The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization.

Vastly more progressive than his European or Asian counterparts, Genghis Khan abolished torture, granted universal religious freedom, and smashed feudal systems of aristocratic privilege. From the story of his rise through the tribal culture to the explosion of civilization that the Mongol Empire unleashed, this brilliant work of revisionist history is nothing less than the epic story of how the modern world was made.

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Listening Length

14 hours and 20 minutes
Author

Jack Weatherford
Narrator

Jonathan Davis, see all
Audible release date

16 February 2010
Language

English
Publisher

Audible Studios
ASIN

B00NC6ZE0K
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	14 hours and 20 minutes
Author	Jack Weatherford
Narrator	Jack Weatherford, Jonathan Davis
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date	16 February 2010
Publisher	Audible Studios
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B00NC6ZE0K
Best Sellers Rank	670 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 1 in Asian History (Audible Books & Originals) 1 in Medieval European History 2 in Historical Biographies (Audible Books & Originals)

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Silure Dumnonii

Brilliant!

Reviewed in Australia on 24 November 2019

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This is such a fascinating read, I already knew a fair bit about Genghis Khan but this has so much depth to it, it was a whole new world of discovery for me. This is no dry tome either, it’s a fascinating read for a beginner or officianado alike. I had never understood the huge impact that the Mongol empire had on the world, previously I had read about it in terms only of Europe’s “narrow escape” but reading this book has been a revelation. I also learned a great deal about Mongol culture and beliefs that I had not come across in other books on the topic. What an amazing man Genghis Khan was and what a great read this was! If you like your history to be readable and fascinating,if you don’t know much about the Mongol empire, if you’ve ever wondered how the Western world ended up as it is today, buy this book and be prepared to be astonished!

One person found this helpful

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Wolfgang Kasper

Blitzkrieg, Trade and Progress

Reviewed in Australia on 9 June 2021

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In the early 13th c., the Mongols waged a blitzkrieg across much of Eurasia, earning themselves a bad press in the East, China, and the West, both the fractious, hate-riven Persian/Turkic/Arab world that they easily conquered, as well as Europe that they threatened. The Mongol invasion of Poland, Germany and Hungary felt extremely dangerous to the Europeans because they knew nothing about these fast-moving implacable foes; and it is always essential to know one’s enemy. All this still shapes what the schoolbooks say.
Popular books specifically concerned with the Mongols (e.g. M. Prawdin, 1935 in German; 1937 and 1940 in English; F. Mackenzie, 1963 and 1977, and probably a dozen more) have long balanced the negative verdict by pointing to admirable aspects of the remarkable rule of Genghis Khan and to the lasting merits of the Pax Mongolica. The originally dirt-poor future ruler did away with tribalism and attracted talent and loyalty. He decreed just laws, ensured that all religions lived in peace, and suppressed individual looting. Trade routes were protected. As a result, the distant, underdeveloped Europeans learnt of important innovations (compass, gun powder, paper, medical cures, the wheelbarrow amongst others). Like the East Asians in our lifetime, they became eager copy cats, who improved on imported technologies.
Jack Weatherford’s new book benefits from newly accessible documents and his personal knowledge of Mongolia to add depth to this account and to flesh out insights about Genghis Khan, the man, his discipline, his modest lifestyle, his strategic genius, and his capacity to pick talent and inspire loyalty. The reader understands much better what personal qualities enabled the khan to create the hitherto largest empire in the world, parts of which flourished for centuries.
The book’s particular strengths lie, in my opinion, when the author discusses the amazing beneficial long-term consequences of the Mongol Peace, once barbaric internecine power struggles had split Genghis Khan’s empire into four dominions, most importantly China under the Yuan (Mongol) dynasty. Merchants had high social status, in contrast to their standing in Feudal, self-sufficient Europe and under China’s previous seclusion. The Mongol elites became enterprising long-distance traders. They had little to offer the world from their own knowledge toolkit, but they were supreme pragmatists, adopting, adapting and transferring useful knowledge.
Alas, the flourishing long-distance trade carried the bubonic plague from China across Eurasia in the 14th century. The population of China plummeted by half or more, the European by one third. The pandemic ended the Mongols’ system of universal free trade, causing poverty; inflation was fuelled by distrust; religious and military strife erupted —— lessons for the present?

PS: While the style of writing is detailed and craftsmanlike, it seemed at times a bit pedestrian and repetitive.
PPS: A petty point: Weatherford says that the German military tried in vain to obtain the Mongols’ ‘Secret History’ in the Second World War to derive insights for their blitzkrieg tactics (p. 315). While that is true, copies of the above-quoted book by Russian-German author Prawdin were printed en masse and given to each SS officer cadet

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Patrick Verlaine

Great overview of a largely forgotten, ignored or altered part of history which fundamentally changed the World

Reviewed in Australia on 13 November 2017

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Intriguing and fascinating perspective over 500 years of history which has shaped much of Asia. The book did feel a bit long and overly detailed at times making it a bit of a struggle to finish but was an ultimately rewarding and entertaining read.

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A different perspective

Reviewed in Australia on 8 January 2016

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Really enjoyed this - very different perspective on Genghis Khan and the Mongols from that which is usually portrayed. Hard to believe what an important role the Mongols played in the advancement of the world.

One person found this helpful

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Name withheld

Interesting take on one of history's infamous warriors.

Reviewed in Australia on 27 June 2021

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Temujin's legacy left countries ravaged, resources plundered and cultures ruined.
Would the world be a better place without him? One wonders.

