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The Gory Story of Genghis Khan: Aka Don’t Mess with the Mongols
Did the Mongols really drink horse’s blood? What was the one thing that made the mighty Genghis Khan tremble in his boots? Why did Mongol soldiers wear silk underwear and leather soaked in horse wee? What made Genghis Khan's international spy network so super-sneaky?
Armed with an intriguing tale, fabulously foul facts, wonderfully wacky illustrations and our time-travelling commentator Yakkety Yak’s appalling jokes, Nayanika Mahtani sets out to explore whether Genghis Khan really was the evil villain that he is often made out to be.
Prepare for a riveting, rip-roaring read—packed with unusual surprises!
Age group- 9-16
Armed with an intriguing tale, fabulously foul facts, wonderfully wacky illustrations and our time-travelling commentator Yakkety Yak’s appalling jokes, Nayanika Mahtani sets out to explore whether Genghis Khan really was the evil villain that he is often made out to be.
Prepare for a riveting, rip-roaring read—packed with unusual surprises!
Age group- 9-16
208 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 8, 2017
1 person is currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Nayanika Mahtani
3 books15 followersNayanika Mahtani once dreamed of a career in musical theatre, but took a detour to pursue an MBA at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore, which led her into investment banking. Nayanika is now an award-winning author and screenwriter based in London.
Her books, published by Penguin Random House, span genres from historical fiction to multi-generational family sagas. They have received critical acclaim, bestseller recognition, and awards, including the prestigious South Asia Book Award.
In film, Nayanika has co-written the story and screenplay for the Hindi film, Shakuntala Devi, starring Vidya Balan. Released on Amazon Prime, the film became one of the platform’s most-watched Hindi titles globally at the time. She is currently collaborating with leading directors and studios on a slate of films and web series. Nayanika has also adapted a published memoir into a screenplay for a limited series, and is developing a film adaptation of her YA novel Across the Line, rooted in the Partition of the subcontinent.
Nayanika’s presence extends beyond the page and screen—she is a regular speaker at literary festivals around the world, including the Jaipur Literature Festival (in Jaipur and London), as well as events across the UK, USA, UAE, India, Pakistan, and Bhutan.
Her books, published by Penguin Random House, span genres from historical fiction to multi-generational family sagas. They have received critical acclaim, bestseller recognition, and awards, including the prestigious South Asia Book Award.
In film, Nayanika has co-written the story and screenplay for the Hindi film, Shakuntala Devi, starring Vidya Balan. Released on Amazon Prime, the film became one of the platform’s most-watched Hindi titles globally at the time. She is currently collaborating with leading directors and studios on a slate of films and web series. Nayanika has also adapted a published memoir into a screenplay for a limited series, and is developing a film adaptation of her YA novel Across the Line, rooted in the Partition of the subcontinent.
Nayanika’s presence extends beyond the page and screen—she is a regular speaker at literary festivals around the world, including the Jaipur Literature Festival (in Jaipur and London), as well as events across the UK, USA, UAE, India, Pakistan, and Bhutan.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 20, 2019
The book is funny and entertaining . The story of Genghis is told by a comical Yakkety Yak, a news reporter Hearfurst and a seer . With easy converstions , lovely illustrations and even rap songs - the book is very easy to read and presents a plethore of well researched , little known facts in an easy to read entertaining way. kudos to Nayanika for having made history and even the Gory Gengis Khan almost "great"! A must read for all - My 9 year old , a huge fan of the horrible History series has really lapped this one up, and wants to know if there are more coming...
September 3, 2017
Irreverential, light-hearted narration of Genghiz Khan's story.. Good read for kids above 9 years of age... Although there are descriptions of his terror tactics..
February 15, 2019
A book for children. Well written. Tells the story of Genghis Khan and his conquests with maps and in a funny way. Nice and quick read.
June 2, 2019
Nice book; well researched, creatively written & Certainly not boring. Also Liked the flow she used.
November 14, 2017
“Yaargh”! I really liked this book. It was full of war and death, though. It was interesting the way the commentators Yakkety Yak and Yeherdit Hearfurst cracked jokes. It was hilarious. The illustrations and the book cover is beautiful. I also liked the way Nayanika Mahtani, the London based writer describes the times. ‘Altan can cook an epic”. Interesting Mongol and Mughal connection! What’s so special about the book is that it makes children look back into history which educates them. Genghis Khan is rather a hard topic too. It made me feel very sad as there is so much killing but, it made me laugh out loud too as it was hilarious. So, it was a little bit of both the feelings. There is so much to learn about history and that’s why I loved the book. I would recommend this book to all my friends and give it a five-star rating! - Anushka Tonapi, Bangalore, India.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews