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Genghis Khan: Life, Death, and Resurrection
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Product Description
As a teenager, Genghis was a fugitive, hiding from enemies on a remote mountainside. Yet he went on to found the world's greatest land empire and change the course of world history. Brilliant and original as well as ruthless, he ruled an empire twice the size of Rome's until his death in 1227 placed all at risk. To secure his conquests and then extend them, his heirs kept his death a secret, and secrecy has surrounded him ever since. His undiscovered grave, with its imagined treasures, remains the subject of intrigue and speculation.
This is more than just a gripping account of Genghis' rise and conquests. John Man uses first-hand experiences in China and Mongolia to reveal the khan's enduring influence. He has traveled the length of the empire. He spotlights the tension between Mongols and Chinese, who both claim Genghis' spirit. He is the first writer to explore the hidden valley where Genghis is believed to have died, and one of the few westerners to climb the mountain where he was likely buried.
This stunning narrative paints a vivid picture of the man himself, the places where he lived and fought, and the passions that surround him still. For in legend, ritual and intense controversy, Genghis lives on.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #325633 in Books
- Published on: 2007-02-06
- Released on: 2007-02-06
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 400 pages
Features
- ISBN13: 9780312366247
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
- Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Man posits that this engrossing book is the result of his ambition to travel to somewhere remote, and that Mongolia, China, and the Gobi Desert are such places. He maintains that secrecy is an important theme of the book: how and where Genghis Khan died, and how and where he was buried. Man chronicles the early history of Mongolia, the coming of the Mongols' conquests of China and other Asian kingdoms, and what he calls the Muslim holocaust. He cites that "there were 100,000 to 150,000 soldiers, each with two or three horses . . . they could cover 100 kilometers a day, cross deserts, swim rivers, and materialize and vanish as if by magic." He says that prisoners had a triple use: as a slave labor force of specialist artisans, as soldiers in the army's nonnomadic contingents, and as "cannon fodder." Genghis Khan fell seriously ill, perhaps with typhus, and died in 1227, and not much is certain about his burial site; the record is, according to the author, "infuriatingly vague." George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
" 'Absorbing and beautifully written...he [Man] conjures up an ancient people in an allen landscape in such a way as to make them live...a thrilling account' - GUARDIAN 'First-rate...lively and argued with elan...a fine introduction to the subject, as well as a rattling good read' - INDEPENDENT 'A fine, well-written and well-researched book' - MAIL ON SUNDAY 'An eloquent account, not only of a fascinating historical figure and his people, but of the resonance of history itself' - WBQ magazine 'Enthralling and colourful' - INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY"
Review
"Man has scholarly gifts as well as an acute intelligence and a winning way with words. This is a fine introduction to the subject, as well as a rattling good read."—The Independent (U.K.)
"Every bit as gripping as its subject deserves. History doesn't get much more enthralling than this."—York Evening Post (U.K.)
"Chaucer lauded Genghis Khan in his Canterbury Tales, while others have compared him to Satan (sometimes to Satan's advantage). In this lively volume, historian and travel writer Man presents parallel yet conflicting views of the imperialist and Mongolian national hero. The Great Khan unified the nomadic Mongols, destroyed obstructive empires, built the largest land empire in history, opened trade from Japan to Europe, and in general made way for the modern world. His tactics included murderous but focused terror, multicultural statesmanship, and sheer energy (DNA studies estimate that his genes are in eight percent of the men of Eurasia)."—Library Journal
Customer Reviews
A Strange Mix
Genghis Khan by John Man is a strange mix of history and travelogue that doesn't seem to hang well together. Man has attempted to meld his personal experiences travelling Mongolia to visit the major Genghis-related sites with a history of Genghis Khan. As a result, you will find out not only about that 13-th century builder of the Mongol nation and empire but also about Man's trevails attempting to find Burkhan Khaldun, Mongolia's sacred mountain. If you like to see some of the author's personality injected into a story about someone else, this may enhance the book for you. If you find such things unprofessional or uninteresting, this is not the history of Genghis Khan that you want to read.
Genghis Khan the book is clearly written as a popular history. There are few footnotes and little in the way of new ground is broken when it comes to research on Genghis. Instead, Man appears to rely on the established (albeit conflicting) sources that have been used by other scholars. Significantly, Man goes to great lengths to point out and discuss the major debates when it comes to Genghis Khan's life, a major positive point for this book. He also mines previously uncovered primary sources such as The Secret History for all that they are worth.
