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Genghis Khan: His Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy
A definitive and sweeping account of the life and times of the world's greatest conqueror -- Genghis Khan -- and the rise of the Mongol empire in the 13th century Combining fast-paced accounts of battles with rich cultural background and the latest scholarship, Frank McLynn brings vividly to life the strange world of the Mongols and Genghis Khan's rise from boyhood outcast to world conqueror. McLynn provides the most accurate and absorbing account yet of one of the most powerful men ever to have ever lived.
700 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 14, 2015
372 people are currently reading
2274 people want to read
About the author
Frank McLynn
39 books102 followersFrank McLynn is an English author, biographer, historian and journalist. He is noted for critically acclaimed biographies of Napoleon Bonaparte, Robert Louis Stevenson, Carl Jung, Richard Francis Burton and Henry Morton Stanley.
McLynn was educated at Wadham College, Oxford and the University of London. He was Alistair Horne Research Fellow at St Antony's College, Oxford (1987–88) and was visiting professor in the Department of Literature at the University of Strathclyde (1996–2001) and professorial fellow at Goldsmiths College London (2000 - 2002) before becoming a full-time writer.
McLynn was educated at Wadham College, Oxford and the University of London. He was Alistair Horne Research Fellow at St Antony's College, Oxford (1987–88) and was visiting professor in the Department of Literature at the University of Strathclyde (1996–2001) and professorial fellow at Goldsmiths College London (2000 - 2002) before becoming a full-time writer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews
January 26, 2021
I despise stories like this, which is basically a narration of historical events instead of an action fused creation. 0 of 10 stars
June 15, 2020
I have two main reasons for my harsh allotment of one star – a rating to be read as a ‘cannot recommend’ from me; not exactly ‘I hated it’, although I did become emotional on going through 8-10 newspaper reviews: these were written by book critics, not experts or fans of Mongol history, and they had nothing to judge by except their general impressions of the Mongols, preconceptions which the book, more or less, confirmed. Only one I saw, in the Asian Review of Books, asked a few of the right questions and began to interrogate the book.
My first reason is that it pays little attention to what David Morgan has called ‘the cultural turn’ in Mongol scholarship of the last twenty years (he reported on this in Nomads as Agents of Cultural Change). Even though McLynn has the begetter of the cultural turn, Thomas Allsen, in his extensive bibliography, this area, that is spoken of as a revolution in how we look at Mongols, doesn’t figure in his assessment of them in conclusion, and I feel that assessment is severely afflicted by its absence.
My second reason is that he comes to opinions about things and presents them as if they are matters of fact. I’ll use an example that did the circuit of the web, one he cites in interviews: that the Daoist master Qiu Chuji was a fraudster and Temujin, late in life, his gullible victim. That Qiu Chuji was a fraud is an opinion (you can find an alternate opinion in Wang Ping’s 2013 movie, An End to Killing or Kingdom of Conquerors – decent movie and even educational, to offset McLynn). But you can't in logic claim he set out to dupe a victim, when in the sources the guy is known for his frankness in the face of Genghis Khan, for dropping the bad news that he doesn’t have or know of a magic elixir, and contrary to rumour he is not 300 years old. Let’s not hear about gullible Mongols, either, because it’s a few of Temujin’s more educated Chinese advisers who recommended Qiu Chuji to him. That leads me to the observation that this Daoist adept behaved and believed no differently to others, and to call him a big fraud is to tarnish the lot of them, isn’t it? I think we need to accept more the strangenesses of medieval religions. Addendum: on Mongol religion he says, ‘shamanism was a classic instance of the mystifying and obfuscating role of religion’, which is rather judgemental too. This blanket dismissal, this failure to look at a religion in its own terms wouldn't wash in Religious Studies 101. I hope he's one who'd say the same of Western religions of the past; yet I have to notice he has been a biographer of only Western figures previously. Hobby Mongolists can do good work, but they need good attitudes.
On the personality of Genghis, he is very negative; probably as negative a description as I’ve read, even in old books that pre-date the 'cultural turn' and the great florescence of Mongol Studies since (again, the main books I mean are in his bibliography, but I can't see they have influenced his text). I admit his negative view doesn’t endear the book to me. It was disheartening to see one of those newspaper reviews conclude 'Genghis Khan doesn't deserve a biographer like McLynn'. He does. He does deserve a 'real' biographer, as distinct from a historian who doesn't specialize in biography. For a thirteenth-century figure and not someone from the letters era, he's rich in potential material. Don't blame the subject if you found the book unsatisfactory! Still, negativity and all, as long as readers understand they are getting one view… The book is told as story, and in a common popular-history style he writes as if questions are concluded. Behind that, at every turn he has to make decisions and judgements on the material. I wish this process were more transparent to the reader – that it was written with less certainty, that there were alternate views on offer. Such, I'd say, is the main difference between popular history and scholarly--although I have seen popular history written in an open-ended fashion too, presenting the evidence in a way that leaves the reader room to think.
My first reason is that it pays little attention to what David Morgan has called ‘the cultural turn’ in Mongol scholarship of the last twenty years (he reported on this in Nomads as Agents of Cultural Change). Even though McLynn has the begetter of the cultural turn, Thomas Allsen, in his extensive bibliography, this area, that is spoken of as a revolution in how we look at Mongols, doesn’t figure in his assessment of them in conclusion, and I feel that assessment is severely afflicted by its absence.
My second reason is that he comes to opinions about things and presents them as if they are matters of fact. I’ll use an example that did the circuit of the web, one he cites in interviews: that the Daoist master Qiu Chuji was a fraudster and Temujin, late in life, his gullible victim. That Qiu Chuji was a fraud is an opinion (you can find an alternate opinion in Wang Ping’s 2013 movie, An End to Killing or Kingdom of Conquerors – decent movie and even educational, to offset McLynn). But you can't in logic claim he set out to dupe a victim, when in the sources the guy is known for his frankness in the face of Genghis Khan, for dropping the bad news that he doesn’t have or know of a magic elixir, and contrary to rumour he is not 300 years old. Let’s not hear about gullible Mongols, either, because it’s a few of Temujin’s more educated Chinese advisers who recommended Qiu Chuji to him. That leads me to the observation that this Daoist adept behaved and believed no differently to others, and to call him a big fraud is to tarnish the lot of them, isn’t it? I think we need to accept more the strangenesses of medieval religions. Addendum: on Mongol religion he says, ‘shamanism was a classic instance of the mystifying and obfuscating role of religion’, which is rather judgemental too. This blanket dismissal, this failure to look at a religion in its own terms wouldn't wash in Religious Studies 101. I hope he's one who'd say the same of Western religions of the past; yet I have to notice he has been a biographer of only Western figures previously. Hobby Mongolists can do good work, but they need good attitudes.
On the personality of Genghis, he is very negative; probably as negative a description as I’ve read, even in old books that pre-date the 'cultural turn' and the great florescence of Mongol Studies since (again, the main books I mean are in his bibliography, but I can't see they have influenced his text). I admit his negative view doesn’t endear the book to me. It was disheartening to see one of those newspaper reviews conclude 'Genghis Khan doesn't deserve a biographer like McLynn'. He does. He does deserve a 'real' biographer, as distinct from a historian who doesn't specialize in biography. For a thirteenth-century figure and not someone from the letters era, he's rich in potential material. Don't blame the subject if you found the book unsatisfactory! Still, negativity and all, as long as readers understand they are getting one view… The book is told as story, and in a common popular-history style he writes as if questions are concluded. Behind that, at every turn he has to make decisions and judgements on the material. I wish this process were more transparent to the reader – that it was written with less certainty, that there were alternate views on offer. Such, I'd say, is the main difference between popular history and scholarly--although I have seen popular history written in an open-ended fashion too, presenting the evidence in a way that leaves the reader room to think.
August 21, 2025
A Great Man in History?
I found this book very readable, informative and clear. It offers a straight forward narrative cradle to the grave, from Temujin to Genghis Khan. The book starts with the world Temujin, the son of a chief of a Mongol tribe, was born in, focusing on the steppe, Mongol culture and context of his early life. These are key elements to understanding how this man came to dominate the world and they are explained well. The Mongols attitude towards women, food, nomadism, animals, relationships and even bathing are all explained. These answer some of the questions of why the Mongols and Temujin himself became so successful.
Even as a young man his life was extremely eventful. From the early death by poisoning of his father, which cast him and his family into poverty, to the abduction and rape of his wife Borte, which bore him a step son Jochi. Temujin was also captured and imprisoned by a neighbouring tribe during a raid, but escaped thanks to a sympathetic guard helping him escape. McLynn explains that none of this had any lasting effect on Temujin, the future Genghis Khan as this was usual life on the Steppe. Eventually through war and genius Temujin emerged victorious in uniting the Mongol tribes. Around the time possibly a people of about 800,000. With this force he set his sights on the Jin Empire in northern China, first realising he would have to destroy the Tangut people as to have ‘no one to attack from behind’. And so from the world was slowly swallowed up and Temujin transformed into Genghis Khan, master of an empire from the Yellow to the Caspian Sea.
