Genghis Khan: 13thûCentury Mongolian Tyrant

A Wicked History

by enid-a-goldberg

Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Historical, Childrens, Middle Grade, Read For School

122 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this biography/history of Genghis Khan's life and times. I chose it as a book to read for Book Riot's 2016 Read Harder Challenge (one of the tasks, #6 I think, is to Read a Biography). I was worried about reading an "adult" biography, as I don't really care to read "long" nonfiction. It's often depressing for me (especially biographies) and I don't need to be more depressed. But this book (for "teens" according to my library; for middle-grade kids or teens per me) turned out to be an excellent choice.

Genghis Khan: 13th-Century Mongolian Tyrant was very readable. Short sentences combined with valuable/important information made it very easy and quick to understand and get through. And I learned a few things! :-)

I learned that Genghis Khan gave the Mongols a written language. (!!!) That he was ruthless and violent, but not bloodthirsty or evil. And I was especially impressed - very impressed - to learn that he was tolerant of and even encouraged other religions to exist and live alongside each other.

Genghis Khan also united the Mongols under a set of laws called the Yasa. He outlawed the kidnapping of women, the enslavement of Mongols, and stealing. And it was said that if you were kind and loyal to him/his empire, he would be kind back and not totally destroy you. But if you betrayed him. . . Well, all bets were off and you were likely not long for this world if you betrayed him.

I don't know that I'd have wanted to live during his time, as it sounds like one of great turmoil even despite all of the good and progressive things done by Genghis Khan for his loyal following. However, I wish we had someone like him in the Middle East/Asia today. His religious tolerance alone would be a welcome change.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really really good. It didn't try to censor or soften down the life of Genghis Khan to a young audience. I highly recommend this to non-readers of all ages as the chapters are about four or six pages long. I liked its writing and the way things where described. The little guide on the back for other bigger books about him was nice, maybe I'll check them out some time.

[Andrew Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genghis Khan: 13th-Century Mongolian Tyrant
129 Pages
by Enid A. Goldberg, Norman Itzkowitz
Biography

