Genghis Khan: Life, Death, and Resurrection [Paperback]

John Man (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 6, 2007

Genghis Khan is one of history's immortals, alive in memory as a scourge, hero, military genius and demi-god. To Muslims, Russians and westerners, he is a murderer of millions, a brutal oppressor. Yet in his homeland of Mongolia he is the revered father of the nation, and the Chinese honor him as the founder of a dynasty. In his so-called Mausoleum in Inner Mongolia, worshippers seek the blessing of his spirit. In a supreme paradox, the world's most ruthless conqueror has become a force for peace and reconciliation.

As a teenager, Genghis was a fugitive, hiding from enemies on a remote mountainside. Yet he went on to found the world's greatest land empire and change the course of world history. Brilliant and original as well as ruthless, he ruled an empire twice the size of Rome's until his death in 1227 placed all at risk. To secure his conquests and then extend them, his heirs kept his death a secret, and secrecy has surrounded him ever since. His undiscovered grave, with its imagined treasures, remains the subject of intrigue and speculation.

This is more than just a gripping account of Genghis' rise and conquests. John Man uses first-hand experiences in China and Mongolia to reveal the khan's enduring influence. He has traveled the length of the empire. He spotlights the tension between Mongols and Chinese, who both claim Genghis' spirit. He is the first writer to explore the hidden valley where Genghis is believed to have died, and one of the few westerners to climb the mountain where he was likely buried.

This stunning narrative paints a vivid picture of the man himself, the places where he lived and fought, and the passions that surround him still. For in legend, ritual and intense controversy, Genghis lives on.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Man posits that this engrossing book is the result of his ambition to travel to somewhere remote, and that Mongolia, China, and the Gobi Desert are such places. He maintains that secrecy is an important theme of the book: how and where Genghis Khan died, and how and where he was buried. Man chronicles the early history of Mongolia, the coming of the Mongols' conquests of China and other Asian kingdoms, and what he calls the Muslim holocaust. He cites that "there were 100,000 to 150,000 soldiers, each with two or three horses . . . they could cover 100 kilometers a day, cross deserts, swim rivers, and materialize and vanish as if by magic." He says that prisoners had a triple use: as a slave labor force of specialist artisans, as soldiers in the army's nonnomadic contingents, and as "cannon fodder." Genghis Khan fell seriously ill, perhaps with typhus, and died in 1227, and not much is certain about his burial site; the record is, according to the author, "infuriatingly vague." George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Absorbing and beautifully written . . . A thrilling account."--The Guardian (U.K.)

"Man has scholarly gifts as well as an acute intelligence and a winning way with words. This is a fine introduction to the subject, as well as a rattling good read."--The Independent (U.K.)

"Every bit as gripping as its subject deserves. History doesn't get much more enthralling than this."--York Evening Post (U.K.)

"Chaucer lauded Genghis Khan in his Canterbury Tales, while others have compared him to Satan (sometimes to Satan's advantage). In this lively volume, historian and travel writer Man presents parallel yet conflicting views of the imperialist and Mongolian national hero. The Great Khan unified the nomadic Mongols, destroyed obstructive empires, built the largest land empire in history, opened trade from Japan to Europe, and in general made way for the modern world. His tactics included murderous but focused terror, multicultural statesmanship, and sheer energy (DNA studies estimate that his genes are in eight percent of the men of Eurasia)."--Library Journal

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (February 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312366248
• ISBN-13: 978-0312366247
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #603,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

JOHN MAN

I usually write non-fiction, mainly exploring interests in Asia and the history of written communication. So 'The Lion's Share', available only on Kindle, is something different - a new edition of a thriller written some 25 years ago when I wasn't sure what I wanted to focus on. It's about the 'real' - in quotes, i.e. fictional - fate of Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia.

Most of the time, I like to mix history, narrative and personal experience, exploring the places I write about. It brings things to life, and it's a reaction against an enclosed, secure, rural childhood in Kent. I did German and French at Oxford, and two postgraduate courses, History and Philosophy of Science at Oxford and Mongolian at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London (to join an expedition that never happened).

After working in journalism and publishing, I turned to writing, with occasional forays into film, TV and radio. A planned trilogy on three major revolutions in writing has resulted in two books, 'Alpha Beta' (on the alphabet) and 'The Gutenberg Revolution', both republished in 2009. The third, on the origin of writing, is on hold, because it depends on researching in Iraq. (On the fourth revolution, the Internet, many others can write far better than me).

My interest in Mongolia revived in 1996 when I spent a couple of months in the Gobi. 'Gobi: Tracking the Desert' was the first book on the region since the 1920's (those by the American explorer Roy Chapman Andrews). In Mongolia, everything leads back to Genghis. I followed. The result was 'Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Resurrection', now appearing in 20 languages. Luckily, there's more to Mongol studies than Genghis. 'Attila the Hun' and 'Kublai Khan' came next.

Another main theme in Asian history is the ancient and modern relationship between Mongolia and China. 'The Terracotta Army', published to in 2007, was followed by 'The Great Wall', which took me from Xinjiang to the Pacific. 'The Leadership Secrets of Genghis Khan' (combining history, character analysis and modern leadership theory) and 'Xanadu: Marco Polo and Europe's Discovery of the East' pretty much exhausted Inner Asian themes for me.

So recently I have become interested in Japan. For 'Samurai: The Last Warrior', I followed in the footsteps of Saigo Takamori, the real 'Last Samurai', published in February 2011. After that, more fiction, perhaps.