What I found fascinating is that Genghis was clearly a man of genius, a brilliant military strategist and of great foresight. Although as McLynn shows, historians are divided on whether this was the key to his success and state that it could have been due to other factors such as the climate. Surely this man was exception. What is striking that he also has much fortune. Most of his enemies where bogged down with factionalism and petty squabbling. Even only they focused on the threat and united the course of history would have changed forever. The Mongols so often faced forced far larger, but through their array of original tactics they were able to claim victory after victory. These included the false retreat to lure enemies away from their strong position (often miles) only to ambush and slaughter them, the use of dummies to fool the enemy on the numbers of Mongol warriors, the employment of smoke grenades and the use of speed to flank and encircle opponents. Genghis himself realised the importance of preserving his men and preferred to not get them killed unnecessarily. Some of the feats are incredible and the adaptability (such as learning siege warfare for later conquests) is like no other group in history.
Of course Genghis was also a man who caused on a low estimate, about 50 million deaths from Korea to Hungry. There is also an argument of whether the Mongols set Central Asia and Eastern Europe back centuries through the conquest, murder and destruction. They may also have brought the Black Death to Europe. They acted not in taking points, but destroying people. There more killed the better, the battles were famous for the Mongols relentless pursing a defeated foe days after the fight. Towns who did not surrender were raised to the ground and often the great Khan ordered all living beings (including animals) to be destroyed.
For me McLynn does a good job in explaining all of this, placing it into the context of their culture, religion and Genghis outlook. The relationship with his wives, concubines, brothers and sons are all explained. The big and important questions are tackled, such as why he was so successful and why it all fell apart after the death of his talented son Ogodei. Others have hated this book for reasons I cannot quote understand. Yeah f their are historical errors I apologise for not picking up on them. I found it overall, a very readable and great balance between popular history and academic study.
I found this book very readable, informative and clear. It offers a straight forward narrative cradle to the grave, from Temujin to Genghis Khan. The book starts with the world Temujin, the son of a chief of a Mongol tribe, was born in, focusing on the steppe, Mongol culture and context of his early life. These are key elements to understanding how this man came to dominate the world and they are explained well. The Mongols attitude towards women, food, nomadism, animals, relationships and even bathing are all explained. These answer some of the questions of why the Mongols and Temujin himself became so successful.
Even as a young man his life was extremely eventful. From the early death by poisoning of his father, which cast him and his family into poverty, to the abduction and rape of his wife Borte, which bore him a step son Jochi. Temujin was also captured and imprisoned by a neighbouring tribe during a raid, but escaped thanks to a sympathetic guard helping him escape. McLynn explains that none of this had any lasting effect on Temujin, the future Genghis Khan as this was usual life on the Steppe. Eventually through war and genius Temujin emerged victorious in uniting the Mongol tribes. Around the time possibly a people of about 800,000. With this force he set his sights on the Jin Empire in northern China, first realising he would have to destroy the Tangut people as to have ‘no one to attack from behind’. And so from the world was slowly swallowed up and Temujin transformed into Genghis Khan, master of an empire from the Yellow to the Caspian Sea.
What I found fascinating is that Genghis was clearly a man of genius, a brilliant military strategist and of great foresight. Although as McLynn shows, historians are divided on whether this was the key to his success and state that it could have been due to other factors such as the climate. Surely this man was exception. What is striking that he also has much fortune. Most of his enemies where bogged down with factionalism and petty squabbling. Even only they focused on the threat and united the course of history would have changed forever. The Mongols so often faced forced far larger, but through their array of original tactics they were able to claim victory after victory. These included the false retreat to lure enemies away from their strong position (often miles) only to ambush and slaughter them, the use of dummies to fool the enemy on the numbers of Mongol warriors, the employment of smoke grenades and the use of speed to flank and encircle opponents. Genghis himself realised the importance of preserving his men and preferred to not get them killed unnecessarily. Some of the feats are incredible and the adaptability (such as learning siege warfare for later conquests) is like no other group in history.
Of course Genghis was also a man who caused on a low estimate, about 50 million deaths from Korea to Hungry. There is also an argument of whether the Mongols set Central Asia and Eastern Europe back centuries through the conquest, murder and destruction. They may also have brought the Black Death to Europe. They acted not in taking points, but destroying people. There more killed the better, the battles were famous for the Mongols relentless pursing a defeated foe days after the fight. Towns who did not surrender were raised to the ground and often the great Khan ordered all living beings (including animals) to be destroyed.
For me McLynn does a good job in explaining all of this, placing it into the context of their culture, religion and Genghis outlook. The relationship with his wives, concubines, brothers and sons are all explained. The big and important questions are tackled, such as why he was so successful and why it all fell apart after the death of his talented son Ogodei. Others have hated this book for reasons I cannot quote understand. Yeah f their are historical errors I apologise for not picking up on them. I found it overall, a very readable and great balance between popular history and academic study.
October 13, 2024
If you are looking for a straightforward bio of the Khan of Khans, you may need look no further than this monument. I took it to Uzbekistan to help imagine the siege and reduction of Bukhara and Samarkand.
Genghis Khan spent the greater part of his career in Central Asia, leaving his top general Muqali to flail away at China’s far flung empire and conquer the future territories of his grandson Kublai Khan.
It is all here and it is more than a biography. It's a history really, and a jumping off point for further exploration. In addition to 500 pages of text there are two appendices and a big bibliography.
I’ve never read McLynn before, put off by mixed reviews and wide range of topics. Could he write on such disparate things and be taken seriously? Aside from an occasional fancy word his research is clear.
Genghis Khan spent the greater part of his career in Central Asia, leaving his top general Muqali to flail away at China’s far flung empire and conquer the future territories of his grandson Kublai Khan.
It is all here and it is more than a biography. It's a history really, and a jumping off point for further exploration. In addition to 500 pages of text there are two appendices and a big bibliography.
I’ve never read McLynn before, put off by mixed reviews and wide range of topics. Could he write on such disparate things and be taken seriously? Aside from an occasional fancy word his research is clear.
June 5, 2017
3.5 stars
They come as though the sky were falling, and they disappear like a flash of lightning.
I got way more than I bargained for, but I enjoyed it.
There’s quite a bit about the khan, but this book really focuses on the whole picture of the khan’s armies, their campaigns and the countries they conquered. All good information in small doses, but the campaigns are overly detailed: providing army numbers for each battle, and digressing into long-winded explanations of the conquered countries. Of course, to fully understand why the Mongols were so successful (besides their impeccable organization, communications and clever tactics) it is necessary to understand the countries they set out to subsume, or in some instances completely annihilate. I just wish the author could have condensed some of the information. I will probably end up finding another book on the khan to compare eventually.
They come as though the sky were falling, and they disappear like a flash of lightning.
I got way more than I bargained for, but I enjoyed it.
There’s quite a bit about the khan, but this book really focuses on the whole picture of the khan’s armies, their campaigns and the countries they conquered. All good information in small doses, but the campaigns are overly detailed: providing army numbers for each battle, and digressing into long-winded explanations of the conquered countries. Of course, to fully understand why the Mongols were so successful (besides their impeccable organization, communications and clever tactics) it is necessary to understand the countries they set out to subsume, or in some instances completely annihilate. I just wish the author could have condensed some of the information. I will probably end up finding another book on the khan to compare eventually.
February 8, 2025
If you look at how long it took me to get through this - three weeks (a long time for a 500-pager) - you might conclude that it's a slow read. And it is. Or rather, it is in places. As mentioned by other reviewers, it's the amount of information McLynn includes that often holds up the narrative. But that is only part of the story. For one thing, I read two other books while I was reading this one. And for another, the excess of information only happens every now and again. For the most part I found this to be an enthralling, entertaining and illuminating book. Yes, McLynn has had to rely almost totally on secondary sources; as he mentions in the introduction, to master all the primary sources you would need to be proficient in about ten languages. But he has done so judiciously and not uncritically. I've never read anything about the Mongols before, and probably had that Western-centric view that they were just a bunch of savages. The savagery is certainly there - like it is with all peoples and Empires - but so is the administrative and military sophistication. Much of what Genghis Khan achieved is nothing short of miraculous. For a small group of nomads to conquer half the known world and win so many battles against so many different enemies is almost beyond belief. To be fair, so is the carnage they caused. A conservative estimate, 40 million killed by the Mongols under Genghis and his son. Thirty million of them in China. That's some going. Especially given the weapons that were available at the time. There's an interesting conclusion by McLynn at the end about how all this killing was good for the environment. With vast tracts of formerly cultivated land being reclaimed by the forests, apparently 700 million tons of carbon were eliminated from the atmosphere. I just wish the Mongols weren't so cruel to animals. I know they revered their horses. But massacring all those wild donkeys for fun...
