| Summary: |
Frank McLynn's Genghis Khan is a magnificent new biography of the greatest conqueror the world has ever known, based on newly translated sources and the latest scholarship. At its peak, his empire stretched from the Pacific Ocean to central Europe, including all of China, the Middle East and Russia. So how did an illiterate nomad from the steppes of Central Asia rise to such colossal power, eclipsing Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Napoleon? Credited by some with paving the way for the Renaissance, condemned by others for being the most heinous murderer in history, who was Genghis Khan? His actual name was Temujin, and the story of his success is the story of the Mongol people: a loose collection of fractious tribes who tended livestock, ate a diet of meat and fermented yak's milk, considered bathing strictly taboo and possessed an unparalleled genius for horseback warfare. United under Genghis, a strategist of astonishing cunning and versatility, they were able to dominate any sedentary society they chose. Combining fast-paced accounts of battles with rich cultural background, Frank McLynn brings vividly to life the strange and distant world of the Mongols, describes Temujin's rise from boyhood outcast to become Genghis Khan, and provides the most balanced and comprehensive account yet of one of the most extraordinary men ever to have lived. |
Book
