Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

By: Jack Weatherford

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Jack Weatherford

Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization.

Vastly more progressive than his European or Asian counterparts, Genghis Khan abolished torture, granted universal religious freedom, and smashed feudal systems of aristocratic privilege. From the story of his rise through the tribal culture to the explosion of civilization that the Mongol Empire unleashed, this brilliant work of revisionist history is nothing less than the epic story of how the modern world was made.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Listen to An Interview with Author Jack Weatherford.

©2005 Jack Weatherford (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"With appreciative descriptions of the sometimes tender tyrant, this chronicle supplies just enough personal and world history to satisfy any reader." ( Publishers Weekly)

"There is very little time for reading in my new job. But of the few books I've read, my favourite is Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford. It's a fascinating book portraying Genghis Khan in a totally new light. It shows that he was a great secular leader, among other things." (Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India)

"Weatherford's admiration for Genghis and his firsthand knowledge of many of the sites important in Mongol history give this text an immediacy and a visual quality that are enhanced by Davis’s presentation. When the narrative begins to lag in its final hour or two as it moves farther from the twelfth century, Davis's crisp pace maintains the listener’s interest to the end. An informative and provocative work of popular history." ( AudioFile)

The much maligned Khan

The research for this book, which wa s unfortunately in the epilogue, was deep and told a very different story about the Mongol hoards than we learned in school. How much of the ways of the modern world are based on what Genghis Khan did its amazing. It was his descendents that sadly have him such a bad reputation. The book is a great effort to fill in gaps in Asian history and worth the listen.

Incredible

This is a must read for any person curious about history. The Mongol history and culture is inspiring and humbling.

Ahead of his time in many respects.

Narration was top notch. Story was fascinating. So many "modern" concepts seemed to be obvious to this great leader.

Addictive

I liked the history. Very informative an insightful. I didn't know that much about Genghis Kahn, but now I do.

An eye-opening read

I wouldn't think I could be so enthralled by life in the 13th century! This book is an eye-opener. I listened with rapt attention at the events of Mongol life as they developed and dominated most of the known world. There is much we could learn from the forms of government and life conceived by Genghis Khan.

Read the afterword first

I would love for some editor at Audible to explain why the introduction to the text version of this book was, in the audio version, tacked on to the end. So annoying, especially as the introduction (here called an afterword) provides really important information such as the nature of a spirit banner and the source documents referred to as the secret history of the Mongols. Very helpful to have BEFORE you start the rest of the book. So don't make my mistake--read the afterword as it was intended, as an introduction. Also, make sure to download the accompanying PDF to see some maps and genealogy lines.

Otherwise, well done narration and a surprisingly engaging narrative considering that it could be relatively dry history. I was surprised when Genghis Khan died less that halfway though the book and the remainder was focused on the continuation of his empire and its legacy. So be warned that if you are expecting this to be mostly a biography of Genghis Khan, you'll perhaps be disappointed. But I enjoyed the remainder anyway.

I guess some feel that this is revisionist history and having just read a biography of Timur (of whom Weatherford has a very low opinion), where the author is always trying to "look on the bright side" regarding his subject, I suspect that when you dedicate yourself to writing a book about someone it can be hard not to be at least a little sympathetic towards them. But I found many of Weatherford's arguments pretty convincing regarding how the west slowly shaped the way the rest of the world viewed Genghis and his empire and how modern scholars should look at things in a different light.

Magnificent

An amazing collection of knowledge seldom seen in other works. Jack weatherford truly dives deep in exploring things in ways others do not.

Well-Written

Best history book I have listened on Audible Books this year. History of the Mongols was well-covered and informative. The organization of topics was perfect.

Absolutely excellent

I hardly knew anything about Genghis Khan and now my eyes are open. This book was extremely well done and I learned a ton. It help me understand how the history of the world has been shaped.

Just Amazing

Since I was young I was very interested in the story of Genghis Khan and I did a lot of "research" but this book goes above and beyond. Also the way that the author told us the story about this empire is great, I totally recommend this book and the audiobook version is great.