I live in north London, inspired by a strong and beautiful family - wife, children and grand-children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Strange Mix, November 9, 2005

By 

William D. Shingleton "Wishful Thinking Is No... (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Genghis Khan: Life, Death, and Resurrection (Hardcover)

Genghis Khan by John Man is a strange mix of history and travelogue that doesn't seem to hang well together. Man has attempted to meld his personal experiences travelling Mongolia to visit the major Genghis-related sites with a history of Genghis Khan. As a result, you will find out not only about that 13-th century builder of the Mongol nation and empire but also about Man's trevails attempting to find Burkhan Khaldun, Mongolia's sacred mountain. If you like to see some of the author's personality injected into a story about someone else, this may enhance the book for you. If you find such things unprofessional or uninteresting, this is not the history of Genghis Khan that you want to read.

Genghis Khan the book is clearly written as a popular history. There are few footnotes and little in the way of new ground is broken when it comes to research on Genghis. Instead, Man appears to rely on the established (albeit conflicting) sources that have been used by other scholars. Significantly, Man goes to great lengths to point out and discuss the major debates when it comes to Genghis Khan's life, a major positive point for this book. He also mines previously uncovered primary sources such as The Secret History for all that they are worth.

The book really falls into three sections. The first deals with many of the legends that surround Genghis Khan and his early youth. Due to the lack of sources on Genghis this section reads almost more like mythology than history. The beginning is also marked by a stretch of Man discussing his travels in Mongolia to sites where Genghis may have been born.

After about 50 pages the hazy mythology of Genghis gives way to more detailed and authoritative accounts of the major events of Genghis' rise to power and his conquest of China and Eurasia. This account forms the second section of the book and lasts for about 200 pages. Man's account deals mostly with political events and does not delve into much detail regarding Genghis' personal life, likely because such information simply does not exist. However, Man paints a portrait of Genghis as ruler, including his willingness to learn from the technology and education of his enemies both to increase the Mongols' military might and to improve administration in the newly-won and ravaged territories.

The final section of the book reverts back to mythology and speculation and deals with Genghis' death and burial. Since the location of Genghis' grave remains unknown, it is an attractive target for research, and Man is clearly fascinated by the issue. Like the first section, this section contains long passages regarding Man's search for possible grave locations, including details about what he ate and who his guides were.

While I personally do not care for the way that Man has interjected himself, the book remains extremely readable and accessable to the non-expert on Mongolia. While Man makes the point that Genghis was not the mindless barbarian that so many histories portray, he also does not shy away from discussing the scale of the descruction wroght by the Mongols. Because of the passage of time and the lack of credible primary sources, it is impossible to tell how many people perished under Mongol swords, but Man does an admirable job of trying to parse the approximate numbers. He doesn't flinch from discussing the negatives of the Mongols and deserves credit for not turning this project into a hagiography.

The bottom line is that this is not a book for experts but is not a bad jumping-off point for someone with a casual interest in Genghis Khan. I suspect that this book is particularly useful and interesting for people who may actually be travelling to Mongolia on business or a lark and want to get oriented. I just think that the melding of the author's personal experiences with the history of Genghis the man detracts from the overall quality of what is otherwise a good survey of one of the most important figures of the last 2,000 years.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Chinggis Khan...??? Temujin...?? Genghis Khan...sound familiar?..read on..., December 14, 2005

By 

El Zahrul "el" (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Genghis Khan: Life, Death, and Resurrection (Hardcover)

The book gives a general idea of the "man", his background, his conquests and the mystery that eludes and shrouds him. The Great Khan is truly mysterious...and with limited historical records, I am greatful that the author has sacrificed time and effort to personally experience, the Mongolian experience, in order to get in touch with the atmosphere and conditons that Genghis may have experienced. These personal accounts sometimes got in my way while reading, I just wanted the author to get on with it... yet at times these personal accounts were justifiable as they helped in clarifying certain points.
Overall, I'd say the book was ok... its in my personal book collection... my quest for another book on the Great Khan will not end here...

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars History's Most Lovable Bloodthirsty Tyrant, April 15, 2006

By 

doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Genghis Khan: Life, Death, and Resurrection (Hardcover)

Mainstream historians may object to some of the claims in this book, but John Man has created quite a readable mix of travelogue and history. This is more a work of interpretation, rather than direct research, as Man has combined his own past learning about Genghis Khan and the Mongols with his modern-day travels to Mongolia in search of surviving relics. So do not expect newly detailed research breakthroughs, because this is one of those "living history" books. One particular problem is that Man uses a lot of conjecture and opinionating when tackling gaps or contradictions in the historical record. But in the end, we do get a very good summary of all the present knowledge on Genghis and his descendants, and Man engagingly discusses this very intriguing and complex historical personage. This especially applies to how Genghis was surely a genius in military strategy and administration, and was a remarkable leader of men, while also being responsible for the destruction of dozens of classic cities and the slaughter of probably a few million people. Man also discusses the sheer hugeness of the Mongols' empire-building practices, why these once-anarchic nomads decided to destroy every settled civilization in the known world then return to their simple pastoral lives, and how Genghis has been deified as both a god and a devil by multiple societies ever since. Add to this Man's exploration of the modern landscape and the Mongols' ongoing influence, and this conjectural but still very readable book really shows what made Genghis and his boys tick. [~doomsdayer520~]