio-economic realities the Mongols lived in, as well as the brutality of how wealth was won.

I have never appreciated the genius which was Genghis Kahn, always portrayed as a brute in pop culture and by his enemies. Uniting nomad tribes to form a strong Mongolia, organizing armies, creating a working bureaucracy, beginning the concept of diplomatic immunity, understanding economical achievements and even legislating laws which he must also obey (something I cannot say for today's leaders) are part of his little known heritage.

The legacy of Genghis Kahn is also a major character in this book. Kahn dies half way through, yet his legacy is what keeps the empire's expansion despite, not because, his sons' role the society he built and left them.

Weatherford's book is a wonderful narrative which tackles a complex subject tactfully and with great skill.

Very well researched. Written in a way that tells a fantastic story while providing real historical facts. Read it and be entertained and educated.

This is probably one of the best books out there on Genghis Khan and his descendants. Instead of portraying him as a bloodthirsty conqueror, it goes into the history of his policies and choices for governing his people, as well as the innovations he brought to warfare and government. The author also focuses on the stereotypes and debunks them to reveal a fascinating person with a unique vision for the word that is much more egalitarian than previously was known. An excellent read not merely for the history, but also for understanding how innovation can be applied.

After a recent trip to Mongolia, I was eager to understand more completely the place of Genghis Kahn in the history of the world's civilizations. This book was recommended to me by a teacher of history. The book does an excellent job in giving context to the Mongol invasions of China and eastern Europe and the impact of the "Mongol Way" on those societies. To be sure, the book is written from a certain perspective as all books are and probably ascribes too much positive influence to Genghis Khan and down-plays many of the negative influences. However, this perspective stands as an excellent counterpoint to other, more Eurocentric, revisionist histories. As with many complex ideas, it is best to consider all perspectives and find the truth somewhere between then. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in not only the history of Mongolia but the evolution of human societies. BGS

Who would have thought that Genghis Khan, the scourge of the steppes was the victim of bad press. That's Weatherford's contention. He does tend to gloss over the mega deaths and present the Mongols as the great bureocrats. Since I came into this book in great ignorance, I am now greatly improved in my knowledge. It was quite readable. Weatherford tells a good story, and I'm glad I read it. I am not tempted to read anymore in this vein for awhile.

This is the best book I ever read on Genghis Khan and the Mongols! And I read most of them!

Based on the accounts of a few ancient historians and a key text discovered in China in the 19th century, Jack Weatherford provides a picture of one of the most influential figures in the history of mankind. The Author describes in the forward to the book his travels in Mongolia in the region where Genghis khan was born, spent his childhood and thought to be buried. The Soviets, during their rule of Mongolia, strongly and violently discouraged any study of Genghis Khan for fear of stoking Mongolian national sentiment. This area was sealed off to all visitors by the Soviets. It only became possible to visit Ikh Khorig, as the area is called, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Jack Weatherford's knowledge of the region and his interaction with local historians and people provides valuable insight that he's able to share with his readers.
Only the first third of the book is dedicated to the life of Genghis khan. The last two-thirds of the book deal with the political maneuvers and conquests made by his descendants, and the impact of the Mongols that can be felt to this day. As I read the book I kept turning every page wondering what transpired next. The book was hard to put down.
The Mongol's great legacy derived more from what they accomplished after they assumed power then of the conquests they made. The author admires their religious tolerance and secularism. He credits them for spreading technologies throughout different parts of their vast empire, and for the proliferation of trade between Europe, Middle East and Asia.
Many tales have survived the centuries about the ruthlessness and savagery of the Mongols. Many of these tales interpreted literally border on the ridiculous and the author is correct to dismiss them as racist or ignorant. Yet I feel that the people, through these tales, were expressing the great horror experienced during the Mongol conquests. All military conquests at the time could be considered savage by today's standards and it would be unfair to single the Mongols out just because of their military success. I do think that since the author is not reluctant to heap praise on the conquerors from the steppes he should probably balance it out by describing the great loss of human life and misery that they caused. I have previously read how the Mongols, after killing many of the men in a conquered city, fathered many children. The DNA of several populations has been analyzed and the results support the tales of their supposedly healthy sexual appetite. The author does not address this matter.
Overall this is a great book that is very well written. I highly recommend it.

