In The Empire of Genghis Khan: An Amazing Odyssey Through the Lands of the Most Feared Conquerors in History [Hardcover]

Stanley Stewart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 18, 2002

Vivid, hilarious, and compelling, this eagerly awaited book takes its place among the travel classics. It is a thrilling tale of adventure, a comic masterpiece, and an evocative portrait of a medieval land marooned in the modern world. Eight and a half centuries ago, under Genghis Khan, the Mongols burst forth from Central Asia in a series of spectacular conquests that took them from the Danube to the Yellow Sea. Their empire was seen as the final triumph of the nomadic "barbarians."In this remarkable book Stanley Stewart sets off on a pilgrimage across the old empire, from Istanbul to the distant homeland of the Mongol hordes. The heart of his odyssey is a thousand-mile ride, traveling by horse, through trackless land. On a journey full of bizarre characters and unexpected encounters, he crosses the desert and mountains of Central Asia to arrive at the windswept grasslands of the steppes, the birthplace of Genghis Khan. (6 x 9, 288 pages)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Stewart, a British journalist and travel writer (Old Serpent Nile), takes a 1,000-mile horseback journey across Mongolia, the homeland of Genghis Khan. The author has a gift for merging history and anecdote and succeeds in engaging the reader throughout this informed narrative. Although their culture is dying out, nomadic Mongolians still live in gers (wood-framed felt tents) that can be quickly dismantled and transported across the Asian steppes as they travel continuously on horseback in search of pasture for their sheep, goats and yaks. Stewart vividly describes the days he spent on horseback with his guides, riding through desolate but breathtaking scenery. During his trip, he enjoyed remarkable hospitality from the nomads, who gave him a place to sleep and fed him mutton and airag (fermented mare's milk). His unusual adventures include a wedding, an encounter with a shaman and a visit to a clan meeting. Stewart blames the brutal introduction of communism into the country for Mongolia's troubles and, unfortunately, demonstrates his contempt for Russia by caricaturing many of the Russians he encountered. But this is the only discordant note in an otherwise excellent travelogue, which received the U.K.'s 2001 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award. Photos.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Stewart finally fulfilled a childhood desire to experience nomadic Mongol life when he set out on a 1000-mile trek on horseback across Outer Mongolia. Enlisting the services of a sturdy steed and, at separate stages, two guide-translators, he traversed the Gobi desert to Quaraqorum, the ancient capital, and pressed on to Dadal, the birthplace of Genghis Khan. Relishing Mongol customs and culture, he slept in round-tented gurs, drank airag (fermented mare's milk), devoured mutton with his various hosts, and, among other empathetic gestures, partook in a shaman's divinatory ceremony. His observations of social and spiritual detail are supplemented with relevant historical background, and his more memorable encounters are often imbued with affable-if not self-deprecating-humor. Stewart, the only author to have twice received the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award (for both this title and his earlier Frontiers of Heaven), offers an engaging travel memoir. Recommended for most public and academic libraries.
Lonnie Weatherby, McGill Univ. Lib., Montreal
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (November 18, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585747033
• ISBN-13: 978-1585747030
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,683,661 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #71 in Books > History > Asia > Mongolia

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Persistent sarcasm saps an otherwise first-rate travelogue, July 12, 2004

By 

Jesse Steven Hargrave (Silver City, NM) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: In the Empire of Genghis Khan: An Amazing Odyssey Through the Lands of the Most Feared Conquerors in History (Paperback)

An award-winning travel writer decides to make a trip on horseback across one of the most unknown and unforgiving terrains - to Westerners - on the planet and then to write about his journey. We have certain expectations. We'll learn something about the people and their customs. The scenery and landscape will be revealed as novel and inspiring. The region's history will be uncovered. Or perhaps the book will be filled with adventures and mishaps that make for good story-telling.

"In the Empire of Genghis Khan" is made up all those elements, and author Stanley Stewart handles most of them especially well. Others, not so well.

Stewart begins with a crossing from Istanbul to the western edge of Mongolia on slightly modern conveyances. He intends to roughly follow the path of a 13th century missionary, Friar William of Rubruck. These first legs of the journey are indeed characterized by situations and characters whose portrayals remind a reader of a Joseph Conrad novel.

Once in Mongolia, Stewart saddles up his first horse. He uses the Friar's account as a foil for contrasting with his own 20th century encounters. But the author is most successful when describing the Mongolian countryside, which has changed little from that earlier exploration. In this Stewart's language is evocative and crisp, capable of creating a truly unique atmospheric texture.