The book really falls into three sections. The first deals with many of the legends that surround Genghis Khan and his early youth. Due to the lack of sources on Genghis this section reads almost more like mythology than history. The beginning is also marked by a stretch of Man discussing his travels in Mongolia to sites where Genghis may have been born.
After about 50 pages the hazy mythology of Genghis gives way to more detailed and authoritative accounts of the major events of Genghis' rise to power and his conquest of China and Eurasia. This account forms the second section of the book and lasts for about 200 pages. Man's account deals mostly with political events and does not delve into much detail regarding Genghis' personal life, likely because such information simply does not exist. However, Man paints a portrait of Genghis as ruler, including his willingness to learn from the technology and education of his enemies both to increase the Mongols' military might and to improve administration in the newly-won and ravaged territories.
The final section of the book reverts back to mythology and speculation and deals with Genghis' death and burial. Since the location of Genghis' grave remains unknown, it is an attractive target for research, and Man is clearly fascinated by the issue. Like the first section, this section contains long passages regarding Man's search for possible grave locations, including details about what he ate and who his guides were.
While I personally do not care for the way that Man has interjected himself, the book remains extremely readable and accessable to the non-expert on Mongolia. While Man makes the point that Genghis was not the mindless barbarian that so many histories portray, he also does not shy away from discussing the scale of the descruction wroght by the Mongols. Because of the passage of time and the lack of credible primary sources, it is impossible to tell how many people perished under Mongol swords, but Man does an admirable job of trying to parse the approximate numbers. He doesn't flinch from discussing the negatives of the Mongols and deserves credit for not turning this project into a hagiography.
The bottom line is that this is not a book for experts but is not a bad jumping-off point for someone with a casual interest in Genghis Khan. I suspect that this book is particularly useful and interesting for people who may actually be travelling to Mongolia on business or a lark and want to get oriented. I just think that the melding of the author's personal experiences with the history of Genghis the man detracts from the overall quality of what is otherwise a good survey of one of the most important figures of the last 2,000 years.
Chinggis Khan...??? Temujin...?? Genghis Khan...sound familiar?..read on...
The book gives a general idea of the "man", his background, his conquests and the mystery that eludes and shrouds him. The Great Khan is truly mysterious...and with limited historical records, I am greatful that the author has sacrificed time and effort to personally experience, the Mongolian experience, in order to get in touch with the atmosphere and conditons that Genghis may have experienced. These personal accounts sometimes got in my way while reading, I just wanted the author to get on with it... yet at times these personal accounts were justifiable as they helped in clarifying certain points.
Overall, I'd say the book was ok... its in my personal book collection... my quest for another book on the Great Khan will not end here...
A challenging and rewarding read
John Man's Genghis Khan is a chalenging and rewarding read. It will come as a bit of a jolt to readers used to reading popular biographies of more modern figures. This is a very different experience to reading about, say, Churchill or Kennedy. More modern subjects have a wealth of source material available to the historian, whose task becomes one of selection and condensation. Not so for a 13th century leader whose life was often deliberately shrowded in secrecy. Man's task is not to wade through volumes of material, but to actually find material. And he does a terrific job.
He has pieced together a rivetting account of Genghis Khan's life, from birth to death and beyond. He takes the reader on a journey in search of Genghis, through the steppes and deserts of Central Asia, into Europe, and to China.
One strength of this book is Man's depth of knowledge and experience. He has clearly spent a great deal of his life in Mongolia, has picked up the language and immersed himself in the culture of the Mongols. He still sees himself as an outsider, an indication of his great humility, but he is certainly not typical of many modern writers who adopt a subject only until their book is published. The scope of this book is truly impressive.
A word should also be made about the illustrations. The book has two sections of illustrations, and many seem to be photographs taken by Man himself. They add to the enjoyment and experience of the read, as do the several maps included in the text.
Another great strength of this book is in capturing the present day spirit and influence which Genghis still holds in Mongolia and beyond. There is a nice concluding chapter on Genghis's current place in international relations and how modern day leaders manipulate his image and legacy for geopolitical reasons.
Overall, this is not your average popular historical biography. I imagine the general reader, like me, doesn't dwell too much on 13th century Mongolia. But for a glimpse of the life, death and resurrection of one of history's greatest leaders, I can imagine no better treatment.
