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Available
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Publication
Bantam (1965), Paperback, 240 pages
Description
Eight hundred or so years ago, a man almost conquered the earth. He made himself master of half the known world and inspired humankind with a fear that lasted for generations. Genghis Khan, meaning universal ruler, was a man difficult to measure by ordinary standards. When he marched with his army, it was by degrees of latitude and longitude instead of miles; cities in his path were often obliterated and rivers diverted from their courses; deserts were populated with the fleeing and dying, and after he had passed, wolves and ravens were often the sole living things in a once populous area.
User reviews
LibraryThing member badgenome
Not a terribly academic work; rather, Lamb employed the skills he'd honed as a writer of adventurous fiction to create what might be called a romanticized pulp history. Originally published in 1927, it's still the most popular history about the father of the Mongols- thanks in no small part to its
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galloping pace and gripping narrative. Show Less
LibraryThing member keylawk
"Genghis Khan was careful to preserve what he thought might be useful to himself and his people; the rest was destroyed....Because GK did not, like Muhammad the prophet, make war on the world for a religion, or -- like Alexander and Napoleon--for personal and political aggrandizement, we have been
The author lists examples of GK's laws translated from Petis de la Croix, gleaned from various sources.
The Yakka, one of the smaller nomad horse tribes in the Gobi Desert, 1162 A.D. could not be less likely to produce the most successful war-maker in history, Temujin, known in history as Genghis Khan. The clansmen were war-hungry and occupied in ancient feuds, exterminating entire people in a fight for spoil, pasture, [24] and surplus women. Temujin assembled a kurultai feast at the foot of Deligoun-Bouldak, and asked for pledges, for unity, for "Mongols" to be made from the mysterious Ugurs, the stalwart Karaits, the hardy Yakka, the ferocious Tartars, the dour Merkits, the hunters of game. He invoked the Yassa [code of tribal laws and his will], and held before them a vision of strength through unity [74-75].
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mystified. The explanation of the mystery lies in the primitive simplicity of the Mongol's character. He took from the world what he wanted for his sons and his people. He did this by war, because he knew no other means. What he did not want he destroyed, because he did not know that else to do with it." [200]The author lists examples of GK's laws translated from Petis de la Croix, gleaned from various sources.
The Yakka, one of the smaller nomad horse tribes in the Gobi Desert, 1162 A.D. could not be less likely to produce the most successful war-maker in history, Temujin, known in history as Genghis Khan. The clansmen were war-hungry and occupied in ancient feuds, exterminating entire people in a fight for spoil, pasture, [24] and surplus women. Temujin assembled a kurultai feast at the foot of Deligoun-Bouldak, and asked for pledges, for unity, for "Mongols" to be made from the mysterious Ugurs, the stalwart Karaits, the hardy Yakka, the ferocious Tartars, the dour Merkits, the hunters of game. He invoked the Yassa [code of tribal laws and his will], and held before them a vision of strength through unity [74-75].
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Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1927
ISBN
none