Title: Genghis Khan and the Mongol Horde
Author: Harold Lamb
Series: Landmark Books
Major Themes: Mongols, China, Genghis Khan, Nomads
Synopsis: In his lifetime, Genghis Khan went from a hunted, poor nomad to the leader of the greatest empire in history.
For almost two years now we have been working our way through Medieval history. We just reached the time of the Mongols and their attempted invasion of Europe. One of the recommended books was Genghis Khan and the Mongol Horde by Harold Lamb. This is a Landmark book, so was written in a way that interests children. I’m not sure I will ever attempt any of Harold Lamb’s books for adults! I tried reading one or two of them when I was in my teens and could barely make myself keep wading through them. This one, however, is very accessible and interesting.
Publisher’s description:
Once a man almost conquered all the earth. He did make himself master of half our world, more than seven hundred years ago. They called him Genghis Kahn.
No man’s name, before or since his time, has been so terrible to living people. No one else has been quite like him. Sometimes he seemed to be more than human in his power. He seemed to be like the storm wind that swept out of his deserts, tearing up the cities in its path.
So people spoke of him then. This is the story of who he really was, and how he came to leave his home.
It was far beyond Europe, far to the east of the familiar world, out where the caravan tracks led to the bare Gobi Desert.…
My thoughts:
As with most biographies, Genghis Khan and the Mongol Horde started out very exciting. Near the end of his life, as often happens in a biography, the story grew less interesting. It still held my children’s attention, though, and the one who missed a few chapters near the end of our reading wanted to catch up on what he had missed. Anyone who is studying the Middle Ages should read this book to see some of what was happening in other parts of the world than Europe at that time.
WARNING: Chapter 6: Man’s back is broken to kill him. Chapter 8: Description of Chinese torture. Chapter 15: Men killed after being tricked. Chapter 17: Picture of men falling off a cliff to their deaths. Chapter 19: Men killed, and everyone who saw the death cart was killed.
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 8 – 12, 10 – 12, 12 – 15, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 8 – 12, 10 – 12, 12 – 15
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Hardcover
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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