After reading this book I was struck by the many different life lessons one might draw from Genghis' organizational methods and his easy way with the intricacies of military tactics and strategy. That he conquered so much territory with comparatively so few men in so little time, is beyond remarkable and he did it all using only Calvary arranged in mobile overlapping circles. No supply lines and no foot soldiers. He had a management team approach where learning and improvement were continuous. His ability to adapt, improvise, and pivot in a new direction was otherworldly. He did in 25 years what took the Roman's 400 years, and he conquered twice as much territory as anyone in history.

That he promoted on merit, not kinship, speaks volumes about his capacity for going against the grain. His military adaptiveness in tactical and strategic matters is the stuff of genius and makes no mistake, he was a genius. He killed off the aristocracy of those he conquered, and pledged the common people to his fealty. In this way he absorbed whole cultures from whom he demanded, and who in return, paid him tribute in a manner that was mutually beneficial. He divided the spoils among his men from top to bottom which paradoxically made him more powerful. He decentralized his empire while expanding it, a credit to his advanced abilities at establishing communications - think pony express and a postal service. He allowed freedom of worship drawing a sharp contrast with the Catholic Church who burned heretics at the stake. He enforced a system of laws. He initiated a paper currency. He used a sophisticated decimal system to organize his armies, somewhere between 80,000 100,000 men. He created hundreds of trails and trade routes between east and west, north and south, and he conquered every type of enemy leaving only geography and climate to slow his advance.

His ability to get men to follow, fight and die for him was almost mystical. His troops were swift, mobile, fearless, and excellent as horsemen and archers. Each man had five horses and could ride forever. He knew human nature and he knew the uses of terror. He practiced lightening war and constant deception. He built walls around cities, he built sophisticated siege engines, and he diverted the course of rivers, all while using innovative and adaptive tactics. He looted and killed with no remorse for those who failed to submit and sometimes from those who did. No one ever knew exactly what his next move would be. And where did he get his talent? After all, he was illiterate while suffering a traumatic childhood and a broken home. Yet he was the best of his breed, ever.

Much of Weatherford's research was done on site, there on the steppes of Mongolia, where he also gleaned a great deal from the Secret History, a long obscure narrative of the Mongols kept hidden by the Soviets until after the fall of the Wall.

That this is a fine book and one well worth the read goes without saying.

The Mongols were arguably the finest military force the world has ever produced. This very readable and enjoyable lesson tells the saga of the rise of Genghis Khan and the Mongol empire. Good place to start if you are new to this period for a solid overview of the players and events that propelled this fascinating chapter of history. I am a an avid student of Mongol military history, and I highly recommend it.

Many people in the west often imagine Genghis Khan as a barely civilized marauder tearing across the land detstroying everything in his path. Jack Weatherford paints a very different picture of the leader in this book. In fact, the author credits Genghis Khan with the creation of the modern world. To provide some examples of ways in which the Mongols transformed the world--they created a system of paper money which revolutionized the world of commerce at the time. Also, Mongols highly prized those with specialized knowledge, so individuals with scientific, technical, or administrative knowledge were moved around to various parts of the empire thus spreading previously localized knowledge to all corners of the earth.

The Mongols also were very open culturally. To provide a good example, one Mongol leader sponsored a religious debate Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists among other religious groups. In this debate, the Christian and Muslim participants often sided together in order to counter the points of argument from the Buddhist side. In the end, the debate ended with a feast. The Mongols went to great lengths to open up the tolerance of members of the empire. In fact, the Mongols were strong supporters of the seperation of church and state, which allowed for a multi-ethic and multi-religious nation to exist as one, something which would not appear again for hundreds of years.

The book details a lot of the advances made during the Mongol period which have influenced the modern world. One of the most interesting ideas that the book presents is that the rise of Europe can be attributed to the rise of the Mongols. In a sense, the Europeans benefited from the modern world system without the downside of having their lands invaded. This is an interesting proposal that deserves to be considered.

I strongly recommend this book. It's brings up a lot of questions that you might not have considered before and helps us to understand that the world was modern perhaps a few hundred years before we imagined.

I could not get past the introduction of this book. I could get past some lies, like the fact that the Qin dynasty united China as a nation centuries before Genghis Khan, but when the author lied about current events just for convenience I could not take it anymore. The book claims that the Taliban killed the Hazara people (descendants of Mongol armies) in 2002 in "angry revenge" because they equated the US invasion to the Mongol invasion centuries ago. The author did not have the sense to do a little research and find out that The Taliban had been targeting the Hazara people before 9/11 not because of their ethnicity but rather because they subscribe to the Shia Muslim school of thought, while they themselves are extremist Sunni Wahabis. Massacres of Hazara civilians, and some Iranian diplomats, at Mazar-e-Sharif almost led to a war between the Taliban and Iran before 2001 - of course at that point the US was providing aid to the Taliban to fight poppy production.
It is clear that the author is ready to make up facts to make his book more interesting.
I was looking for a good book about Mongol history - clearly this is more like pulp fiction.