July 15, 2015
Here's the thing: if you title this thing "Genghis Khan: The Man Who Conquered The World", you're setting up expectations in the reader that this book will be about the person. I get that ancient history and the people within it are hard to write about, for a variety of reasons, but just call it "Genghis Khan and the Mongols" if you can't craft a personal narrative out of the sources. As it stands, this book is a serviceable (if tedious) military history of the Mongols' movements throughout Asia, but the line I enjoyed the most in this book was, "the history of Genghis Khan and the Mongols can sometimes seem no more than an endless recital of massacres with pyramids of skulls."
December 11, 2022
Oof. I think a lot combined to make this a less than enjoyable book for me.
1. I probably would've done better with a hard copy. This is one of those audiobooks that began with a 30 minute reading of a list of names and who they were. I skipped it. There was no way I was going to remember any of that while reading. Unfortunately it was a list that I desperately needed to refer back to. Even if the audiobook had included a PDF of that list it would've helped me. At least 50% of the time I had no clue who the author was talking about and how they related to Genghis.
2. Who, What, Where???? The author was constantly giving us a litany of clans/tribes/groups, listing many people within those various groups, and telling us how Genghis marched from east of such and such a river to south of so and so's borders just so he could attack x-person who was in big trouble because x-person wasn't getting along with y-person and now here comes Genghis to mess things up with the help of z-person. I legit had no idea what was happening most of the time because I had no context. I needed maps and to be able to reread. Another reason the audiobook was not a great choice.
3. On that note, WAY too much detail. I can only hear about the Mongols riding their horses so many times.
4. My own lack of knowledge. If I was reading a similar tale of conquering set in medieval Europe, I would probably understand it better because I already have some familiarity with the topic. As it is, I know very little about the history of Asian countries. It's a topic I'd like to study more. If I'd gone into this book with more background knowledge, I think I would've understood it better.
My favorite parts of the book were learning about the Mongol customs and beliefs. It was really fascinating and impressive how they survived in the rugged landscape.
If you are interested in the book I highly recommend choosing a physical book over the audiobook, or at least having a hard copy on hand while you listen. I was constantly zoning out because I couldn't follow what was happening. What I would like to do now is watch a documentary about Genghis Khan and the Mongols. I think that would help cement what I did glean from this book.
1. I probably would've done better with a hard copy. This is one of those audiobooks that began with a 30 minute reading of a list of names and who they were. I skipped it. There was no way I was going to remember any of that while reading. Unfortunately it was a list that I desperately needed to refer back to. Even if the audiobook had included a PDF of that list it would've helped me. At least 50% of the time I had no clue who the author was talking about and how they related to Genghis.
2. Who, What, Where???? The author was constantly giving us a litany of clans/tribes/groups, listing many people within those various groups, and telling us how Genghis marched from east of such and such a river to south of so and so's borders just so he could attack x-person who was in big trouble because x-person wasn't getting along with y-person and now here comes Genghis to mess things up with the help of z-person. I legit had no idea what was happening most of the time because I had no context. I needed maps and to be able to reread. Another reason the audiobook was not a great choice.
3. On that note, WAY too much detail. I can only hear about the Mongols riding their horses so many times.
4. My own lack of knowledge. If I was reading a similar tale of conquering set in medieval Europe, I would probably understand it better because I already have some familiarity with the topic. As it is, I know very little about the history of Asian countries. It's a topic I'd like to study more. If I'd gone into this book with more background knowledge, I think I would've understood it better.
My favorite parts of the book were learning about the Mongol customs and beliefs. It was really fascinating and impressive how they survived in the rugged landscape.
If you are interested in the book I highly recommend choosing a physical book over the audiobook, or at least having a hard copy on hand while you listen. I was constantly zoning out because I couldn't follow what was happening. What I would like to do now is watch a documentary about Genghis Khan and the Mongols. I think that would help cement what I did glean from this book.
September 22, 2015
very readable flowing like a novel; while presenting the general (and generally well known facts) story and continuing a few decades beyond the death of Gengis with an outline of what happened with the Mongol Empire until its split in 4 essentially different states, the book is very clear and articulate without going into hyperbole or judgement; brutal and benefiting of temporary military superiority as well as of squabbling enemies in the west and a divided and weaker than usual Chinese colossus in the East, the quick rise of the Mongol empire is shown here in quite a lot of detail, but also it is shown clearly how such an empire could not have lasted for intrinsic reasons
the best of what I read or tried to on the subject and highly recommended
the best of what I read or tried to on the subject and highly recommended
October 14, 2024
Took me a while but when I came back to it I sped through it. Surrender or die was the option the Mongols gave their opposition. Surprisingly, if a town or city surrendered and paid tribute the Mongols didn’t slaughter everyone. However, any opposition or killing of envoys then normally noone was spared.
McLynn’s style is bigger picture with detailed descriptions of the regions Genghis Khan and later with Ogodei his son conquered. His ruthless generals Subedi and Batu fought in Persia, China and as far as Hungary defeating all their enemies. It’s fascinating that a nomadic people with a small population conquered so much in such a short time. How Genghis united his tribes together to build an empire from the Pacific to Europe from 1194-1242 defeating the Jin, Turks, Korean, Arabs and Europeans with relative ease using tactics that worked with Custer. Pretend to runaway and then ambush.
The statistics of the Mongol killings blur after a while and their ruthlessness for any force that opposed them. Usually it was kill everyone with the exception of artisan craftsmen and women. Their brutality and superstitious nature coupled with not differentiating against religious or race was pragmatic and worked.
Once Genghis and Ogodei the Empire divided amongst his heirs and slowly collapsed. A good read if a bit dry and academic with the author bias reflected in his conclusions.
McLynn’s style is bigger picture with detailed descriptions of the regions Genghis Khan and later with Ogodei his son conquered. His ruthless generals Subedi and Batu fought in Persia, China and as far as Hungary defeating all their enemies. It’s fascinating that a nomadic people with a small population conquered so much in such a short time. How Genghis united his tribes together to build an empire from the Pacific to Europe from 1194-1242 defeating the Jin, Turks, Korean, Arabs and Europeans with relative ease using tactics that worked with Custer. Pretend to runaway and then ambush.
The statistics of the Mongol killings blur after a while and their ruthlessness for any force that opposed them. Usually it was kill everyone with the exception of artisan craftsmen and women. Their brutality and superstitious nature coupled with not differentiating against religious or race was pragmatic and worked.
Once Genghis and Ogodei the Empire divided amongst his heirs and slowly collapsed. A good read if a bit dry and academic with the author bias reflected in his conclusions.
October 27, 2017
The only drawback of this book is a lack of enough maps.
There are maps at the beginning, but this book goes into so much useful detail that it would have been better to have more maps. However, this could have increased the size of the book.
The author describes the background of the Mongol Empire incredibly well and his appendix on the Khwarezim and Qara-Khitai empires are worthy of books by themselves.
Reading this book is not for the light-hearted, but it is also not a dry scholarly tome. While it gives as much depth (if not more) as a scholarly tome, it is also deeply fulfilling in its analysis of individuals, empires, kingdoms. It gives you a feel of the fear that the Mongols produced and their lives.
Some other reviewers complained about the use of many "intellectual asides" and references, but I thought they were apt, not put in just to show off.
Overall I strongly recommend this book to any historian (professional or amateur) or a person who likes Lord of the Rings and other grand fantasy - which shows you that reality can be stranger than fiction!
There are maps at the beginning, but this book goes into so much useful detail that it would have been better to have more maps. However, this could have increased the size of the book.
The author describes the background of the Mongol Empire incredibly well and his appendix on the Khwarezim and Qara-Khitai empires are worthy of books by themselves.
Reading this book is not for the light-hearted, but it is also not a dry scholarly tome. While it gives as much depth (if not more) as a scholarly tome, it is also deeply fulfilling in its analysis of individuals, empires, kingdoms. It gives you a feel of the fear that the Mongols produced and their lives.
Some other reviewers complained about the use of many "intellectual asides" and references, but I thought they were apt, not put in just to show off.
Overall I strongly recommend this book to any historian (professional or amateur) or a person who likes Lord of the Rings and other grand fantasy - which shows you that reality can be stranger than fiction!
August 11, 2015
I received a pre-release e-copy of this book through NetGalley (publication date July 14, 2015) with the expectation that I will post a review on their site and others (my blog, Goodreads, Facebook, Google +, LinkedIn, Twitter, Amazon, etc.).
I requested this book because I am interested in Genghis Khan and I haven't read a biography on him in 50 years (junior high) which was mostly about the legend. This is the first book by Frank McLynn that I have read.
