It’s strange, you’d think that shy of 300 pages wouldn’t be enough to cover not only the titular character, but his descendents all the way down to grandsons, however Weatherford manages to construct a binding and encompassing history within this space. It’s not entirely his fault his view is so restricted, after all the material he is working with (the Secret History of the Mongols) is painfully limited, as he often reinforces, details only abundant when it comes to descriptions of horses.
Yet it never feels like he glosses over things. Some very bold claims are made (that the Mongols led to the Renaissance), but these claims are never made without evidence. I expected to dive in to an in depth history of the Great Khan but in fact understanding the context behind Genghis Khan made his achievements more impressive, and understanding the brief but far reaching effects of his grandsons’ continued empire made what Genghis, and the Mongols, did even more fascinating.
Overall, far reaching, and gripping. Weatherford at time seems to gush with enthusiasm at the extent to which the Mongols surpassed expectations of themselves and influenced Eurasia. The reader is swept up with him.