Wonder why this book was listed as one of the books about China!
Must be a joke!

It was an easy read but the author has a very transparent agenda. Note that he is not a historian but an anthropologist, which gives you a clue as to what he is setting out to do. The back of the book states that the Mongols led to a "blossoming of civilization"!! The civilizations were the ones the Mongols trampled over, slaughtered, burned, and enslaved. There are biased, unfavorable comparisons with Europe and especially Christianity. One would think the 13th century had nothing of value in Europe - no St. Francis, Dante, Magna Carta, etc. There are several mentions of Genghis Khan's not using torture, but that doesn't count for much when he murdered his half-brother, best friend, and millions of innocent people all across Asia.

the book is not bad as an introduction, but it's really not a full length biography, rather it is three different stories. One is the story of the historiography about Genghis Khan and the author's journey to Mongolia to experience the history and gain a better understanding of the Secret History. The second is a short, skimpy bio of Genghis, and the third is the story of the Mongol empire after Genghis, again, rather cursory.

Some things you will want to know more about after reading this book:
-- more info about the Sacred History
-- more info about Genghis military tactics, political strategy, and imperial policies
-- more info about the trajectory of the empire after Genghis

What you won't need to know more about after reading this book:
-- how the author felt about being in Mongolia

The book is not bad. It's informative, and it provides a fresh perspective, even if it does go a little overboard in trying to correct the image of the Mongols. Maybe they weren't just bloodthirsty barbarians, but it's hard to believe that they were all that civilized either. Worth reading, but don't just read this one by itself if you want an informed view about the man and his era.

An enjoyable read of Genghis Khan and the empire he created. I was surprised to read how small his army was. It was also stunning to read how much affected was the empire by Black Death.

However there are sections of the book that I find wrong, but minor. For example, the Germans tank Generals did not look to the Mongols for strategical insights possibly as an archer on a horse is closer to a fighter bomber than a tank. Another example is that the international post existed long before the Mongols as did paper money.

Other more serious problems like his explanation of the battle at Kalka, is different to anything I have read. I searched vain for his sources. It needs some sources to back it up. Another the writer has no idea that many Mongols used lancers not bows. It was these lancers, not the bows that won this battle.

Overall I think the book is a great read, a good introduction to the Mongol empire but not a serious historical book on the subject.

Enjoyable book.
Gives a different version of the Mongol Empire some of which may be just from Mongol viewpoint.

I never bought a book through a website,and I was surprised how quickly I got my book undamaged and in great condition. Great job! keep up the good work!

Weatherford's book is a must read for any history buff and is an excellent introduction to a remarkably rich vein of human history! This is a well written and well researched book so no prior knowledge of the Mongols is required. It endeavors to restore the Mongols to their rightful place in history and does make the case for the Mongol empire being a critical component in the foundation of the modern world. This book is an intellectual game changer for students of history who have customarily viewed world histoy through the lens of Greece, Rome, Egypt, Britain, France, etc. I have long been an admirer of Genghis Khan and this eminently readable book has reinforced my admiration and is a work which I can comfortably give to family and friends and refer to others. Many threads of the story cry out for additional research and exposition especially the economic themes and the practice of cross ownership in different components of the divided empire by various decendants of Genghis Khan.

What a truly fascinating account of one of the most notoriously ruthless leaders in history....and at the same time we learn what brilliance and vision this man had in creating a new world order of trade.

I have been fascinated by the life and times of Genghis Khan and have read a couple of other books before this gem from Jack Weatherford. Jack stays clear of myths around Genghis' life and presents an authoritarian account of this under-acknowledged titan who shaped the modern world. Learning from his early life experiences, Genghis put in practice a series of "Management" practices that helped him conquer most of the civilized world of his time. In modern terms his reign extended 30 countries with a population of over 3 Billion. Some of the "Management" practices as I understand are as follows:

1. Superior Management Team: Genghis choose meritocracy and loyalty over aristocracy. Cooks, cowherds could become generals in his army. Result: He had the strongest and the most successful kingdoms of any age.

2. Decentralized Organization Structure: Genghis mobilized his army into units of 10 and each unit was self contained. Result: The Army could move fast and it took his adversaries by surprise.