Genghis Khan was born as Temujin, one of the sons of a leader of a small mongol tribe. As a young boy he learned how to shoot arrows and ride on horseback to live the way of the steppes. However, one day, after his father was travelling, he stopped to eat with a Tartar tribe. The Tartars poisoned his father's drink and he died. Since his mother was from the Merkid, Temujin no longer had any position in the tribe. The tribe abandoned him and his family on the open plains. In order to survive, the family picked berries and hunted animals. Sometimes they lived with other various tribes, where Temujin would meet his blood brother and close ally, Jamuka. However Jamuka later left and it would be a long time before they would meet again. Tensions were stirring in Temujin's family. Temujin felt threatened by his half brother Begter because he was taking credit for all of his work. So one night, Temujin and his full brother murdered Begter. He was now the leader of the family. Later, a clan known as the Tachiyud(the people who had abandoned Temujin)captured the family. Temujin was able to escape but was later caught too. He became a prisoner of the Tachiyud, but he was still very patient and opportunistic. One night, when all the warriors were drunk, he escaped. He found safety with an old man who was a servant for the warriors. The old man helped Temujin run away from the Tachiyud territory. As a child, Temujin's father had arranged a marriage for him with Borte, a friend's daughter. Temujin, now an adult, set out to find Borte. They married, and Borte's tribe became a good ally of Temujin. He also found allies in the Keirat, a powerful Christian trive in the west. The leader of the Keirat, Toghril had been a blood brother of Temujin's father, as the Keirat protected his family. Things were going well until the Merkid tribe attacked. They had come to get his family. This was an old arguement, since Temujin's father had stolen Temujin's mother from the Merkid. Temujin quickly escaped with some bodyguards, but the Merkid weren't after him. They came and kidnapped Borte as revenge. Temujin only had one choice. He went to find Toghril, who would help him get Borte back. Jamuka would also aid in the attack. They came together and charged toward the Merkid camp. As they closed in, the Merkid began running away and Temujin went into evert yurt looking for Borte. Finally he found her and they raced back to their home camp. Temujin had now gained a reputation as a great warrior. Now he would have to compete with Jamuka to see who would become the leader. Jamuka was not treating Temujin as an equal and Temujin felt insulted; after all they were blood brothers. One night Temujin and his followers left Jamuka and found a new camp. Temujin and Jamuka were no longer friends and would meet as enemies on the battlefield. Many people now saw to different leaders on the steppes. To many of his allies, Temujin seemed like a good leader and he was named khan. They pledged all honor to their new leader. Jamuka also had many tribal followers. Temujin began to organize an army, with his trusted friends and brothers as generals. He spread the news of him becoming Khan. The news eventually came to Toghril. Temujin aknowledged Toghril as an independent leader and that he only wanted to help unite the smaller tribes under the Keirats. Toghril was overjoyed. He sent his blessings to Temujin; Jamuka seemed too powerful and Toghril wanted to remain the most powerful. One night the two leaders met in combat. Temujin was decisively defeated and his remaining followers escaped with him into a narrow mountain pass. Jamuka did not follow them. He remained in his camp and boiled the remaining prisoners to death. Jamuka had gone too far, his acts horrified the tribes, and he lost many allies. Temujin began to rebuild his own clan as well. Many allies of Jamuka ran away and joined Temujin, but the clan was still weak. Temujin needed a new source of loot for his growing tribe. Later, he got a good opportunity. The Jurchen that lived in north China were a powerful empire to the south under the leadership of Golden Khan. Golden Khan felt threatened by a Tartar prince who was very powerful. Temujin felt it was a good time to avenge his father. Together with his friend Toghril, they attacked the Tartars and won easily. When they were gone the Jurkin(a family tribe of Temujin's) had raided the camp. This made Temujin extremely mad because the Jurkin had promised to help Temujin and the Jurchen defeat the Tartars on the battlefield. But they had not shown up. Temujin attacked the Jurkin and chopped off the heads of the Jurkin leader. He incorporated the Jurkin into his own group. With new found power, Toghril and Temujin invaded Jamuka's tribe. They defeated Jamuka but Jamuka ran away. Temujin decided that it was time to reform the mongol army. He made a set of laws to make sure that soldiers fought orderly. All of the loot would be given to him and he would divide it up. Anyone who decided to steal loot or keep it for themselves would be executed on spot. With a new army to put to the test, Temujin once again attacked the Tartars. He defeated them and tried to incorporate them into his own tribe. He and his soldiers made a plan to kill all the men above the height of an ox cart. All the women would marry mongols. Temujin made his army organized into divisions with commanders. Instead of picking his family members, this time he used scouts to find the people with real strategic talent. There is a story about a man who had fought with Temujin in battle. In the confusion of the war, the man had accidentaly shot Temujin's best horse. He asked for Temujin's forgiveness. Impressed, Temujin made him a commander and named him Jebe, or literally arrow. He also knew it was time to make a written language for all the mongols. He based it off of Uyghur, another language. Temujin wanted to build more stronger relationship with Toghril. He sent one of his sons to marry Toghril's daughter. Toghril agreed however had a secret plan behind it. When Temujin arrived he was notified by a local sheperd of the plan to murder him. Temukin ran away and Toghril's army chased him. He was so far away from his army and he was weak. However he had his son and a few followers. He promised them all to be a good leader. They joined together and attacked the Keirats. They tricked Toghril and defeated him. Later Temujin would fight against the Naiman, who had helped Jamuka and were sheltering him. Temujin captured the army with various strategic formations. Finally he defeated them and found Jamuka. Temujin asked Jamuka to become his ally once again. Perhaps he could become a general? However Jamuka refused; there is a old saying that there can only be one bear in a cave. There could only be one leader for the mongols, and there was no way Temujin would ever be able to trust him. Jamuka only wanted to be killed quickly. Temujin agreed and buried him with a gold sash that Temujin had given to him as a child when they were friends. Now that his enemies were gone, Temujin was named Genghis Khan, or strong king. Genghis Khan set rules down for his new empire. There would be order, no more kidnapping of wives. However, Genghis Khan needed a new enemy. Golden Khan asked Genghis Khan to follow him as a tributary colony. Disgusted Genghis Khan spit in the direction of the Jurchen capitol of Zhongdu. Together they attacked the Jurchen and defeated them. The Golden Khan would be allowed to live, and the Jurchen would be allowed to stay an independent kingdom. They ceded a few small plots of field to the Mongols as herding land. But Golden Khan disobeyed and tried to run away. Genghis Khan was outraged and charged toward Zhongdu and quickly captured the Jurchen, makeing them a permanent territory of the mongols. The mongol warriors were know rich with gold from the south. They sent several caravans of gold towards the west, hoping to trade with another large empire, the Kwharzim. The Kwharzim thought of the mongols as barbarians, but they knew what happened in battle. They agreed. Genghis Khan sent ambassadors to a Kwharzim city but the governor of the city thought they were traitors and executed them. Genghis Khan was outraged and launched an all out attack on the Kwharzims killing a lot of the population. When they reached the well protected cities, he used the Jurchen engineers to help build various weapons to knock down the heavy walls. He had made a great victory, but he was now an old man. It was time to chose a succesor. He met with his sons. Jochi and Chagatai both claimed to be the rightful leader. Since it was established that they couldn't both be Khan, they picked the next one in line, Ogodei, even though he seemed to be too kind. Genghis Khan, now a sick man on his deathbed met with a holy man named Changchun. People claimed Changchun had lived over 200 yrs, but Changchun quickly dismissed this. Genghis Khan wanted to know how to live forever, but Changchun told him there was no solution. He told Genghis Khan to live a simpler life. Eventually Temujin died of a fever.

