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Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, by Jack Weatherford
Download Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, by Jack Weatherford
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From Publishers Weekly
Apart from its inapt title, Genghis Khan dies rather early on in this account and many of the battles are led by his numerous offspring. This book is a successful account of the century of turmoil brought to the world by a then little-known nation of itinerant hunters. In researching this book, Weatherford (Savages and Civilization), a professor of anthropology at Macalaster College, traveled thousands of miles, many on horseback, tracing Genghis Khan's steps into places unseen by Westerners since the khan's death and employing what he calls an "archeology of movement." Weatherford knows the story of the medieval Mongol conquests is gripping enough not to need superfluous embellishmentsâ€"the personalities and the wars they waged provide plenty of color and suspense. In just 25 years, in a manner that inspired the blitzkrieg, the Mongols conquered more lands and people than the Romans had in over 400 years. Without pausing for too many digressions, Weatherford's brisk description of the Mongol military campaign and its revolutionary aspects analyzes the rout of imperial China, a siege of Baghdad and the razing of numerous European castles. On a smaller scale, Weatherford also devotes much attention to dismantling our notions of Genghis Khan as a brute. By his telling, the great general was a secular but faithful Christian, a progressive free trader, a regretful failed parent and a loving if polygamous husband. With appreciative descriptions of the sometimes tender tyrant, this chronicle supplies just enough personal and world history to satisfy any reader. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–An interesting, thought-provoking account of the conqueror's life and legacy. From his early years as the son of a widow abandoned by her clan, he showed remarkable ability as a charismatic leader and unifier. In 25 years, his army amassed a greater empire than the Romans had been able to achieve in 400. Whether judged on population or land area, it was twice as large as that of any other individual in history. This colorful retelling discusses many of the innovations that marked Khan's rule and contributed to his success. Although his name is now erroneously associated with terror and slaughter, he showed surprising restraint during a time when few others in power did. He allowed freedom of religion, encouraged free trade, developed a paper currency, and observed diplomatic immunity. As he encountered new cultures, he adopted or adapted their best practices, and constantly updated his military strategies. Although Khan's death occurs at the midpoint of this book, the tales of his survivors' exploits and the gradual fall of the Mongol dynasties are engaging and informative. Weatherford's efforts to credit Genghis Khan and his descendants with the ideas and innovations that created the Renaissance are a bit bewildering, but readers will be left with a new appreciation of a maligned culture, and a desire to learn more.–Kathy Tewell, Chantilly Regional Library, VA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Product details
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Crown; 1st edition (March 16, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0609610627
ISBN-13: 978-0609610626
Product Dimensions:
6.6 x 1.4 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
Average Customer Review:
4.5 out of 5 stars
954 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#106,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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. . . .
I was very excited for this book and the ambitiousness of its scope, but found myself underwhelmed. It's entertaining and educational, I found myself wanting more in multiple respects. More details, more evidence, more expansive coverage.The book can't quite seem to decide what it wants to be. Is it a thesis of how the Mongol empire provided foundational technologies and practices of the modern age? Is it a biography of Genghis Khan? Is it a history of the Mongol empire? It turns out to be a haphazard mix of all three, with major shortcomings on all fronts.As a broader anthropological thesis about the impact of Genghis Khan, Weatherford makes a very compelling case that the Mongol empire contained some then-innovative ASPECTS of modern ideals (e.g. religious tolerance, meritocracy, globalization of commerce, public schooling, paper currency, among others). He convincingly argues that the Mongols spread good ideas from one region of the empire to another, and combined those ideas in novel ways. He doesn't do a very good job of arguing that these innovations formed the basis of the modernity, spread into the broader world, and continued into today. Much of his focus is also on developments after the death of Genghis, particularly on Kubalai. While this makes sense from a historical narrative perspective, it's harder to tie the achievements