The whole world knows the name Genghis Khan, but for most people that is all they know – historian Frank McLynn digs deep to try and bring the man behind the name to life.
This hefty hardback, covering almost 700 pages, goes to great lengths to show how an illiterate nomad built an empire stretching from Asia to Europe. He spares no detail with the Mongolian weather and even its flora and fauna examined to help explain how the Mongols became one of the most feared armies the world has ever seen.
McLynn praises his subject’s military genius but does not shy away from the horrific death toll that accompanies his rise to power – estimating he was responsible for the deaths of more than 30 million people.
Even someone who writes as well as McLynn could not make a mass murderer likeable, but he does make you realise just how remarkable he must have been.