I liked this book because it was very informative, like the other books in the series. It seems like this book shows both sides of a story, unlike other books who show Genghis Khan as a barbarian leader. However he commited many cruel crimes during his reign, so many of his achievments cancelled out with the people he killed. I think he was a good military leader with a strong vision but the acts he committed to reach his goal were horrible.

[Haleigh Chacon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genghis Khan:13th-Century Mongolian Tyrant was such a good book.It included Genghis Khan and the beginning of his childhood and how he became powerful.He was for sure a good leader.The book shocked me because Genghis Khan killed his half brother,married at nine,and used innocent farmers as human sheilds.The book was not very long which meant it kept me engaged.Genghis Khan was ruthless during battles but very kind to his people.This was a very good book.If you like good nonfiction books this would be for you.I also liked the book because it gave pictures which helped me visualize Genghis Khan.I was very suprised when his blood brother Jamuka betrayed him.I loved the book and I think many people will too.I am invested in reading the rest of the series because I loved reading this book.

[Gabe Fantacone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much is known about the great Mongol leader Genghis Khan. It did not help that he forbid anyone making an image of him during his lifetime. But now, secrets about his past have been revealed. Stories have been told. And more is known now about the great khan than ever before.
While Genghis Khan was a tyrant, one must admit that he also had great strategies to use in battle. The khan was very intelligent, and almost never lost a fight. If Genghis was alive today, he would most certainly be feared and admired by people from all over the world. This book was part of a series called A Wicked History, which specifies figures from history who had a certain degree of cruelness about them. I would recommend this series to anyone who wants to learn about the more evil and cruel historical figures of the world.

[Jeeoh Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book "Genghis Khan," written by Enid A.Goldberg and Norman Itzkowitz, is about the life of the famous Mongolian tyrant of the 13th century. It shows us that he was merciless with his enemies and had an immoral conduct. He had a brutal nature that made his enemies be afraid of him. I think his life was sad, because he ruled a large country, but he lost his father when he was a child and his clan was destroyed by a rival group. His family ran away, but he was caught and imprisoned. After that terrible childhood, he became the leader of his people, fearsome for his cruelty and power. I liked this book because I learnt more about Genghis Khan reading it, and I recommend it because it is interesting and based on some historical facts.