The book is well researched and very informative, but the author gets overly bogged down in the details making this a difficult read that requires a great deal of concentration. It does not have the readability of a Doris Kearns Goodwin or a H.W. Brands biograhpy.
I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in the minutia regarding the life of Genghis Khan. It is not for those who are looking for an engaging read.
I requested this book because I am interested in Genghis Khan and I haven't read a biography on him in 50 years (junior high) which was mostly about the legend. This is the first book by Frank McLynn that I have read.
The book is well researched and very informative, but the author gets overly bogged down in the details making this a difficult read that requires a great deal of concentration. It does not have the readability of a Doris Kearns Goodwin or a H.W. Brands biograhpy.
I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in the minutia regarding the life of Genghis Khan. It is not for those who are looking for an engaging read.
December 20, 2018
A flawed writer takes on a supremely fascinating story.
The story of the mongol conquests is one of the most intriguing and beguiling in all of world history. So it is a small wonder that I swallowed this book in just a few days. It begins terrifically, painting the scene of the sacking of Baghdad, and all the horrors that went along with it. It also ends (kinda), with a conclusion chapter in which Mclynn discusses the various attitudes and takes there are on the Genghis and the mongols; from his impact on the rest of world history to how he should be viewed as a person.
In between these two bookends though, there are a lot of problems with this telling of the tale. Not that it is inocrrect, but that it is told in a way that decreases, rather than increases, our appreciation for this unique, horrifying, and amazing bloody tale.
For one, Mclynn gives the account of the raids and conquests and routes the mongols took to get there. All of them. Which in aggregate becomes minutea. "They took the route from the Kyber pass down to Khurasan and then doubled back and rode 500 miles to meet up with so and so and went on to such and such". It is amazing how much ground they covered and where they went and why, but how are we supposed to follow along with all this for hundreds of pages?
Hey Frank, you know what would have helped? MAPS. No one knows what to make of the route between one place in the desert of the Khwarezmian empire and some town that no longer exists if you don't show us.
Instead of recounting every time the mongols rode their horses, a better way of telling this tale is of painting the picture of some of the most important or impressive campaigns and conquests. It is doubly frustrating that the author is capable of this, which he shows in the introductory chapter.
I am no expert on the mongol horde but even I noticed some glaring omissions from this book. Like when the mongols come out of the caucasus mountains, there is a conglomerate of armies waiting for them. But he neglects to tell how they knew the mongols where going to be there. This, I know from the Hardcore History episodes has a definite answer, but if I had only read Mclynn's book on this subject, it would have remained a mystery. He also doesn't mention the Pope's amazing letter to the mongols, trying (and failing miserably) to explain christianity and convert the mongols. Instead we are bombared with more minutea of every raid on every city, which gets tedious since Mclynn seemingly loses interest in describing them. "After a ten-day siege, the town relented and asked for terms. The slaughter was complete". This, lightly paraphrased, is how Mclynn describes hundreds of instances of complete terror, mayhem, and military ingenuity.
He also has some obvious faults just as a writer. He loves to use french terms, just a little too much. I have some basic french so I understood most of it, but even I thought his overreliance on french phrases a tad ridiculous. There must be better ways of getting your thoughts across to an english-speaking audience.
He also repeatedly employs one of my pet peeves, using the term "quantum leap" to describe a big step forward. In actuality, a quantum leap is ridiculously, insanely small.
But my biggest critique of Mclynn's writing is that he doesn't want to paint the scene before our eyes. How did a mongol horde appearing before your town look like? What was the smell? For maybe the most frightening sights of the medieval period, he does a poor job of getting that across.
One thing I will say is he gives terrific accounts on the intrigues of the mongol higher-ups. who hated whom, who never forgot the slight from so-and-so.
All in all, this tale is too terrifying and horrific, and the figure of Genghis too brilliant and unique not to be fascinating, even when treated with such a poor understanding of what makes a good telling as this.
The story of the mongol conquests is one of the most intriguing and beguiling in all of world history. So it is a small wonder that I swallowed this book in just a few days. It begins terrifically, painting the scene of the sacking of Baghdad, and all the horrors that went along with it. It also ends (kinda), with a conclusion chapter in which Mclynn discusses the various attitudes and takes there are on the Genghis and the mongols; from his impact on the rest of world history to how he should be viewed as a person.
In between these two bookends though, there are a lot of problems with this telling of the tale. Not that it is inocrrect, but that it is told in a way that decreases, rather than increases, our appreciation for this unique, horrifying, and amazing bloody tale.
For one, Mclynn gives the account of the raids and conquests and routes the mongols took to get there. All of them. Which in aggregate becomes minutea. "They took the route from the Kyber pass down to Khurasan and then doubled back and rode 500 miles to meet up with so and so and went on to such and such". It is amazing how much ground they covered and where they went and why, but how are we supposed to follow along with all this for hundreds of pages?
Hey Frank, you know what would have helped? MAPS. No one knows what to make of the route between one place in the desert of the Khwarezmian empire and some town that no longer exists if you don't show us.
Instead of recounting every time the mongols rode their horses, a better way of telling this tale is of painting the picture of some of the most important or impressive campaigns and conquests. It is doubly frustrating that the author is capable of this, which he shows in the introductory chapter.
I am no expert on the mongol horde but even I noticed some glaring omissions from this book. Like when the mongols come out of the caucasus mountains, there is a conglomerate of armies waiting for them. But he neglects to tell how they knew the mongols where going to be there. This, I know from the Hardcore History episodes has a definite answer, but if I had only read Mclynn's book on this subject, it would have remained a mystery. He also doesn't mention the Pope's amazing letter to the mongols, trying (and failing miserably) to explain christianity and convert the mongols. Instead we are bombared with more minutea of every raid on every city, which gets tedious since Mclynn seemingly loses interest in describing them. "After a ten-day siege, the town relented and asked for terms. The slaughter was complete". This, lightly paraphrased, is how Mclynn describes hundreds of instances of complete terror, mayhem, and military ingenuity.
He also has some obvious faults just as a writer. He loves to use french terms, just a little too much. I have some basic french so I understood most of it, but even I thought his overreliance on french phrases a tad ridiculous. There must be better ways of getting your thoughts across to an english-speaking audience.
He also repeatedly employs one of my pet peeves, using the term "quantum leap" to describe a big step forward. In actuality, a quantum leap is ridiculously, insanely small.
But my biggest critique of Mclynn's writing is that he doesn't want to paint the scene before our eyes. How did a mongol horde appearing before your town look like? What was the smell? For maybe the most frightening sights of the medieval period, he does a poor job of getting that across.
One thing I will say is he gives terrific accounts on the intrigues of the mongol higher-ups. who hated whom, who never forgot the slight from so-and-so.
All in all, this tale is too terrifying and horrific, and the figure of Genghis too brilliant and unique not to be fascinating, even when treated with such a poor understanding of what makes a good telling as this.
May 3, 2021
Not a bad biography of Genghis Khan, but a bit dry throughout.
July 12, 2024
Genghis Khan: The Man Who Conquered the World is historian Frank McLynn's mid-size biography covering the entire life of Genghis Khan and concluding with the conquest of Hungary and a very brief overview of the Mongol Empire until Mongke's death. Put together using an incredible amount of sources, the book is extremely informative but is often too detailed to be an enjoyable 'popular history' read.
I both liked and disliked the detail. I liked it in the sense that there was so much in here that I have never read anywhere else before. Even if it was just a small piece of information about a person or battle or event, you can't say McLynn didn't make good use of his sources. However, I thought a lot of it was overkill, too. He often spends so much time on background information or context that he loses the flow of the narrative. There are paragraphs on top of paragraphs in here that you could easily skip or skim.
And for all the detail in the book, the battles seemed to be lacking. I always felt that things were concluded far too quickly. Perhaps McLynn didn't want to get too repetitive, since with the Mongols there was constant warfare, or he didn't want to wander too far into academic history territory (as he states himself the book is intended to be popular history) with detailed troop movements and such. Regardless, I think the book needed more in this area.
Aside from my issues with the amount of detail included, my other gripe was with the writing. McLynn uses lots of 'big' words, as well as tons of turns of phrase and idioms. Here is just an example of what I'm talking about: scooped the pool, grant the boon, a storm in a teacup, rushed his fences, given up the ghost, turbid political bouillabaisse, dampest of damp squibs, last dregs from the cup of bitterness. He also manages to craft some pretty strange sentences. This is probably my favourite thing in the whole book: "perhaps Genghis's antennae were once again super sensitive..." What?
It honestly took me half the book to get into McLynn's style and then all of a sudden, I sort of began to appreciate and like the book. I found myself wondering how he would tackle a certain event and almost looked forward to what he had to say on certain topics. McLynn uses an impressive amount of sources, but this book is not only a synthesis of that information; he critiques, analyzes and interprets. That's what you want in a good history book. You need something more than someone merely relaying facts to you, even if it is popular history.
