evtoh's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
Wonderful book! I thought there was an excellent balance between clean-cut historical fact and narrative, making it an informative and engaging read. The only reason I don't give 5 stars is that images would have added a lot to certain sections: for example, the description of the various Mongol scripts adopted over time.
lassarina's review against another edition
4.0
A solid overview for those who aren't familiar with Genghis Khan beyond "he was a conquerer and mass murderer the Europeans feared" (which is about what I knew from high school world history.) I liked that it did not get bogged down in military tactics or exhaustive detailing of panoply; there's enough here to get started with more research if you wish, but not enough to drag down the story. The title is a little bit of a misnomer since Genghis Khan's death comes about halfway through the book and it then continues on to his sons and grandsons, but their exploits fall under "the making of the modern world" portion.
It was a difficult read at times because there were some very not-nice actions happening, as is often the case with warfare and the recounting of the deeds of warlords, but I don't think the book lingered on it in an exploitative way; more businesslike.
I really enjoyed this and am also quite annoyed at the failure of Western education to give any nuance, but that's not new.
It was a difficult read at times because there were some very not-nice actions happening, as is often the case with warfare and the recounting of the deeds of warlords, but I don't think the book lingered on it in an exploitative way; more businesslike.
I really enjoyed this and am also quite annoyed at the failure of Western education to give any nuance, but that's not new.