[Wassay Khan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genghis Khan started his life with the name of Temujin, and because his father recently died and his mother was not part of the tribe they were in, they were all kicked out. At this time Temujin had real brothers and half brothers, and to rule his family Temujin had to kill one of his Half brothers. After that Temujin met Jamuka, and they both became blood brothers, but were separated, and near the same time Temujin found a girl to marry. After many battles Temujins tribe kept growing until he had control of the entire steppe that he was in, and was given the name Genghis Khan meaning strong leader, and after they counqured the strongest tribe called the Jurched and shortly after, died.

[Happyhephalump · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the longest time, practically nothing was known about the great Genghis Khan. But then something changed. An ancient book was discovered that was supposedly about his life.The book Genghis Khan:13th Century Tyrant, by Enid E. Goldberg and Norman Itzkowitz is a very watered down version of this book. I would totally recommend this book for anyone who likes action and non-fiction. It does have a lot of names and that confused me a bit.

[Gcattan4 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genghis Khan wanted to combine the tribes on the steppe and combine them into one army, but he was not the only one. Many other tribes warred and pillaged each other for a higher position of power on the steppe, and Genghis Khan had to beat all of them to rule the steppe. So Genghis Khan comes up with an idea, and then the conquests start...

[Ardyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, the only real problem I have with this book is its title. :-D

I'm no expert on Temujin or the Mongols -- what I know mostly comes from a few episodes of Hardcore History -- but the contents here line up with my memory of the broad strokes. Goldberg mentions The Secret History several times, and provides both a Further Reading and a Bibliography... so I feel pretty good about this one on that front.

The recounting of Temujin's rise is certainly vivid enough, and chapters are short so it's quite suitable for slow consumption & narration over the course of a term.

Scholastic lists this as sixth grade and up, which I find a bit confusing. I feel like it would be achievable read-to-self from fourth grade up? (With the notable exception of Mongolian names and vocabulary -- prep with a pronunciation guide or internet access for that.) Here's a snippet to help with that part of the decision:

As the fighting started, Temujin launched a series of small hit-and-run attacks. He called it the Moving Bush Formation. Units of ten sneaked up on the Naimans before dawn. The shot their arrows from different directions. Then they ran, leaving the enemy confused.

There are, of course, references to some terrible wartime practices and legends of what Temujin or his opponents did to their prisoners. So maturity may be a factor in their age range rec... but nothing in here strikes me as worse than "Bluebeard" /shrug

I said at the beginning that my only real problem with the book is its title. The body of the text captures the reader and allows her to draw her own conclusions, and the epilogue discusses various perspectives on Genghis Khan's legacy. The shouty title and cover are eye-catching, but would have discouraged me from purchasing under the assumption it's a shallow junk book. So... yay for free public libraries!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

“(A Wicked History) Genghis Khan: 13th-Century Mongolian Tyrant” By Enid A. Goldberg is a biography book about the infamous emperor Temüjin Borjigin, also known as Genghis Khan. No one knows where or when he was exactly born, but supposedly he was born in Delüün Boldog, 1162. He became blood-related brothers with Jamuka and has a half brother, Begter. Temüjin and Jamuka then decide and plan to murder Begter and was successful. Then together, they go attack the Merkid and was also successful on that. They then went their separate ways and later battled each other. Temüjin then took the name of Genghis Khan, Khan meaning ruler or leader. I personally don’t enjoy this book. I don’t really understand his life style or his way of being BUT I do understand what makes him such a bad person. He didn’t really attack cities or other civilizations that much but he did battle against some people he knew such as the people who worked for/with him or he might have even killed HIS OWN BROTHER. I recommend this book to people who have an interest in the Asian culture or people who find it interesting to read about the dark side of history. Why? Once you read it, you’ll figure it out.

