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. I spent the whole book in anticipation only to reach the awkward Afterward in disappointment.