3. Strong Communication Channel: Genghis had to foresight to establish "post offices" that were managed locally. Result: This along with signals perfected during his life in the steppes allowed him to keep the information flow smooth.

4. Emphasis on learning and continuous improvement: Genghis learned from his life in the steppes and various expeditions and included in his arsenal weapons and skills that he had seen his adversaries use against him. Result: He had the most efficient army of period

5. Just Compensation: Genghis dispensed with the practice of hoarding spoils of war centrally. He instituted practices to distribute the gains of war justly among his troops. Result: His troops were staunchly loyal.

6. No Discrimination Policy: During his time, Genghis allowed total religious freedom. Shamans, Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists could practice their religion without fear.

7. Growing through alliances: Genghis was a master at building alliances. Result: This allowed him to vastly expand his domain.

Jack masterful presentation has but one minor flaw. It has no illustrations or pictures except for a few maps and one "family tree". I had to frequently turn to the Internet to get more information on the geography of the times. I would have given a 5 star if only for this minor issue.

In this fascinating survey of Genghis Khan and his descendants at the height of the Mongol Empire - the point at which they had conquered not only Central Asia but much of what is now Eastern Europe as well as India and China - Jack Weatherford abandons ponderous scholarly prose but not scholarly precision to make a passionate case for viewing Genghis and his successors as being as much of a 13th century kind of golden age as well as Golden Hord.

Weatherford's strength is undoubtedly the patience he had to wade through the myriad contemporary archives scattered from China to Europe but also his efforts to almost literally resurrect the Mongol traditions and lifestyle from what little evidence remains, including contemporary Mongol life. (The nomadic Mongols tended to be illiterate and didn't value written records for their own sake.) Weatherford shows how the Mongols' religious traditions enabled the invaders were able to coexist with nations of which they seized control - they even entertained Christian missionaries at their courts. Most significantly, however, he evaluates the Mongols in the context of the time in which they lived, a period of time during which, he argues, the Mongols themselves were far from the bloodiest, most irrational or most intolerant of peoples. Most intriguing to me was the evolution of the city of Hangzhou as a Mongol capital; there is little of that left in today's modern Han Chinese city except for the setting, and it's a part of the city's history that today's Chinese don't proclaim loudly. Still, I'm not sure that the evidence for a golden age under the Mongols was quite as compelling as he argues it to be, at least as presented, although I found his case that the Mongol conquest, by shaking up traditional social, economic and political relationships, led inexorably to the cultural cross-fertilization that made possible the European Renaissance.

For me, the book's strengths are twofold. Firstly, the opening and closing chapters, exploring how Soviet authorities tried to eradicate any lingering traces of Mongol history and identity and the post-Soviet recovery of that, were extraordinarily intriguing as it clearly sets out for the reader why this figure, eight centuries after his death, is still a force to be reckoned with politically. Secondarily, Weatherford writes not only about his historical reconstructions of Mongol life, but how he personally experienced it, trying to locate sites that Genghis Khan might have lived or been buried, describing the vast skies that the Mongols would have grown up underneath, and what it feels like to ride across the steppe on a Mongol pony. When this kind of description is more than just a stunt, but a real effort to help the reader understand a now-vanished world, it's invaluable and elevates the book to an altogether higher level.

Enjoyable to read to read, well-researched, more or less balanced; Genghis Khan was not the monster he's often made out to be, but that's not to say he didn't massacre the occasional entire city. Watch Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan at the same time and make it a double feature!

(Do not watch Mongol while you're baked, though. Subtitles don't mix well with marijuana. Aren't you glad you have me around to give this kind of advice?)

I really enjoyed this book.

In high school, I was always puzzled by the history lessons that taught that the "Barbarians were always sweeping down from the North," and somehow managed to keep conquering the "known civilized world" - even the worlds of Alexander, Caesar and Napoleon. How they were able to do so was never made clear in those lessons. Until this book, the details had always remained murky and were carefully finessed by my teachers with a backhanded dismissal to the effect that the Mongols were little more than bloodthirsty and murderous hordes.

Somehow, although I always thought there was more to this story, for a life time, I allowed this lame explanation to sit uncomfortably in the back of my mind as a partial answer to this rather important question: How indeed had a band of barbarians managed to conquer the entire Known Civilized World? Was it only through brutality and barbarism, as by teachers had taught, or were there other reasons?

