Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

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Published May 6, 2014 by Brilliance Audio.

ISBN:
978-1-4915-1370-5
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2 stars (1 review)

The name Genghis Khan often conjures the image of a relentless, bloodthirsty barbarian on horseback leading a ruthless band of nomadic warriors in the looting of the civilized world. But the surprising truth is that Genghis Khan was a visionary leader whose conquests joined backward Europe with the flourishing cultures of Asia to trigger a global awakening, an unprecedented explosion of technologies, trade, and ideas. In Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, Jack Weatherford, the only Western scholar ever to be allowed into the Mongols' "Great Taboo"--Genghis Khan's homeland and forbidden burial site--tracks the astonishing story of Genghis Khan and his descendants, and their conquest and transformation of the world. Fighting his way to power on the remote steppes of Mongolia, Genghis Khan developed revolutionary military strategies and weaponry that emphasized rapid attack and siege warfare, which he then brilliantly used to overwhelm opposing armies in Asia, …

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Review of 'Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I was disappointed in the "making of the modern world" aspect of the book. Yes, it was a thorough biography of Genghis Khan for the first half of the book. The second half covered the remainder of the Mongol empire's story nicely, but the implications of how it formed the world we have today were afterthoughts, implied, or omitted. The treatment of the Chinese by the Tibetan Buddhists during the late Mongol occupation is a fantastic example. It sets up the reflexive attitudes that underpin modern China's relationship with Tibet, but that line of thought isn't pursued. There's a thousand other places where implications seem on the edge of being discussed only for us to hop back to the steppe and begin anew with another family member's story.

Ultimately that deficiency is one of expectation from the title, not of the book's actual substance. Even so, it lowered my enjoyment. …