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David

Good

Reviewed in Australia on 2 December 2021

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Fascinating book, good read and useful.

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Andy Chalkley

Five Stars

Reviewed in Australia on 13 December 2014

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Loved it and learnt a lot. It also helps with the understanding of the modern world.

One person found this helpful

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Dr. P. A. Recher

180 degree u-turn on what I thought of and knew ...

Reviewed in Australia on 15 February 2018

180 degree u-turn on what I thought of and knew about The Genghis. Only in the past two decades has a wealth of historical data about GK come to light. Weatherford marvellously gels all the diversity from the assorted disciplines studying the recent treasure trove of information about Genghis Khan.

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Top reviews from other countries

Sal Paradise

Vague but mildly interesting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 November 2019

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I never knew all that much about Genghis Khan which is why I bought this book.

As regards history, it’s difficult to know what is true and what is not. In fact, one could go to a public event, as I did recently, and find that all recorded information on it is wildly inaccurate, incomplete, and heavily biased. Go back 800 years and it becomes a virtual impossibility to produce a piece of historical writing that holds any degree of accuracy and often any recorded history, such as it may be, is biased by being recorded by those who wished things to be recorded a certain way. The victors write history after all. And then we have writers who subsequently filter available data through their own subjective prisms so as to try to present it to a modern reader hundreds of years after supposed events occurred. And they may easily put a false flavour on things because of their desired aims rather than giving the reader anything of real substance.

Having said the above, there were times I found this book entertaining. The epic story of a man who went from being a slave to a great conqueror is fascinating.

There were places where I felt the story was perhaps trying to force modern ideological ideas on to the past rather than presenting things as they were at the time.

At times I felt like it just jumped from one fact to another which hindered my flow of reading and made it difficult for me to concentrate on it for as long as I usually would on books in general.

I expect this book took a lot of effort to write but that the central ideas of how Khan impacted the modern world could have been laid out more lucidly. In parts I found the book somewhat incoherent and dry, though it goes to certain lengths not to be which reminded me slightly of Hollywood blockbusters like Aladdin or Gladiator.

Is it worth a look? Maybe. I guess these things are subjective. I tend to consistently find “New York Times Bestseller” books a bit dull though.

18 people found this helpful

Kate

Great read - so informative

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 January 2019

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I never knew there was so much about Genghis Khan. How do we not come across him at school when he has influenced our society so much. I haven't read any other books on him so I can't compare but I thoroughly enjoyed this one - and I'm not interested in history or biographies normally but this was easy to read.

8 people found this helpful

woz

The Biggest Empire

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 March 2018

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this book is one of the best that I have ever read, I learnt so much about Gengis Khan and the Mongols he conquered an area as large as the whole of North America and never lost a single battle, the modern Asian Countries boundaries owe a lot to his battles i.e. China, India and Russia although he never lost a battle he was outnumbered on every occasion, I purchased this book for my daughters partners birthday in a couple of weeks time, hopefully he will enjoy reading it as much as I did.

6 people found this helpful

oldsteve

A lot about Genghis, not much about the Modern World

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 January 2021

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Genghis Khan and his successors are important figures in world history that Westerners should know more about. (The Mongol Empire a it's maximum stretched from China to Syria and some people claim that 1 in 200 men are his descendants, for example) However, whilst this book tells the reader a lot about Mongolia and Genghis folklore, it is fairly weak on the reasons collapse of the Mongol Empire for there is not really much about how Genghis and his successors shaped the modern world that could stand rigorous questioning.

wezg

wezgbooks wordpress review

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 June 2015

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It only took me three days to read this relatively thin paperback. Genghis Khan had a huge role in history and there is rather a dearth of information on him, considering the massive scale of the Mongol Empire he created. At its peak, it ran from the Pacific in the East to the Mediterranean in the West, bigger than the Roman Empire and that carved by Alexander the Great. The author based his account primarily on new revelations prompted by his research team re-examining the Secret History of The Mongols, an ancient document which was very difficult to translate and had laid hidden for many years due to the political upheavals in the region. Genghis has a mixed reputation throughout history, with the likes of Chaucer elevating him and Voltaire and Montesquieu later deriding him. The Mongols uniquely placed world culture in a position to develop into what we now know, with international trade, religious tolerance and mass migration of peoples. The Mongols are perhaps looked down upon for not bequeathing us anything unique from their own culture, but rather amalgamating and developing existing ideas from the races and civilisations of other people’s they conquered. They practised some novel ideas for the time such as diplomatic immunity, not torturing prisoners, allowing all religions to flourish under the empire with an emphasis on secular law. The book covers the rise of Temujin from his downtrodden youth, to the height of his power and then looks at the maintenance of his legacy after his death, with the separation of the great Khanate into four primary regions. It is a great look at medieval history from an Asian perspective and has enlightened me about various subjects from that time and added to knowledge I already had on the Crusades, Marco Polo, the Black Death and The European Renaissance. The decline of the Empire was sudden and could only arise through a natural disaster which engulfed the whole world, in the Great Plague. What would have occurred had this devastating illness never erupted? The book was brief and precise and covered a vast array of topics though in my opinion for such a good subject matter, it could have been more expansive in volume. It has given me a taste for Genghis Khan and I shall try to dig out some more similar biographies on the great Steppes people. https://wezgbooks.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/review-genghis-khan-and-the-making-of-the-modern-world/

16 people found this helpful

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