Well, this book clears up that mystery and has all the right answers and more. And what a great story it is. It is the story of a warrior-Yak herder who was also a doer on the world stage, as that stage was being shaped. It is the story of how Genghis Khan (Temujin), Armed with the Spirit Banner (a clump of horse hair tied to the end of a spear) as his spiritual totem, and no more than a hundred thousand tribal men, set out to conquer the world and did so in a way that was so innovative and so far ahead of its times that even in his own times, and even among those he conquered, his techniques and strategies must have been as much a mystery to them as to my history teachers.

A superb storyteller and Archaeologist, the author "takes no prisoners" in this excavation and recounting of, lost Mongol history. This is not "sugar-coated" revisionism but cold-blooded explanations and narratives with the historical details to back them up -- all of which have the deep ring of truth.

In conquest after conquest Khan's armies, which had invented the use of, and perfected disciplined and coordinated Calvary blitzkrieg, eight hundred years before Hitler had done so, combined these with speed and surprise to charge across the thirteenth century transforming warfare into an intercontinental affair fought on multiple fronts across thousands of miles.

He redrew the boundaries of the globe and created a new world order by amalgamating and replacing small conquered feudal fiefdoms based on aristocratic privilege, and turned them into larger units based on what we have now come to recognize as fundamental democratic principles, viz; individual merit, loyalty and achievement. These larger political units became international trading centers. They brought with them a need for a new kind of political organization such as international law, fair taxation, diplomatic exchanges, paper currency and a banking system. Unlike other conquerors, Khan did not hoard his bounty but instead plowed it back into the local economies so that it could work its economic magic in ways that even today's modern economist might envy. It was the empire that he left that set the stage for the European renaissance and was on such a firm foundation at his death in 1227, that it continued to grow for another 150 years.

Khan's leadership in reshaping the world is only one of many themes explored by the book. Its centerpiece is the discovery of the lost Secret History of the Mongols and is a parallel detective story deserving of an award on its own merits. Not only does the book explain Mongol history and how it was eventually brought to the light of day, but also how it was decoded and its contents verified. A Fabulous read. No wonder it was on the NY Times bestsellers list. Five Stars

The incredible lives of Genghis Khan and his descendants make this book very entertaining to read. The Mongols had probably changed the world landscape more than anyone else in history. Their empires ranged from China to Russia, including India, Persia, and Iraq. In modern map, that comprises more than 30 countries with over 3 billion people. This book is for everyone who wants to understand the life of one of the greatest men in history and the impact he made to the modern world. I wish all other history books were equally fun to read.

I loved reading this book. It was enthralling and some parts felt like a movie. But the author does overstate his case at the beginning in which he credits the Mongol Empire, with, among other things, the birth of the Renaissance. You can draw your own conclusions but if you want to read history that feels like a novel, you'll enjoy this book.

This is one of the most engaging books on a historical figure that I've ever read. I like the fact that Jack Weatherford boldly states a radical theory --that Genghis Khan and the Mongols literally gave birth to the modern world. When I first saw the title, I was a little taken aback. How could such a dramatic fact be so little known? I was already aware that the Mongols had created the largest empire in history, but not about their many innovations and contributions to the world as we know it.

Appreciating this book and Weatherford's very lively style does not mean I agree with everything in it. I would not presume to argue historical facts, but it seems that Weatherford is highly biased in favor of the Mongols and goes out of his way to compare them favorably to others, especially the Europeans of the time. I prefer an openly biased history to a dull, pseudo-objective one (as pure objectivity probably does not exist), but it's still good to be aware of the biases.

As Weatherford explains it, Genghis Khan was the first true universalist. His empire had the distinct feature of allowing conquered peoples the right to keep their native religions and, at times, even their political systems, so long as they submitted to Mongol rule. Most likely this was done out of a shrewd understanding of politics and power rather than any commitment to a liberal world culture in the modern sense. Still, the result was that trade routes opened up, cultures communicated to an unprecedented degree and disciplines from medicine to warfare advanced as different ethnic groups pooled their knowledge. The Mongols even used paper money, which certainly made trade more efficient and helped to create the modern world economy.

Weatherford presents Genghis Khan as a noble, heroic figure -a kind of benevolent despot. I could not help but wonder how much of Genghis' character and the events of his life are conjectural. Much of the information in this book, as Weatherford tells us, is based on documents only recently translated into modern languages. Scholars have had a hard time over the centuries piecing together Mongol history, as a lot of what we know about them was written by their enemies. I am no historian, but this book did not make clear to me how much we should believe concerning the details of Genghis Khan's life. Historical figures tend to be mythologized. I am talking mainly about details here, such as stories about his childhood; the larger issues are more clear-cut, such as the results of battles and the many innovations that came about during the Mongol empire.