I also think McLynn was fair and realistic in how he portrayed the Mongols, whether collectively or as individuals. He does, however, end with this:
Antony Beevor immediately comes to mind when I think of someone who writes excellent histories but keeps them accessible to all readers. I don't think McLynn achieves that with this book. There is a ton of information here, and I can't imagine how difficult the task must have been to collect it all. But it's McLynn's writing and the excess of detail that I think prevents this from being good popular history. Don't get me wrong, I didn't dislike the book overall. You will learn a lot reading it, but it's not the most enjoyable book to read in order to gain that information.
I both liked and disliked the detail. I liked it in the sense that there was so much in here that I have never read anywhere else before. Even if it was just a small piece of information about a person or battle or event, you can't say McLynn didn't make good use of his sources. However, I thought a lot of it was overkill, too. He often spends so much time on background information or context that he loses the flow of the narrative. There are paragraphs on top of paragraphs in here that you could easily skip or skim.
And for all the detail in the book, the battles seemed to be lacking. I always felt that things were concluded far too quickly. Perhaps McLynn didn't want to get too repetitive, since with the Mongols there was constant warfare, or he didn't want to wander too far into academic history territory (as he states himself the book is intended to be popular history) with detailed troop movements and such. Regardless, I think the book needed more in this area.
Aside from my issues with the amount of detail included, my other gripe was with the writing. McLynn uses lots of 'big' words, as well as tons of turns of phrase and idioms. Here is just an example of what I'm talking about: scooped the pool, grant the boon, a storm in a teacup, rushed his fences, given up the ghost, turbid political bouillabaisse, dampest of damp squibs, last dregs from the cup of bitterness. He also manages to craft some pretty strange sentences. This is probably my favourite thing in the whole book: "perhaps Genghis's antennae were once again super sensitive..." What?
It honestly took me half the book to get into McLynn's style and then all of a sudden, I sort of began to appreciate and like the book. I found myself wondering how he would tackle a certain event and almost looked forward to what he had to say on certain topics. McLynn uses an impressive amount of sources, but this book is not only a synthesis of that information; he critiques, analyzes and interprets. That's what you want in a good history book. You need something more than someone merely relaying facts to you, even if it is popular history.
I also think McLynn was fair and realistic in how he portrayed the Mongols, whether collectively or as individuals. He does, however, end with this:
While the Mongols' military achievements were stupendous, they were otherwise totally parasitic. They were unoriginal, founded no new religions, produced no worthwhile cultural artefacts, developed no new crops or new technologies (though they transmitted existing ones), created no worthwhile painting, pottery, architecture or literature, and did not even bake bread...So? The Mongol Empire was always about conquest, so yes, their military achievements were stupendous. I don't think it really matters that they didn't bake bread or write poetry we might still admire today. I don't know, it just seems like such a harsh conclusion to draw out of nowhere.
Antony Beevor immediately comes to mind when I think of someone who writes excellent histories but keeps them accessible to all readers. I don't think McLynn achieves that with this book. There is a ton of information here, and I can't imagine how difficult the task must have been to collect it all. But it's McLynn's writing and the excess of detail that I think prevents this from being good popular history. Don't get me wrong, I didn't dislike the book overall. You will learn a lot reading it, but it's not the most enjoyable book to read in order to gain that information.
June 7, 2019
Genghis Khan: His Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy
By Frank McLynn
This was an easy to follow story about his life, and heck what a life so much was crammed into his 65 years, a story of bloodshed and grief for anyone that got in his way, a force of nature an unstoppable tornado of death and destruction. By the time of his death his armies ruled with an iron fist from the Mediterranean sea to the Pacific ocean the largest single land mass empire the world has ever seen to date.
Technical issues faced by his soldiers was covered thouroughly given the book size but it was what interested me the most the research gone into, must have given Frank the patience of Methusla. Numbers always fascinates me the ratios of horses to camels sheep goats made sense so did figures on arrows bows riders and lances.
The complete ruthless intrigues between the clan leaders where assassination was a matter of course and common place, but Im pretty damm sure it wasn't, nothing would be forgotten and revenge will come eventually.
More of a mixture of historical facts and figures and some vivid imagination by Frank to imagine yourself galloping across wide open plains firing arrows into your enemies and living without remorse for killing hundreds of people at your own hand in the belief kill them before they do it to your people and the chance of fame plunder and sex.
Anyway loved it even if all the names of Genghis Kahn's lieutenant's was hard to keep up with. But regardless Genghis Kahn is a name history would never forget and his leagacy ripples down through to hundreds of millions of people through countless lands.
By Frank McLynn
This was an easy to follow story about his life, and heck what a life so much was crammed into his 65 years, a story of bloodshed and grief for anyone that got in his way, a force of nature an unstoppable tornado of death and destruction. By the time of his death his armies ruled with an iron fist from the Mediterranean sea to the Pacific ocean the largest single land mass empire the world has ever seen to date.
Technical issues faced by his soldiers was covered thouroughly given the book size but it was what interested me the most the research gone into, must have given Frank the patience of Methusla. Numbers always fascinates me the ratios of horses to camels sheep goats made sense so did figures on arrows bows riders and lances.
The complete ruthless intrigues between the clan leaders where assassination was a matter of course and common place, but Im pretty damm sure it wasn't, nothing would be forgotten and revenge will come eventually.
More of a mixture of historical facts and figures and some vivid imagination by Frank to imagine yourself galloping across wide open plains firing arrows into your enemies and living without remorse for killing hundreds of people at your own hand in the belief kill them before they do it to your people and the chance of fame plunder and sex.
Anyway loved it even if all the names of Genghis Kahn's lieutenant's was hard to keep up with. But regardless Genghis Kahn is a name history would never forget and his leagacy ripples down through to hundreds of millions of people through countless lands.
February 18, 2022
How did the author manage to make such an interesting topic so mind numbingly boring??
So much time was wasted on minute details of movements of troops that could have been condensed, the author put massive quotations in French with no translation offered in most chapters (so who knows what all that meant), and the manner in which it was written was in turns patronising and lengthy obfuscating of events which could have been explained concisely. Also the constant references to "this researcher" or "a better author" are meaningless: the average reader (ie me) is hardly going to be able to extrapolate a specific individual from this, so just mention them by name! Another issue seems to be the author presents his own judgement and opinions as irrefutable fact in all but the last chapter (which has some small discussion of other interpretations)
Came back to reading this after a 2 year pause and let me assure you it had not improved one bit.
So much time was wasted on minute details of movements of troops that could have been condensed, the author put massive quotations in French with no translation offered in most chapters (so who knows what all that meant), and the manner in which it was written was in turns patronising and lengthy obfuscating of events which could have been explained concisely. Also the constant references to "this researcher" or "a better author" are meaningless: the average reader (ie me) is hardly going to be able to extrapolate a specific individual from this, so just mention them by name! Another issue seems to be the author presents his own judgement and opinions as irrefutable fact in all but the last chapter (which has some small discussion of other interpretations)
Came back to reading this after a 2 year pause and let me assure you it had not improved one bit.
August 6, 2022
This is another book in which my rating dissents from the majority of readers on Goodreads. As an aspiring Chinese history buff, the conflict between the Han sedentary agriculturalists south of the Yellow River and the nomadic tribes in the Mongolian steppes has always gripped me as a young reader of history texts. For the most part, I have been reading about Mongolic tribes from Chinese sources. Refreshingly, Frank McLynn covered this rise of Genghis Khan comprehensively(ie. not Sino-centric), from his conquests of the Jurchens and the Tanguts in China, to the annihilation of cities in Khwarezmia and the Islamic world. One knock on the book is the use of less common transliterations for some of the Chinese cities and Mongolian generals(eg. Qubilai Khan vs Kublai Khan). The spelling of Khan also flipped back and forth between the modern spelling Khan and Khagan, an archaic Mongolian pronunciation.
August 15, 2015
Informative, but it can be a slog. Campaign after campaign after campaign gets wearying for the reader (at least for this reader). Early on isn't so bad as he intersperses chapters on military campaigns with other ones - a chapter on the Mongol legal code, a chapter on the personality of Genghis and his kids, etc. But then it's just campaign after campaign.
The book could use more maps. There are some in the front, but they are rather broad/basic. Given the level of detail given on the campaigns throughout the books, the maps are insufficient.
The book could use more maps. There are some in the front, but they are rather broad/basic. Given the level of detail given on the campaigns throughout the books, the maps are insufficient.
abandoned
September 17, 2020Got about 15% through this book. Way too deeply detailed for me, at least in this phase of my life. Maybe I’ll pick it up again someday, who knows...