[Noah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Wicked History : Genghis Khan by Enid A. Goldberg is an overall  all history of Genghis Khan and describes how he came to power and became a khan. My favorite part is when it described how he rose to power and the betrayal of between him and his blood brother. I still like this book even after the gruesome things his blood brother did when they were at war. I suggest this to history lovers if don't mind the gruesome events. By reading this book I also get to know about his personal life and his military life.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genghis Khan covers his life from his mother’s kidnapping by his father through his death. It explains how he took over so much of the world and how ruthless he was and how willing to stab his friends in the back. I am quite impressed with just how much information is packed into this relatively short book while still being easy for a middle grade age kid to understand it all. I highly recommend it to kids interested in Genghis Khan or studying him in school.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this series is for younger readers, but I really liked this short read on this historical figure. This is someone I have not delved much into and this was very long ago, but even though there was a lot of dates, it was presented well and I would be interested in finding a more in depth book about him. Also I think it goes to show -from them referencing older/other texts that it matters to keep an open mind to if someone was a "good" or "bad" person

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Wicked History series provides a quick yet nice overview of the featured leader, in this case Genghis Khan; leader of the most effective and brutal fighting force the world has ever seen. These books are perfect for any middle/high school classroom or library and are guaranteed to make history exciting for students.

[Ian Gramlich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was great. It informed me and stated a lot of things I didn't know. Also the book lets you decide for yourself about Genghis Khan. The author explained the bad things he's done. But shows the deeds he's done for his people. So overall the enjoyed the book. It was filled with facts and I always wanted more. I liked it enough to read it in days. 10/10 from me

[Arun Narayanaswamy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though this book is for a bit younger readers, I still enjoyed it. The content is well written for any audience really.
It was an informative book to get into enough depths of the mongol empire. These happened over a 1000 years ago and it is obvious that it approximates and exaggerates conveniently.
A worthy read

[Natasha Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice, short read that was still informative. Definitely kid-friendly because of the length and some of the "smoothed" over information. Includes extra historical facts and graphics including a map. Good for kids wanting to learn more about Asian history.

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked it

[Lithika Shranuu · Rating 4 out of 5]

one word : RUTHLESS

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short read, but it was good all the same.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know next to nothing about Genghis Khan, so this was a really good introductory book!

[hexagonalhotdogs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another informative banger, can’t wait to read every book in this series! Hoping to find some more when I can!

[Jason Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the poor wicked history entries.

[Dhruv Sheth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Achraf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genghis Khan
By: Achraf

The wondrous book, Genghis Khan, is well written by the talented and gifted author, Enid A. Goldberg. First, this book mainly focuses on the things that Genghis Khan had done throughout his life. Genghis Khan is also known as Temujin. He was born on 1161 in the Mongolian steppe, where he lived in a nomadic clan. At the age of 9, his father had died because the Tatar clan had put poison in his food. As a result, the clan had left Temujin’s family behind, since their leader was dead. One day, Temujin and his half brother, Begter, were not happy with each other. They both wanted to become the leader of the family. But, Temujin and his full brother, Khasar, showed no mercy as they soon murdered him, using a bow and arrow. As Temujin thought that he would be the leader of the family, the Tayichiud captured him. Luckily, Temujin had found a way to escape to safety, showing how courageous he was as a teenager. Next, as Temujin was beginning to grow up, he had decided that it was time to marry. So, at the age of 16, Temujin marries Borte, who was 17. Temujin was happy that he had someone that would be helping him. However, one day, the Merkid tribe kidnapped Borte. Temujin began praying to find his wife. So, with his two friends, Jamuka and Toghril, they set out to look for the Merkids. As a result, when they arrived to the Selenge River, Temujin begins shouting for Borte, and she hears him. Borte runs and then finds her husband. Temujin was in joy, but he didn’t stop there. He decided that he had to take down the Merkids. As they found out where the Merkid camps were, Temujin and his companions attacked the camps and had taken all of the loot. “The Mongols took everything they could in the Merkid camps.” (Goldberg, 44) After that, Temujin then wanted to unify all the Mongols. So, after years and years of battle, Temujin succeeded, but had not yet unified Jamuka’s tribe. So, the two decide to go to war, and Temujin was the victor. Therefore, Temujin gave Jamuka two choices: To join his tribe, or be executed. Jamuka refused to join Temujin’s tribe and decided that it would be better for him to be killed. Temujin had finally achieved his goal of unifying the Mongols, and the Mongols decided that he should be named, ‘Genghis Khan.’ As one can see, after reading this book, the reader can see how Genghis Khan is an important figure of the 13th century.