This book can be seen as the flip side of earlier, more conventional perspectives that dismiss the Mongols as mere barbarians. The fact is, Weatherford does describe Mongol behavior that is rather barbaric; he has a tendency to present it in a way that almost makes it seem acceptable --as in (to paraphrase, not quote), "The Mongols only slaughtered a few thousand soldiers and aristocrats, but let the rest of the people who surrendered live." It's true that Europeans, Muslims and Chinese of that time (or ours, for that matter) were ruthless and bloodthirsty in many ways, but the Mongols were not exactly humanitarians either.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in history and the way culture has evolved over the centuries. As I said, I like Weatherford's style and the fact that he states his case strongly, even if I sometimes have reservations about his conclusions. This is actually an exciting and entertaining book to read, which is not typical of subjects like this.

I have little to add to most of the glowing reviews here. I'll just say that this is an excellent lay history text that is very engaging. One could perhaps level the accusation that it may seem "revisionist" or that in some areas it presents an overly rosey vision of the Mongols. Personally, I don't believe this to be the case, it seems well balanced and does a good job of putting the Mongols' actions in the context of the times.

Jack Weatherford combines scholarship and historical interpretation to bring Genghis Khan and his Mongol hordes to life. It is a compelling read and the reader comes away exceptionally well informed about the principal events relating to the Mongol Empire and indeed, the principal forces at work in the thirteenth century. Weatherford begins with the minutiae of Genghis Khan's childhood, carries the story south into China, and west through Central Asia and Eastern Europe, ending in the retreat of the empire after the death of the last Great Khan.

Weatherford makes a compelling case for Mongol "universalism." "Because they had no system of their own to impose upon their subjects, they were willing to adopt and combine systems from everywhere. Without deep cultural preferences in these areas, the Mongols implemented pragmatic rather than ideological solutions...The Mongols had the power...to impose new international systems of technology, agriculture, and knowledge that superseded the predilections or prejudices of any single civilization and in so doing, they broke the monopoly on thought exercised by local elites."

The principal theme of this book is Weatherford's assertion that "in conquering their empire, not only had the Mongols revolutionized warfare, they also created the nucleus of a universal culture and world system." In a case of what the State Department calls "clientitis," the author asserts that this "universalism" became the basis for modern civilization. "This new global culture continued to grow long after the demise of the Mongol Empire, and through continued development over the coming centuries, it became the foundation for the modern world system with the original Mongol emphases on free commerce, open communication, shared knowledge, secular politics, religious coexistence, international law and diplomatic immunity."

We will all have to agree about the remarkable influence exerted by the Mongols in innumerable walks of life, and we should give credit where credit is due. It will be up to the individual reader, however, whether to accept the author's assertion that the European Renaissance, signifying rebirth, "was not the ancient world of Greece and Rome being reborn: It was the Mongol Empire, picked up, transferred, and adapted by the Europeans to their own needs and culture." If so, The Great Khan would be very pleased.

Everyone that is interested in politics should read this book. It is truely amazing. I traveled to Mongolia this summer and the Mongolians truely lookup to Chengis Khan and for good reason.

I couldn't put this book down. If you're interested in the Mongols, or Khan himself, or history, or just want a great read, this would be the book to buy. It will make all other history books read like dry text books.

This is a superb history of Genghis Kahn and the Mongol Hords, without the European and Islamic biases that go with it. The Mongol conquerers and rulers come across as more competent and, dare I say it, more tolerant than the people they conquered, albeit part of the same milieu of conquering, taking spoils of war, and enslaving as most people of their day. As rulers they actually understood economics and commerce better than most and brought prosperity and stability the the worlds they ruled.

Im not going to rehash the story because others here have done it thoroughly. The book was easy to read and seems to fly in the face of the usual opinion of Genghis Kahn as a blood thirsty rapist mongrel. Apparently new original documents surfaced after the fall of the Soviet Union and scholars got together to pin down the real story.

I too wondered about the missing reference to geneticist's discovery about his Y chromosome, which appears to show that he might just have been the most prolific lover in the last couple of millennia! But not having those facts on hand, like where did they get his dna from anyway since his grave has never been discovered.

Also missing is Coleridge's poem
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.