May 17, 2025
Yazar kitabını yazarken Moğol Tarihine dair birçok değerli eser ve yazardan faydalanmasına karşın, kaynak vermeksizin 3. Bölüm, 42. Sayfa “Temuçin Sürekli Yükseliyor” başlıklı bölümün ilk cümlesinde “ Ögedey, gerçek babası Temuçin olan ilk çocuktu.” diyerek çok büyük bir tarihi hata yapmıştır. Var olan tüm Moğol Tarihi ve Cengiz Han eserlerinden bilindiği üzere Cengiz Han’ın Börte Hatundan olan ilk çocuğu Çağatay’dır. Yazar yine kitabın başındaki “Başlıca Kişiler” başlıklı bölümde “Çağatay 1183 tarihinde doğdu” diyerek doğru bilgi vermiş ama 42. Sayfadaki “ilk çocuk” ibaresiyle hata yapmıştır. İlerleyen sayfalarda (s72) “ikinci oğlu Çağatay” gibi bir ibare kullanırken, Cuci’den mi, Ögedey’den sonraki ikinci çocuk olduğuna dair bir bilgi vermeyip bu konudaki hatayı muallakta bırakarak kitabının tutarlılığının benim açımdan sorgulanır hale getirmiştir.
Although the author used many valuable works and authors on Mongolian History while writing his book, he made a huge historical mistake by saying “Ögedey was the first child whose real father was Temuçin” in the first sentence of the section titled “Temujin is constantly rising” on page 42 of Chapter 3 without giving any sources. As is known from all existing Mongolian History and Genghis Khan works, Genghis Khan’s first child from Börte Hatun was Chagatai. Again, in the section titled “Major Figures” at the beginning of the book, the author gave correct information by saying “Çağatay was born in 1183”, but he made a mistake with the phrase “first child” on page 42. While using a phrase like “second son Çağatay” on the following pages (p72), he did not give any information about whether he was the second child from Cuci or Ögedey, leaving the mistake in this regard ambiguous, making the consistency of his book questionable in my opinion.
Although the author used many valuable works and authors on Mongolian History while writing his book, he made a huge historical mistake by saying “Ögedey was the first child whose real father was Temuçin” in the first sentence of the section titled “Temujin is constantly rising” on page 42 of Chapter 3 without giving any sources. As is known from all existing Mongolian History and Genghis Khan works, Genghis Khan’s first child from Börte Hatun was Chagatai. Again, in the section titled “Major Figures” at the beginning of the book, the author gave correct information by saying “Çağatay was born in 1183”, but he made a mistake with the phrase “first child” on page 42. While using a phrase like “second son Çağatay” on the following pages (p72), he did not give any information about whether he was the second child from Cuci or Ögedey, leaving the mistake in this regard ambiguous, making the consistency of his book questionable in my opinion.
February 8, 2025
Frank McLynn’s Genghis Khan: The Man Who Conquered the World starts off with promise, offering an engaging exploration of the Mongol leader’s early life and rise to power. The first 150 pages are well worth reading, providing a vivid account of Genghis Khan’s origins, strategic genius, and the brutal realities of steppe warfare. However, the book quickly loses momentum, descending into monotony as McLynn trudges through campaign after campaign with little variation in tone or insight.
One of the most frustrating aspects of McLynn’s writing is his habit of peppering the text with obscure French phrases - an odd and unnecessary affectation when discussing 13th-century Mongolia. Coupled with his preference for archaic and overly complex words, this stylistic choice makes the book feel needlessly pretentious. Rather than enhancing the narrative, it creates an impression that McLynn is more interested in demonstrating his own erudition than in making history accessible.
The later chapters suffer from a lack of fresh perspective, with repetitive accounts of conquests that blur together. While Genghis Khan’s military campaigns were undeniably epic, McLynn’s approach renders them tedious rather than awe-inspiring. The book might have been far more compelling with a sharper editorial hand and a more measured writing style.
Ultimately, Genghis Khan: The Man Who Conquered the World is a frustrating read. For those seeking a detailed yet readable account of the Mongol Empire, there are far better alternatives. This book might appeal to those with a deep academic interest in the period, but for the general reader, it is an exercise in endurance rather than enlightenment.
One of the most frustrating aspects of McLynn’s writing is his habit of peppering the text with obscure French phrases - an odd and unnecessary affectation when discussing 13th-century Mongolia. Coupled with his preference for archaic and overly complex words, this stylistic choice makes the book feel needlessly pretentious. Rather than enhancing the narrative, it creates an impression that McLynn is more interested in demonstrating his own erudition than in making history accessible.
The later chapters suffer from a lack of fresh perspective, with repetitive accounts of conquests that blur together. While Genghis Khan’s military campaigns were undeniably epic, McLynn’s approach renders them tedious rather than awe-inspiring. The book might have been far more compelling with a sharper editorial hand and a more measured writing style.
Ultimately, Genghis Khan: The Man Who Conquered the World is a frustrating read. For those seeking a detailed yet readable account of the Mongol Empire, there are far better alternatives. This book might appeal to those with a deep academic interest in the period, but for the general reader, it is an exercise in endurance rather than enlightenment.
December 17, 2019
Having read Lionheart and Lackland, Frank McLynn's enthralling twin biography of Richard the Lionheart and his younger brother John, I was looking forward to his life of the world's greatest ever conqueror, Genghis Khan. But while McLynn brought Richard and John and a cast of other characters (particularly the psychotic troubadour Bertran de Born) vividly to life in Lionheart and Lackland, he never achieves the same synthesis of historical scholarship and storytelling verve in this book. Genghis Khan and his band of generals remain obstinately stuck on the page rather than entering the reader's imagination: ciphers with an astonishing propensity to slaughter vast numbers of people. Maybe the problem is the one Hannah Arendt identified: evil tends to banality, and after slaughtering the inhabitants of yet another city for having the temerity to resist the Mongol onslaught, it all becomes, for the reader, a little tedious. Also, given the vast areas conquered and the part that rapid rides across difficult geographies played in the Mongol conquest, the book's allergy to maps is really rather puzzling. Many a page describing how the horde rode here, there and on could have been rendered superfluous and more understandable with a map. Still, the book is a solid overview of the conquests of the Khan and his immediate descendants.
September 8, 2017
it was worth a read. I didn't really want to finish the book because I was so in to it.
June 29, 2025
Amazing history of Genghis Khan from his family being thrown out of the clan to his formation of an empire!
October 16, 2025
Audiobook
March 30, 2024
My period of reading history nonfiction has begun. The starting book in this race is Genghis Khan: His Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy by Frank McLynn.
The author opens the story with a description of Mongolian geographical and climatic conditions, the peculiarities of life and the structure of the nomadic tribes inhabiting the country in the 12th and 13th centuries. Further, the book chronicles Temüjin's life meticulously: his childhood and youth, captivity and tribal struggle, and rise in power and grandiose conquests of neighbouring countries.
There were so many narrated battles that, here and there, I began to stall in this chaos – especially regarding the campaigns to capture Northern China. On the other hand, the information is presented in a structured, unfolded and thorough manner. The detailed story about the campaign in the Khwarazmian Empire and the conquest of Central Asia truly captivated me.
Generally, the book is a good biography of Genghis Khan, as well as the formation and heyday of his empire. Although the realm did not last long, it seriously influenced the creation of the ruling Chingizid dynasties in many countries.
The author opens the story with a description of Mongolian geographical and climatic conditions, the peculiarities of life and the structure of the nomadic tribes inhabiting the country in the 12th and 13th centuries. Further, the book chronicles Temüjin's life meticulously: his childhood and youth, captivity and tribal struggle, and rise in power and grandiose conquests of neighbouring countries.
There were so many narrated battles that, here and there, I began to stall in this chaos – especially regarding the campaigns to capture Northern China. On the other hand, the information is presented in a structured, unfolded and thorough manner. The detailed story about the campaign in the Khwarazmian Empire and the conquest of Central Asia truly captivated me.
Generally, the book is a good biography of Genghis Khan, as well as the formation and heyday of his empire. Although the realm did not last long, it seriously influenced the creation of the ruling Chingizid dynasties in many countries.
June 20, 2016
This biography of Genghis Khan describes both Khan's military campaigns and Mongol life at the time of his rise and during the time he ruled most of the known world. The author, Frank McLynn, describes the unlikely and self made rise and contrasts it with Alexander the Great inheriting his father's army and empire, Cesar expanding an already existing empire as opposed to creating it, Napoleon building upon on an existing French state and French revolution fervor--while Khan started as just one man in one of many tribes in the Mongol area with no known history of Mongol success and unity.
A surprising amount of the biography and Khan's life dealt with Khan's battles with other tribes before he became Khan; in many ways they were more difficult and challenging than his later world conquests, it also showed Khan's shrewdness, his divide and conquer tactics which included whenever possible fighting one rival tribe at a time. We also see how Khan cemented his victory; he dispersed defeated warriors (the ones he didn't execute) away from their homeland and from each other to minimize the possibility of future coalescing and revolt and he rewarded his soldiers with plunder, both in material treasures and in the abduction and rape of women from other tribes
After Khan unified Mongolia he turned his attention to conquering neighboring countries including simultaneous wars against a divided China and a present day Iran whose ruler did not enjoy the full support of its people. Khan lead the campaign into Persia while his generals went to China. The Mongols took advantages of the weaknesses of both, often forming alliances with different parts of China while attacking another, especially the Jin empire and in Persia Khan encouraged defections from opposing armies
McLynn describes the brutality of the Mongol conquests. While they would sometimes spare cities and armies who offered no resistance but instead gave tribute, if there was any resistance the Mongols were unsparing in their brutality. Into a battle an opponent would offer terms of surrender which the Mongols would accept and following the surrender the Mongols would ignore their promise of terms and butcher entire populations, sparing only the artisans and skilled craftsmen to be sent to different corners of the Mongol empire and of course attractive women who were raped and then enslaved and taken as concubines.
The book continues with conquests of Russia, Hungary, Poland and other portions of present day Europe and describes Khan's strategy for preserving the empire which includes the need for never ending conquest to obtain additional spoils for the ever increasing number of Khan's commanders and allies.
McLynn ends with what he describes as a balanced summary of Khan's life including his brutality in battle (thought put in context with comparable treatment by other armies of the time) with the "progressive" aspects of Mongol life in Khan's time; religious tolerance, allowing for cultural diversity, the treatment of Mongol woman which included numerous positions of leadership. I am somewhat unconvinced by this balance. There were many cities conquered by Khan that did not practice similar brutality and did not seek conquest by others, his murder of surrendered armies and cities was not widely practiced elsewhere, Khan was motivated by his concern of insufficient numbers of Mongols which lead to a genocidal reduction of potential enemies. Similarly, his religious tolerance resulted from his indifference to religion and a motivation to use it to obtain cooperation from conquered peoples. While Mongol woman may have treated with equality not seen in contemporary and even later societies, it has to be considered in light of the treatment of non Mongol woman who served as rape victims and enslaved concubines and ways of exacting revenge and deterring future opposition. But credit to McLynn, my somewhat different conclusions come only because McLynn wrote such a thorough, detailed biography that gives the reader the information to make its own decsions
A surprising amount of the biography and Khan's life dealt with Khan's battles with other tribes before he became Khan; in many ways they were more difficult and challenging than his later world conquests, it also showed Khan's shrewdness, his divide and conquer tactics which included whenever possible fighting one rival tribe at a time. We also see how Khan cemented his victory; he dispersed defeated warriors (the ones he didn't execute) away from their homeland and from each other to minimize the possibility of future coalescing and revolt and he rewarded his soldiers with plunder, both in material treasures and in the abduction and rape of women from other tribes
After Khan unified Mongolia he turned his attention to conquering neighboring countries including simultaneous wars against a divided China and a present day Iran whose ruler did not enjoy the full support of its people. Khan lead the campaign into Persia while his generals went to China. The Mongols took advantages of the weaknesses of both, often forming alliances with different parts of China while attacking another, especially the Jin empire and in Persia Khan encouraged defections from opposing armies
McLynn describes the brutality of the Mongol conquests. While they would sometimes spare cities and armies who offered no resistance but instead gave tribute, if there was any resistance the Mongols were unsparing in their brutality. Into a battle an opponent would offer terms of surrender which the Mongols would accept and following the surrender the Mongols would ignore their promise of terms and butcher entire populations, sparing only the artisans and skilled craftsmen to be sent to different corners of the Mongol empire and of course attractive women who were raped and then enslaved and taken as concubines.
The book continues with conquests of Russia, Hungary, Poland and other portions of present day Europe and describes Khan's strategy for preserving the empire which includes the need for never ending conquest to obtain additional spoils for the ever increasing number of Khan's commanders and allies.
McLynn ends with what he describes as a balanced summary of Khan's life including his brutality in battle (thought put in context with comparable treatment by other armies of the time) with the "progressive" aspects of Mongol life in Khan's time; religious tolerance, allowing for cultural diversity, the treatment of Mongol woman which included numerous positions of leadership. I am somewhat unconvinced by this balance. There were many cities conquered by Khan that did not practice similar brutality and did not seek conquest by others, his murder of surrendered armies and cities was not widely practiced elsewhere, Khan was motivated by his concern of insufficient numbers of Mongols which lead to a genocidal reduction of potential enemies. Similarly, his religious tolerance resulted from his indifference to religion and a motivation to use it to obtain cooperation from conquered peoples. While Mongol woman may have treated with equality not seen in contemporary and even later societies, it has to be considered in light of the treatment of non Mongol woman who served as rape victims and enslaved concubines and ways of exacting revenge and deterring future opposition. But credit to McLynn, my somewhat different conclusions come only because McLynn wrote such a thorough, detailed biography that gives the reader the information to make its own decsions
September 3, 2017
I’ve always had a soft spot for Genghis. He always seemed like a man who did not understand the word no, who simply did not know how to give up, who would take what he wanted, preferably when he wanted, but if not, he would come back later and take it. Apart from the basic knowledge, one of my earliest experiences of Genghis was in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, not a classic historical study, but a film that did make me think about figures of the past that I would love to meet if I had the chance.
Next up was Conn Iggulden’s Conqueror series, a fictional series of Genghis’s life, although largely based on fact, it gave me a much broader understanding of Genghis, although from what I remember, and correct me if I’m wrong Conn, painted him in an entirely flattering light.
But I heard rumours, I saw odd excerpts of his more dastardly actions, the mass killings and destruction of cities, he was, they claimed, terrible. A cruel despot who sated his blood lust with an orgy of death.
The Man Who Conquered The World is a detailed, richly painted narrative of Genghis’s life. From his early days of Temujin to the ruler of the biggest empire in the world.
The sheer number of names to remember means as a casual reader it can be difficult to keep up, there is a list of names at the beginning, and although I started flicking back to it at first, I soon gave up and lost myself in the endless stream of people, going back only occasionally if someone popped up who seemed of interest.
If you can put up with his tendency to use elaborate terms when more simple ones would suffice, which irritated me a lot more than I thought it would, McLynn’s book contains an abundance of information, set down in an informative if not mostly entertaining way. He details the sources of his information, pointing out where they are likely to be accurate or biased and the reasons for this, and where there is no information available, his assumptions seem well founded and reasonable.
Genghis took a fractured nomadic people and united them into an unstoppable war machine that conquered and subsumed entire populations, separating the artists from everyone else, but absorbing the existing administration into the Mongol whole. The initial struggle to besiege Chinese cities was remedied by learning from and incorporating Chinese siege tactics and machines into the Mongol arsenal. From the beginning, his inclination to promote based on merit rather than heritage set him apart from the other Khans, including his childhood friend Jamuga, and also built him up an incredible group of generals and leaders, as well as administrators and vassals.
Chinqai’s administrative genius was twofold. First, he had to solve problems caused by the Mongol’s ignorance of sedentary populations. The Mongols were nomads and warriors and had no one trained for the task of administration. Nor were they linguists, and in their raw state they knew nothing of a money economy. They therefore had to depend on literate, multilingual members of the very nations they had conquered. Like the British in the nineteenth century, they had to rule vast numbers with a tiny bureaucratic force and like them depended on quislings and converts to the Mongol vision of global conquest.
After his ascendancy to Genghis Khan, Genghis built his empire on reward, knowing if he kept his army and his subjects in booty they were less likely to rebel or scheme against him. It was the main reason for the ever increasing expansion, and the main reason why, at times he massacred populations, it removed the risk of attack once his army had moved on, deeper into what was at the time, enemy territory, and also reduced the administrative burden on the relatively small native Mongol population. Cold? yes, Calculated? Certainly, but here was a man whose vision was black and white, there was little room for grey, and if there was, it wasn’t tolerated for long.
For me, perhaps the greatest achievement of Genghis was the promotion of the those who showed talent, regardless of where they came from. He was a great reader of men, and had no racial or religious prejudice. Effectively delegating the conquest of China to his favourite general Muqali, while taking his sons to conquer central Asia and the middle east, and sending Subedei and Jebe on a great raid that introduced Europe to the Mongols.
Subedei may have been the master strategist but there is no reason to dissent from the view that Jebe was ‘probably the greatest cavalry general in the history of the world’. Eight hundred years later the scale of his achievement with Subedei on their great raid is still astonishing. In three years the two captains and their men rode 5,500 miles – history’s longest cavalry raid – won seven major battles (always against superior numbers) and several minor engagements and skirmishes, sacked scores of cities and revealed the world of Russia and eastern Europe to Genghis. Subedei made sure that this would be no evanescent achievement by leaving behind him a whole cadre of spies and secret agents who would keep the Mongols informed of all future developments in the West.
These generals were given great power and responsibility by Genghis, and although he could be paranoid and capricious, he rewarded handsomely those who served him well. There were times when some were rewarded perhaps more than they should have been and others, inexplicably not given the rewards they deserved. There were other flaws of course, Genghis was by no means perfect, and there were a few he indulged a little too much or for a little too long, particularly his family. Although he was furious with them if they did not do as instructed or rebelled against him, in some cases they were given leeway to repeat their transgressions two or three times.
Despite his abilities as a tactician, leader and strategist, his detail on organisation of his army, down to the night guards that protected him as he slept, the operation of the army, that could be split in two but regroup in less than a day, McLynn posits that potentially the ‘Mongol’ empire or conquest was likely to fail, in that they had to always expand and conquer due to their nomadic lifestyle and Genghis’s reward system. Eventually they would have run out of territory to conquer or would have had to become sedentary, giving up the nomadic lifestyle which had given them their tactical advantage. After his death, the empire was divided between his sons, which went on to cause civil war as, growing up in a world where the strongest take what they want, they jostled for the top position.
So, after reading a good 500 pages, is my soft spot still there? Yes. Genghis was someone who had vision, and an unwavering belief in what he wanted, and felt, he was meant to, achieve. Ultimately he achieved it all, at great cost to those in his way, but to great reward for those that aided him. McLynn’s book does well to reveal the man behind the legend.
(blog review here)
Next up was Conn Iggulden’s Conqueror series, a fictional series of Genghis’s life, although largely based on fact, it gave me a much broader understanding of Genghis, although from what I remember, and correct me if I’m wrong Conn, painted him in an entirely flattering light.
But I heard rumours, I saw odd excerpts of his more dastardly actions, the mass killings and destruction of cities, he was, they claimed, terrible. A cruel despot who sated his blood lust with an orgy of death.
The Man Who Conquered The World is a detailed, richly painted narrative of Genghis’s life. From his early days of Temujin to the ruler of the biggest empire in the world.
The sheer number of names to remember means as a casual reader it can be difficult to keep up, there is a list of names at the beginning, and although I started flicking back to it at first, I soon gave up and lost myself in the endless stream of people, going back only occasionally if someone popped up who seemed of interest.
If you can put up with his tendency to use elaborate terms when more simple ones would suffice, which irritated me a lot more than I thought it would, McLynn’s book contains an abundance of information, set down in an informative if not mostly entertaining way. He details the sources of his information, pointing out where they are likely to be accurate or biased and the reasons for this, and where there is no information available, his assumptions seem well founded and reasonable.
Genghis took a fractured nomadic people and united them into an unstoppable war machine that conquered and subsumed entire populations, separating the artists from everyone else, but absorbing the existing administration into the Mongol whole. The initial struggle to besiege Chinese cities was remedied by learning from and incorporating Chinese siege tactics and machines into the Mongol arsenal. From the beginning, his inclination to promote based on merit rather than heritage set him apart from the other Khans, including his childhood friend Jamuga, and also built him up an incredible group of generals and leaders, as well as administrators and vassals.
Chinqai’s administrative genius was twofold. First, he had to solve problems caused by the Mongol’s ignorance of sedentary populations. The Mongols were nomads and warriors and had no one trained for the task of administration. Nor were they linguists, and in their raw state they knew nothing of a money economy. They therefore had to depend on literate, multilingual members of the very nations they had conquered. Like the British in the nineteenth century, they had to rule vast numbers with a tiny bureaucratic force and like them depended on quislings and converts to the Mongol vision of global conquest.
After his ascendancy to Genghis Khan, Genghis built his empire on reward, knowing if he kept his army and his subjects in booty they were less likely to rebel or scheme against him. It was the main reason for the ever increasing expansion, and the main reason why, at times he massacred populations, it removed the risk of attack once his army had moved on, deeper into what was at the time, enemy territory, and also reduced the administrative burden on the relatively small native Mongol population. Cold? yes, Calculated? Certainly, but here was a man whose vision was black and white, there was little room for grey, and if there was, it wasn’t tolerated for long.
For me, perhaps the greatest achievement of Genghis was the promotion of the those who showed talent, regardless of where they came from. He was a great reader of men, and had no racial or religious prejudice. Effectively delegating the conquest of China to his favourite general Muqali, while taking his sons to conquer central Asia and the middle east, and sending Subedei and Jebe on a great raid that introduced Europe to the Mongols.
Subedei may have been the master strategist but there is no reason to dissent from the view that Jebe was ‘probably the greatest cavalry general in the history of the world’. Eight hundred years later the scale of his achievement with Subedei on their great raid is still astonishing. In three years the two captains and their men rode 5,500 miles – history’s longest cavalry raid – won seven major battles (always against superior numbers) and several minor engagements and skirmishes, sacked scores of cities and revealed the world of Russia and eastern Europe to Genghis. Subedei made sure that this would be no evanescent achievement by leaving behind him a whole cadre of spies and secret agents who would keep the Mongols informed of all future developments in the West.
These generals were given great power and responsibility by Genghis, and although he could be paranoid and capricious, he rewarded handsomely those who served him well. There were times when some were rewarded perhaps more than they should have been and others, inexplicably not given the rewards they deserved. There were other flaws of course, Genghis was by no means perfect, and there were a few he indulged a little too much or for a little too long, particularly his family. Although he was furious with them if they did not do as instructed or rebelled against him, in some cases they were given leeway to repeat their transgressions two or three times.
Despite his abilities as a tactician, leader and strategist, his detail on organisation of his army, down to the night guards that protected him as he slept, the operation of the army, that could be split in two but regroup in less than a day, McLynn posits that potentially the ‘Mongol’ empire or conquest was likely to fail, in that they had to always expand and conquer due to their nomadic lifestyle and Genghis’s reward system. Eventually they would have run out of territory to conquer or would have had to become sedentary, giving up the nomadic lifestyle which had given them their tactical advantage. After his death, the empire was divided between his sons, which went on to cause civil war as, growing up in a world where the strongest take what they want, they jostled for the top position.
So, after reading a good 500 pages, is my soft spot still there? Yes. Genghis was someone who had vision, and an unwavering belief in what he wanted, and felt, he was meant to, achieve. Ultimately he achieved it all, at great cost to those in his way, but to great reward for those that aided him. McLynn’s book does well to reveal the man behind the legend.
(blog review here)
August 14, 2018
Frank McLynnn chronicles the life of Genghis from his early years as Temujin to his conquests as Genghis. The level of detail, for anyone who doesn't already know the chronology of Genghis's life, turns this into a genuine page-turner that almost seems like a fictional medieval fantasy.
Starting with a little historical background about Mongolia, which is essential to understanding the environment into which Genghis was born, McLynn proceeds with the story of his early years, fraternal power struggles and rise to power within Mongolia. There is a particularly interesting subplot around what would be called his "blood brother" Jamuga. The second half of this biography focuses on the expansion of the Mongolian empire into China and central Asia, detailing the military aspects (which seems to be the author's expert field) as well the bureaucratic necessities and social changes that inevitably occur with such rapid expansion.
The number of battles is staggering and at times their is an air of monotony but it would be pretty difficult to totally avoid this. The author also seems to have an affinity to referencing other historic characters and battles that many readers will simply not know about, added to his persistent use of phrases such as "guerre a outrance", "in terrorem", "casus belli" etc with no explanation of what the phrases mean can become a bit tiresome (if like me you are not a foreign language expert) and there are at least a few of these in every chapter. Some of the conclusions he makes are either inaccurate or unproven, a prime example being that Genghis may have died from cancer caused by falling of his horse. In summary, this is a thoroughly researched book which I greatly enjoyed and would recommend to anyone wanting to learn about the life of Genghis and his immediate successors.
Starting with a little historical background about Mongolia, which is essential to understanding the environment into which Genghis was born, McLynn proceeds with the story of his early years, fraternal power struggles and rise to power within Mongolia. There is a particularly interesting subplot around what would be called his "blood brother" Jamuga. The second half of this biography focuses on the expansion of the Mongolian empire into China and central Asia, detailing the military aspects (which seems to be the author's expert field) as well the bureaucratic necessities and social changes that inevitably occur with such rapid expansion.
The number of battles is staggering and at times their is an air of monotony but it would be pretty difficult to totally avoid this. The author also seems to have an affinity to referencing other historic characters and battles that many readers will simply not know about, added to his persistent use of phrases such as "guerre a outrance", "in terrorem", "casus belli" etc with no explanation of what the phrases mean can become a bit tiresome (if like me you are not a foreign language expert) and there are at least a few of these in every chapter. Some of the conclusions he makes are either inaccurate or unproven, a prime example being that Genghis may have died from cancer caused by falling of his horse. In summary, this is a thoroughly researched book which I greatly enjoyed and would recommend to anyone wanting to learn about the life of Genghis and his immediate successors.
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