Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan is one of history's immortals, alive in memory as a scourge, hero, military genius, and demigod. 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 Genghis' so-called Mausoleum in Inner Mongolia, worshippers seek the blessing of his spirit. In a supreme paradox, as this celebrated biography makes clear, the world's most ruthless conqueror has even 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 much intrigue and speculation.

Genghis Khan: Life, Death, and Resurrection is more than just a gripping account of Genghis' rise and conquests, for John Man draws upon much first-hand experiences in China and Mongolia to reveal the khan's enduring influence. Man has traveled the length of the empire, and here spotlights the ongoing tension between Mongols and Chinese, who both claim Genghis' spirit. Indeed, he is the first writer to explore the hidden valley where Genghis is believed to have died—and he is one of the few westerners to climb the mountain where Genghis was likely buried. This stunning historical profile paints a vivid picture of the man himself, the places where he lived and fought, and the passions that surround him still.