It was interesting to realize that the wives actually administered the kingdoms because the Kahns were off making war. Genghis seemed to have loved his wife a great deal according the the documents plus he did battle for her after she was kidnapped. When she returned pregnant he raised the son as his very own. He seemed to turn out to be his best son. The author is kind of sappy. He is always comparing Genghis to the roman catholic church which slaughtered countless people at the same time Genghis was roaming around.

Im not going to rehash the story because others here have done it thoroughly. The book was easy to read and seems to fly in the face of the usual opinion of Genghis Kahn as a blood thirsty rapist mongrel. Apparently new original documents surfaced after the fall of the Soviet Union and scholars got together to pin down the real story.

I too wondered about the missing reference to geneticist's discovery about his Y chromosome, which appears to show that he might just have been the most prolific lover in the last couple of millennia! But not having those facts on hand, like where did they get his dna from anyway since his grave has never been discovered.

Also missing is Coleridge's poem
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.

It was interesting to realize that the wives actually administered the kingdoms because the Kahns were off making war. Genghis seemed to have loved his wife a great deal according the the documents plus he did battle for her after she was kidnapped. When she returned pregnant he raised the son as his very own. He seemed to turn out to be his best son.

This is a well written, nicely flowing work. The author, Jack Weatherford, traces the life and time of Genghis Khan, born as Temujin, and his descendants. He notes the impact of the plague on the Mongols and how that plague spread, to some extent by the Mongols. And he makes the claim that the Mongols had an appreciable impact on the West's Renaissance.

Weatherford begins by noting the purpose of his book (Page xxxv): "The focus remains on the mission of our work: to understand Genghis Khan and his impact on world history." The book is in three parts: first, Genghis Khan's rise to power and the development of the Mongol Empire; second, the period when the Mongols became a major world player, until the empire began devouring itself with internecine warfare; third, the effect of the Mongols on the development of modern society. There is a useful genealogy at the start of the book; however, the book would have benefited greatly with an ample supply of maps, so that the reader could trace developments geographically.

The book does a terrific job of describing Khan's background--from his youth until he began developing a powerhouse, to his death. His military forces used innovative tactics that baffled his opponents, adapting Mongol warriors' mobility to advantage. The Mongols expanded their sway until--at its greatest point, it was larger than the Roman Empire at its height. It stretched, in 1260, from China to Moscow and Kiev, and to the doorsteps of Vienna, from Baghdad to Samarkand.

Weatherford goes on to discuss the Empire after Genghis Khan's death. It continued to function until the combat among his sons led to more and more internal troubles. This depiction of internal problems, again, is well done.

It amazes me how detailed is the discussion of people and events from so long ago.

However, when he comes to argue that the Mongol Empire sparked the Renaissance and later European history, It appears to me that his grasp exceeds his reach. I am not certain that quoting Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" with references to Genghis Khan (as part of his argument) is compelling. Nonetheless, while I did not find his case so convincing, it did cause me to reflect on important historical issues, and that--in itself--is a contribution.

In short, a well done book on the Mongol Empire and its founder. Worth taking a look at. . . .

Fascinating details of the conquest of Asia and Europe. It is amazing to read about what Genghis Kahn was able to do in a short period of time.

Excellent book. Very informative and eye opening. It dispels the myths about the mongols and clearly shows how the modern world's existence is in large part a consequence of the Mongol Expansion.

What an unlightening experience! Genghis Khan's story has too long been left untold and this work of historical fiction sheds light on this extraordinary man. It should be required reading for all World Civilization students.

Writing with rare lyrical sensitivity, this ambitious book attempts to re-invent our world. While Weatherford may be over-reaching here and there in his zeal, it is the passion behind the writing that makes it one of the best and most informative re-tellings of the Genghis Khan story.

The first part deals with GK consolidating power in Mongolia (Chapters 2-3). The middle part (Chapters 4-8) deals with world conquest and empire. The last and most interesting part (Chapters 9-10) deal with the legacy of his empire ("the making of the modern world").

Genghis Khan started on world conquest when he was nearly 50, and within fifteen years (1212 to his death in 1227), he had conquered four times the territory of the Roman or Macedonian empires at their peak. Part of his military strategy was psychological; cities that resisted were slaughtered to a man.

But the most novel aspect of the book (for me) is the impact of this large trade-friendly empire that spanned Eurasia for over 200 years (Chapter 9).
Perhaps he over-dramatizes a little: "Under influences from paper and printing, gunpowder and firearms, and the spread of the navigational compass... Europeans experienced a Renaissance, literally a rebirth, but it was not the ancient world of Greece or Rome being reborn. It was the Mongol Empire, picked up, transferred, and adapted by the Europeans" The claim seems almost unbelievable, so I went to several online sources simply to verify the specifics; I found most of it well-corroborated.