of Kubalai back to Genghis, when the former took power 33 years after the latter's death, following the reign of three other Great Khans. Weatherford also mostly ignores developments in the other Khan lineages upon Kubalai taking the (disputed) title of Great Khan. He makes some ambitious and expansive claims, but doesn't provide compelling evidence. A few that caught my eyes are that Mongol culture was a foundational precursor to the European Renaissance or that the Nazi's blitzkrieg strategy was based on the study of Mongolian battle tactics. He could well be right, but I wasn't convinced of his conclusions on the basis of the evidence he presented.As a biography, I didn't get much of a feel for Genghis Khan man outside of his tactical brilliance and shrewdness for exploiting public sentiment. I felt I had a much better sense of the character of Ogodei and Kubalai Khan than Genghis himself. Granted, much of that is probably due to lack of good contemporaneous primary sources due to historical reasons, and Weatherford seems to feel that the main source of truth is The Secret History of the Mongols, a history written either late in Temujin's life or shortly after his death. But much of the Secret History seems like after the fact mythmaking, such as when it claims that Temujin was born with a blood clot in his fist, portending great leadership. Broadly there's a lot of projection and conjecture about how he must have felt and thought. For example Weatherford sometimes posits that perhaps Khan was just trying to protect his family, his tribe, and his way of life, rather than conquer the known world. I don't know. Given the lack of good primary sources, I'd rather he leaned more on secondary sources with the necessary qualifications, or kept it more concise and stuck to the facts. As is, the biographical portions awkwardly straddles the line between idle conjecture and dry "and then this happened".Finally as far as the broader Mongol empire is concerned, the focus is surprisingly narrow and cursory on the broader conquest. It has a pretty good discussion of broader strategy, tactics, and specific applications, but Weatherford mostly focuses on a couple campaigns (European campaigns of Ogodei Khan, Kubalai's campaigns into Sung China, and Genghis' campaigns in Mongolia, against the Jurched, and against the Khwarizm). Meanwhile he'll casually drop "And by this point the Mongols had dominion over Korea" without explaining how the Mongols adapted their steppe calvary tactics to the mountains and monsoons of Korea, while claiming the Mongols were stopped cold going out of their steppe comfort zone into the tropics of southern India or the forests of Western Europe. He sets up an epic conflict in Egypt an army of with former slav slaves, but kind of cursorily refers to it while suddenly jumping 20 years in to the future before jumping back. And as stated above, he has a pretty heavy focus on Kubalai, only briefly touching on the Ilkhanate in Persia and the Golden Horde in Eastern Europe.In all, I enjoyed the book and I'm not swayed by other criticism I've seen about whitewashing the character of a despot. I appreciate Weatherford trying to bring more nuance to a much caricatured man and culture. But couldn't help but think that the book is less than the sum of its parts, and could have been much more.
Totally changed my perception of geopolitics-really! This book, thoroughly researched, blasts the myths surrounding Ghenghis Khan and demonstrates his wisdom and courage as a leader. Perhaps more importantly, it contributes invaluable knowledge about the role of the Mongols in reshaping the world to forge trade routes, developing societies where many religions coexisted peacefully and exploding many of our prior myths about the savagery of the Mongol Horde. One of the most fascinating books on history I have read.
A well written and well read (in terms of the audio version) book on the Mongol Empire romthe time of Genghis Khan through the reign of Kubulai Khan. This book gives great detail into the early life of Tenmugen and the struggles and realities of living during a tumultuous period. The book isnt without its faults however, the author seems to go to great lengths to portray Genghis and the Mongols as bringers of peace and welfare. At one point he even goes so far as to suggest that a four year gap in the documentation of public executions must suggest that the Mongols did not execute. It seems like a rash assumption considering that the amount of death that followed the Mongol hoard would make Hitler jealous. All together it is an interesting read but please be aware that it comes through a very pro Mongol lens.
Very interesting and to me quite unknown history of Genghis and Kubilai Khan. The connection between Kubilai Khan and the Forbidden city as well as the connection between the Mongols and the Indian Moghuls were such a surprise. The origins of certain terms like 'horde' or 'hurray' were so interesting!The progressiveness of some of the Mongol ideas in the 13 th century were totally unexpexted.An amazing experience and a very well written history.
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