This marvelous book had left the readers thinking about three essential questions. To begin with, the first question was, ‘Who was Genghis Khan? Why is he famous?’ Well, Genghis Khan was a tribal leader that soon became the greatest warrior of the 13th century. He is significantly remembered because he was able to unify the Mongols and become the founder of the Mongol Empire. “… The Mongols named Temujin their leader. They gave him the title Genghis Khan.” (Goldberg, 90) Next, the second question that the reader answered was, ‘Why did the author write this book?’ Enid A. Goldberg had written this book to show the life of Genghis Khan and what he had done to unify the Mongols. She also wanted to get people to know more about Genghis Khan and why he is an important figure in history. Lastly, the final question that was asked was, ‘What other title would you give this book? Why?’ If I were to give this book another title, it would be, The Life of the Warrior from Mongolia. This title suits the topic because it lets the reader know that this book will be about the history of the Mongolians and how one important person got to change everything. As one can see, Genghis Khan was an important person that helped unify the Mongols and have the largest empire in the world.

Acrostic Poem: (STRONG)
Suffers, but never gives up.
Thankful for his allies.
Ruthless
Objective to beat his enemies.
Normal human.
Great, as he has founded the largest empire.

Genghis Khan is an astonishing book that can be recommended to certain types of people. First, my favorite part in this book was when Genghis Khan had unified the Mongols. This showed how powerful and courageous he was, as he had finally achieved his goal. However, my least favorite part of the story was when the Merkid tribe kidnapped Genghis Khan’s wife, Borte. This was a frightening moment for Genghis, since he loves his wife dearly. But, he soon found her afterwards. Furthermore, I would definitely read a book by this author because this book clearly explains Genghis’ life, and how he progressed to become the ultimate warrior. Lastly, I would recommend this book to people who like to know more about the history of the Mongols. I would also highly recommend this book to people who want to know more about Genghis Khan, and what he did throughout his life. But, I would not recommend this book to people who do not like history and don’t want to know more about Genghis Khan. Therefore, this book had left the readers recommending it to many people.

[Rania Mohemmane]

Enid A. Goldberg wrote Genghis Khan, which is a biography about the life of the ruthless ruler Genghis Khan. Genghis Khan was also known as Temujin, which was his name before he became ruler. When Temujin was only nine years old, his father, a tribal leader, was poisoned by the Tartar tribe. Temujin’s father, Yesugei, died after he was poisoned by the Tartar tribe. After losing their tribal leader, the tribe started separating and the people began joining other tribes. Temujin couldn’t be the leader because his mother wasn’t a Merkid, she was stolen by Yesugei, when they defeated er tribe. The entire tribe abandoned Temujin and his family, including his half brother. The family had to fight for their lives and they lived in very harsh conditions. Temujin’s family had neighbors, and the son of the neighbors was Jamuka. Jamuka was Temujin’s blood brother and they were always there for each other. Begter, was Temujin’s half brother, and Temujin didn’t like him. Begter was very selfish and he disliked sharing his food with the rest of the family. Temujin made a secret plot with Jamuka and he decided to kill Begter, and his plot succeeded. As a punishment, Temujin was sent to do hard labor and to live under harsh conditions. The peasants that had to supervise Temujin decided to let him escape and he did. Temujin then grew up and became a very successful tribal leader. He got married to Borte, a daughter of a Merkid leader, and they loved each other very much. One day, Borte was kidnapped and Temujin decided to reach out to his blood brother, for help to find his beautiful wife. Jamuka and temujin succeeded and they decided to join their tribes, and to focus on unifying the Mongols. The tribe has to have only one leader, so the men decided to separate tribes. Temujin was very successful and he unified all of the tribes besides, Jamuka’s tribe. The blood brothers went to war and Jamuka was defeated. The soldiers of Jamuka were disloyal and they brought Jamuka to Temujin. The soldiers thought that they would be rewarded, but they were killed instead because Temujin doesn’t tolerate disloyalty. Jamuka had the choice to join Temujin’s tribe, but he told Temujin that he is loyal and he prefers dying than joining another tribe. Jamuka was executed and Temujin finally reached his goal of uniting the Mongols, he renamed himself “Genghis Khan”. In conclusion, Genghis Khan, was a powerful leader and he didn’t give up until he united the Mongols.