Furthermore, processes such as codification of laws, lightning mobility in war (the inspiration for Nazi "blitzkrieg"), religious freedom, and participative government, all taken for granted today, were practiced in the Mongol Empire and may have influenced European thinking.

The final chapter (10) deals with the historiographical process - how come Genghis' only image today is that of a brutal barbarian? Weatherford shows how initial European views (Marco Polo / Chaucer) were extremely positive, but there was a complete volte face during the Age of Enlightenment. Later, the scientitists came in, positing human sub-species such as the "mongoloid" and the "caucasian", with the Mongoloid being viewed as a primitive evolutionary stage, with a close relationship to the orangutan (p. 257).

Fired up after reading this, I also got a copy of Paul Ratchnevsky's widely acclaimed Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy - in addition to Mongol and Persian sources consulted by Weatherford, Ratchnevsky also considers Chinese histories, but the basic story does not appear to change that much.

For a scholarly history text, this is an extremely easy read.

This is the tale of Temujin (1162 - 1227 AD), later known as Chinggis or Genghis Khan, a poverty-stricken outcast who became the leader of one of the greatest empires in history. At its height, under Temujin's grandson Khubilai Khan, the Mongol empire ranged from Baghdad to Peking and included all of modern China, most of modern Russia, Turkey and northern India. The conquest and command of such a vast amount of territory by a nomadic, largely illiterate people is a remarkable feat in itself; that the Mongols governed well and introduced numerous innovations across their huge empire is extraordinary.

The first half of the book is a biography of Genghis Khan; after that it's the history of the empire he established and its ultimate dissolution in the plague years of the14th century. It's also the story of the many innovations pioneered by the Mongols: paper currency, a unified monetary system, trade on a grand scale across thousands of miles, a universal language, religious freedom, and a consistent and humane legal code, to name only a few. It's true the empire eventually disintegrated in the aftermath of the plague, which effectively halted commerce across Eurasia, but not before East and West had exchanged numerous goods and knowledge.

The book also clarifies how the Mongols acquired the outrageous reputation they have had as barbarians up to the present day. This portion of the story is an excellent lesson in the misuse of history and the role of prejudice in the absence of facts.

I found the book readable and enlightening; for me, it was an antidote to ignorance, illuminating a shadowy corner of world history often missed in both Western (Europe and the new world) and Eastern (India, China, Japan) civilization courses.

insightful, fresh, and impossible to put down if you have any interest in the history, both military and civil, of the mongols under genghis khan.

This shows what good research can do when trying to find out about past peoples, their operative social behaviors, and diplomatic cuture.
Jack Weatherford takes the reader on an off the shoulders look of this great and charismatic leader. It is a beautiful thing!
From his family affiliations, his practical military operations, and the major goal: building the Mongolian Empire. Once you start, you won't stop till the end.
An excellent read.

You must read this if you are majored in International Studies, Geopolitics or East Asian Studies. Not only it gives every detail of Mongolia and Genghis Khan's history, but also the book covers from Chinese Ming Dyansty to Renaissance era.

This book is a page-flipper.

Wow!

This book presents historical facts in an epic and articulate easy reading. Weatherford uncovers many facts about Gengis Khan that are usually unknown. The book reveals many aspects of the Mongol nation that undeservedly have been neglected by the western version of history.
It is very refreshing and delightful to read unprejudiced facts about the greatest conqueror in the history of mankind and learn about a positive legacy that he left to the world.

Interesting biography/history of a great conqueror, detailing his childhood, rise to power and campaigns, as well as spending quite a bit of time on the social aspect of his rule, in particular, religious freedom and the expansion of commerce and trade throughout all of Asia. At times, the writer stretches to plead the importance of claims which may be overblown. Good history from an anthropologist who can write.

Fascinating book, and prior reviewers have summarized it well. My only comment is that Weatherford eulogizes him far too often. His accomplishments came at the expense of those he conquered. Lest we forget.... An army of 200,000 men does not move without supplies across 2,000 miles without living off the local population, for example. Massacre of the ruling class was considered barbaric in the 13th century, but it certainly made his takeover of Pakistan and Turkey simple. His descendents' methods were the inspiration of Nazi Germany, down to their ludicrous adoption of the swastika, for example.

Other than that, it is extremely well written and entertaining.