Otherwise, Stewart writes in a slight but persistent mocking tone. This sardonic tinge spares only the landscape, the occasional attractive woman, and the author's own thoughts. Mongolian customs and most Mongolians are treated with more than a trace of condescension. Even Mongolian hospitality which seems to the reader engaging and unfailing is treated with subtle derision. And Stewart proves to be an equal-opportunity derider, mocking Russians in a way that calls up the usual stereotypes. Some of this Stewart pulls off in humorous fashion. But the incessant mockery leaves the reader questioning the author's ability to truly appreciate a different way of life. It's an odd weakness - or choice - for a serial traveler.

As he recounts his journey, Stewart educates us on Mongolian history. The Genghis Kahn story is integrated with the travelogue in effective fashion. As for more recent history, the author provides only the minimally requisite facts until near the end. Then in the penultimate chapter he unloads the details of the Soviet occupation and eventual withdrawal in somewhat textbook fashion. Although fascinating enough in its interplay with aspects of Mongolian character, the chapter seems perfunctory and of little real interest to Stewart.

But these failures of nuance are continually redeemed by Stewart's descriptions when actually on horseback, seemingly alone with the elements. Here Stewart seems to have an inexhaustible supply of on-target metaphors. Crystalline sentences convey a real sense of why travel to new reaches is always compelling, even when vicarious.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding!!!, March 4, 2003

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In The Empire of Genghis Khan: An Amazing Odyssey Through the Lands of the Most Feared Conquerors in History (Hardcover)

Since 1980, the Thomas Cook Travel Book of the Year has been considered the travel writing equivalent to the Booker or Pulitzer, and this Stewart's second book to win the prestigious honor. The book's framework is Stewart's plan to travel from roughly the western edge of the 12th-century Mongol empire to the mountain in eastern Mongolia where Ghengis Khan was buried. The first quarter of the book covers his trip from Istanbul to the the Crimea on a decrepit Russian cargo ship, across Ukraine, Russia, and Kazakhstan by train, and by air into Mongolia. This is all warmup for Mongolia itself, as he intersperses the history Mongol conquest with that of a proselytizing mission made by a Franciscan monk to the Mongol court in 1253, as well as his own encounters with a gun-toting teenage Russian smuggler, a Dickens-loving Russian procuress, and various lonely souls.

Once in Mongolia, Stewart switches to horseback, as his plan is to ride over 1,000 miles across its breadth. With a succession of translators, guides, and horses, he find that the happiest and healthiest Mongols live virtually the same nomadic lives as their ancestors of five centuries ago. Even accounting for a certain degree of romanticization of the countryside, it's hard to find anything redeeming about the settlements he passes through. Virtually all are crumbling towns with few permanent residents beyond a mayor, policeman, and a few other caretakers. These regional centers are ugly concrete legacies of the Soviet era which have been largely abandoned since the end of Soviet aid and seem destined to return to the earth.

Out in the countryside, Stewart meets innumerable nomads, takes part in a wedding, visits a shaman, goes to a festival which includes horse-races and wrestling, and generally finds the people to be friendly and curious. Of course the landscape features prominently, and people with horses may find themselves yearning to across the world to ride next to history's most famous horsemen. The real pleasure of the book is that while Stewart does all these fascinating things, he writes about it in simply stunning prose liberally sprinkled with humor and heart. [...]

It's a fascinating and funny book, and one that should read by anyone with an interest in other cultures. One interesting footnote: in discussing the book, several professional reviews have said that the Mongolian nomadic life will likely "die out in our lifetime." This is directly opposite to what Stewart describes! He is very clear that the nomadic lifestyle is the only one which makes much sense in a country like Mongolia, and that the vast majority of people prefer not to live in urban areas!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book, though there is a bit of sarcasm, September 6, 2004

By 

R. Coleman "rcoleman127" (Oklahoma City, OK United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In The Empire of Genghis Khan: An Amazing Odyssey Through the Lands of the Most Feared Conquerors in History (Hardcover)

I found this to be a great book that kept me reading late into the night. There is a bit of sarcasm at times, but I didn't find it enough to take away from the book. He portrays the Mongolians as people; with all the quirks that that word entails. He brought to life a country shrouded in mystery, and content with their way of life.