Genghis Khan changed many people’s lives because he was tribal leader. The people from his tribe looked up to him as an example and they followed his orders. He unified the Mongols, which stopped constant tribal war, and this improved the live of his people. He was also evil because he burned down a lot of cities and houses when he was trying to unify the Mongols. What I mostly like about Genghis Khan is how he is very young and not very powerful, but that doesn’t stop him from aiming big. He set a challenging goal for himself, and after many years he achieved his goal. I also respect Genghis Khan because of his loyalty. When the soldiers betrayed their leader, Jamuka, and turned him in, he should have rewarded them for bringing his enemy. Instead, Genghis Khan executes them because they were disloyal to their tribal leader. Temujin became famous because he united the Mongols. He was a great leader and he had a very rough childhood. Many leaders after Genghis Khan, followed his ways of ruling and they viewed him as an example. He affected the lives of many people in positive and negative ways, but he ended up achieving his one goal of uniting the Mongols. As one can see, Genghis Khan was a great tribal and Mongol leader.

Genghis Khan is a very intelligent and great leader. What I really liked about Genghis Khan is that he doesn’t chose people based on which class they are born. Genghis Khan chooses people based on loyalty and ability. I also liked how he had one major goal throughout his entire life and he never gave up on that goal, no matter how hard the circumstances were. He also finally achieved his goal of uniting the Mongols, and he is a very hard worker. What I dislike about Genghis Khan is that he is very aggressive and burned down a lot of cities. He also killed his one brother, with his bare hands. I would recommend this book to people of all ages who are interested in Mongol history and who love to learn about powerful leaders and how they succeeded. As one can see, Genghis Khan is an amazing biography that talks about the journey of Temujin and how he finally united the Mongols.

[Tyler Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

A biography about the leader of a mongol clan who kills a lot of people for bad reasons.

[Taha Ababou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taha Ababou
Sunday April 3, 2016
English 8-03

Genghis Khan is a biography written by Enid A. Goldberg, talking about Temujin, also known as Genghis Khan. Temujin, also known as Genghis Khan, was the son of a tribal leader named Yesugei. One day, Temujin’s father was invited to a feast with a Tartar tribe. Yesugei thought that his tribe and the Tartar tribe were at peace, however, the Tartars poisoned his drink causing him to die when Temujin was only nine years old. This loss wasn’t a loss only for Temujin; it was also a loss for the whole tribe. Temujin’s mother was a Merkid, not a Mongol; therefore, Temujin didn’t have any significance in the tribe. The tribe lost the feeling of having a strong leader to protect them, thus, they left the tribe to join another one. In order for Temujin and his family to survive, they had to hunt down animals and pick other fruits such as berries. They usually didn’t live in only one region, they moved and lived in various tribes. By doing so, Temujin met his blood brother, Jamuka. Temujin had to live with his three brothers; he got along with all of them except one, Begter, his half-brother. Temujin disliked Begter so much because he felt like Begter always took credit for all the efforts Temujin have done in his work. One night, Temujin plotted to murder Begter. His plan succeeded making him the leader of the family, however, he hasn’t thought of what the consequences would be. He was sent to a facility where he had to live under very harsh conditions, but he eventually escaped. When Temujin grew up, he became a tribal leader and later married to a Merkid named Borte. One day, a Merkid tribe kidnapped Borte. He decided to rescue her with the help of his blood brother, Jamuka. They eventually succeeded and joined their clans. Temujin noticed that there were constant war clans, and came up with one major goal. His goal was to unify all the Mongol tribes into one nation. When Jamuka and Temujin joined their tribes, they needed to select only one leader. This tough choice is the reason why both tribes separated. However, Temujin maintained his goal to unify the Mongols. Step by step, he made strong allies and unified all the tribes under his rule. Only one tribe was left, Jamuka’s tribe. Temujin defeated his blood brother and offered him another chance to join his clan. However, Jamuka preferred to be killed. Temujin’ goal to unify the Mongols was at last completed. As one can see, the reader can say that Temujin, also known as Genghis Khan, unified the Mongols into one whole nation.

The reader can tell that this book is a biography based on the cover of the book, but also when the reader reads the first chapter. The first chapter is introducing Temujin and his early life. After every chapter, the reader learns how Temujin grew up to a teenager and later became an adult… Genghis Khan affected many people’s life. He invaded many tribes and burned many cities to the ground. However, Khan didn’t have only evil in him, he stopped the constant war between the clans and decided to unify all the Mongols into one nation. By doing so, he enriched the nation’s knowledge of the outside world. Many people are debating whether Genghis Khan was a hero or not. The reader might not consider Khan a hero or a villain. He indeed did burn down many cities to the ground without showing any mercy. However, that wasn’t the cruelest act he has ever done, he used prisoners from invaded cities as human shields during battles. Khan didn’t always show evil, when he was expanding his empire, he enriched women’s right, making them more powerful in society. As one can see, Genghis Khan was an important ruler in the history of the Mongols.

After reading this biography about Genghis Khan, there was one part where I liked and disliked about Khan. My favorite part about him is how he never gives up no matter what the consequence is. He always fought back and finally achieved his goal by making peace between all Mongol tribes. Even so, there was one thing I disliked about Genghis Khan. I dislike how Temujin (Genghis Khan) is very emotional and doesn’t think before acting. For example, Temujin killed his half-brother Begter because he felt threatened by him. Instead of talking to him and come up with a conclusion, he just killed him. When killing Begter, Temujin didn’t think that there would be consequences for this action. To conclude, I would recommend this book to everyone who would want to learn about how a simple tribal leader would later become the leader of a whole nation.

[Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genghis Khan, the book written by Enid A. Goldberg shows the reader the life of an extraordinary leader and commander of history. Genghis Khan, also know as Temujin in his early years, was the Mongol ruler that united all the tribes to make the Mongol Empire. Temujin was born in 1162 on the steppe. He was son of a leader of a tribe.His mother was stolen from another man she had just married by her father, he did this because back in the day, everyone took what they wanted in the steppe. At a young age Temujin received news that his father had died due to poisoning. Due to his father’s death no one in the village wanted him or his family to hang around so they were kicked out. Temujin's family were all starving and looking for food, but when they eventually found some, Temujin’s oldest brother took all for himself. One day Temujin's brothers got sick of the oldest one acting like that so they killed him. When Temujin needed the most help in his life, he stumbled upon his blood brother, Jamukha, who offered him and his family shelter and food. Temujin stayed in Jamukha’s village for over a year and eventually he wanted Temujin to leave. When Temujin was leaving some of the people followed him because they thought he was a better leader, which obviously didn't make Jamukha happy. At that point Temujin had grown stronger and was starting to raid small villages. When he was strong enough and had already taken over more than half of all the tribes in the steppe due to the help of his old ally, he was ready to take on Jamukha and unite all the steppe. When he went into battle against him he won against the odds of Jamukha army being bigger. At that point is where Temujin adopted the name of, Genghis Khan, meaning great leader. That's how Genghis Khan was able to take over and unite all of the tribes in the steppe.

The reader could easily tell that this book was a biography due to the cover. They could also tell if they started reading the first chapter in which the whole story starts revolving around Temujin. Genghis Khan changed many people's lives in the steppe as well as now a days. If it weren't for Genghis Khan, Mongolia might not be today what it is. After uniting all the tribes, Genghis Khan kept conquering other countries, if he hadn’t done this, Monggolia might not be as big as it is. His children also had an impact in Mongolia. After Genghis Khan’s death, his sons finished the conquest of China that he started. As one can see Genghis Khan affected many people’s life back in the day and in the world we live in now.

When I finished reading this book, there were parts that I enjoyed and parts that I didn’t enjoy.My least favorite part of this book was when Temujin and his family were starving. This was my least favorite part because they had to kill his older brother in order to survive. My favorite part of the book is when he finally unites all of the tribes because he has finally reached his goal after everything he had been through and all the setbacks. I would recommend this book to people that like history and violence because this book is all about it. Those were the thing that I liked and disliked about Genghis Khan.