GENGHIS KHAN AND THE MAKING OF THE MODERN WORLD

Considering the sum of his life, his deeds, and his far-reaching legacy, the book explains how culture under Genghis Khan’s (and his descendents’) rule blossomed into one more progressive than his European counterparts’: he banned torture, smashed feudal systems, and granted religious freedom.

“Reads like the Iliad… Part travelogue, part epic narrative.”—Washington Post

“It’s hard to think of anyone else who rose from such inauspicious beginnings to something so awesome, except maybe Jesus.”—Harper’s

“Weatherford’s lively analysis restores the Mongol’s reputation, and it takes wonderful learned detours…. Well written and full of suprises.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Weatherford is a fantastic storyteller…. [His] portrait of Khan is drawn with sufficiently self-complicating depth…. Weatherford’s account gives a generous view of the Mongol conqueror at his best and worst.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune