Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A landmark biography by the New York Times bestselling author of Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World that reveals how Genghis harnessed the power of religion to rule the largest empire the world has ever known.

Throughout history the world's greatest conquerors have made their mark not just on the battlefield, but in the societies they have transformed. Genghis Khan conquered by arms and bravery, but he ruled by commerce and religion. He created the world's greatest trading network and drastically lowered taxes for merchants, but he knew that if his empire was going to last, he would need something stronger and more binding than trade. He needed religion. And so, unlike the Christian, Taoist and Muslim conquerors who came before him, he gave his subjects freedom of religion. Genghis lived in the 13th century, but he struggled with many of the same problems we face today: How should one balance religious freedom with the need to reign in fanatics? Can one compel rival religions - driven by deep seated hatred--to live together in peace?

A celebrated anthropologist whose bestselling Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World radically transformed our understanding of the Mongols and their legacy, Jack Weatherford has spent eighteen years exploring areas of Mongolia closed until the fall of the Soviet Union and researching The Secret History of the Mongols, an astonishing document written in code that was only recently discovered. He pored through archives and found groundbreaking evidence of Genghis's influence on the founding fathers and his essential impact on Thomas Jefferson. Genghis Khan and the Quest for God is a masterpiece of erudition and insight, his most personal and resonant work.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Maps
• Asia in 1206 (p. ix)
• The Mongol Nation in 1206 (p. xi)
• Mongol Conquests at the Death of Genghis Khan in 1227 and in 1260 (p. xii)
• Preface: Genghis Khan, Thomas Jefferson, and God (p. xv)
• Introduction: The Anger of the Gods (p. 1)
• I Becoming Temujin (p. 15)
• 1 The Teeth That Eat Men (p. 17)
• 2 The Golden Whip of Heaven (p. 34)
• 3 Wisdom of the Steppe (p. 47)
• 4 Conflicting Selves (p. 62)
• II Becoming Genghis Khan (p. 79)
• 5 Messenger of Light (p. 81)
• 6 Jesus of the Steppe (p. 102)
• 7 The Making of the Mongol Nation (p. 117)
• 8 Guardians of the Flame (p. 133)
• III Becoming the World Conqueror (p. 149)
• 9 Two Wings of One Bird (p. 151)
• 10 God's Omnipotence (p. 173)
• 11 The Thumb of Fate (p. 207)
• 12 Wild Man from the Mountain (p. 223)
• 13 The Confucian and the Unicorn (p. 245)
• IV Becoming a God (p. 261)
• 14 The Last Campaign (p. 263)
• 15 War, Inside and Out (p. 278)
• 16 Burning the Books (p. 300)
• 17 Life After Death (p. 325)
• 18 The Unfulfilled Law (p. 331)
• Epilogue: The Thunderbolt of God (p. 350)
• A Note on Sources and Further Reading (p. 357)
• Notes (p. 363)
• Bibliography (p. 393)
• Index (p. 398)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

With this latest work, Weatherford (Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World) exhaustively explores the nontraditional philosophy of Genghis Khan (1162-1227). Instead of instituting a more traditional ruler-sanctioned model, Khan allowed his conquered subjects (nomadic tribes in Central Asia and the Caucasus) the freedom to continue practicing their own religion. This is a truly distinct worldview, as Weatherford asserts, given the religious fervidness of the Middle Ages. The author then suggests a link between Khan's ideas and those in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which pertains to freedom of religion. Weatherford uses the discovery of books about Khan in Thomas Jefferson's personal library as a launching point to suggest that Jefferson was directly influenced by Khan's thinking while he drafted the U.S. Constitution. Perhaps, as Weatherford suggests, we can learn a lot from this ancient despot. -VERDICT This sound examination of Khan, his methods of rule, and his views on religious tolerance presents a valid and welcome addition to scholarship on the subject. [See Prepub Alert, 4/25/16.]-Brian Renvall, -Mesalands Community Coll., Tucumcari, NM © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Weatherford (Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World), former professor of anthropology at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., focuses on the religious life of Genghis Khan (1162-1227), repeating some biographical material from his earlier book. Weatherford is an engaging storyteller who has done broad research and is passionate about Khan and his impact, but this passion is the source of the book's major weaknesses. First, Weatherford frequently presents unsupported speculation about Khan's personal psychology as knowable facts, perhaps to make history accessible for a popular readership. Second, in rehabilitating Khan's reputation as a bloodthirsty conqueror, Weatherford often misbalances and overstates his own theses, portraying Khan instead as a model of ideal justice and wisdom and the potential origin of modern religious freedom. Third, Weatherford meanders, touching on, for instance, Khan's own spiritual life; the laws and taxes for adherents of various religions in his empire; and a review of connections between Mongolia and Tibet. This is an interesting overview of some of the religious dynamics of the Mongolian empire in the 13th century but will leave readers looking for in-depth analysis wanting. Agent: Robin Straus, Robin Straus Agency (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

CHOICE Review

Anthropologist Weatherford (formerly, Macalester College) investigates the origin of the US concept of religious freedom. As the title suggests, Weatherford argues that this idea, particularly religious freedom, may have originated with Chinggis Khan, as he is more properly known. After a preface that explains the origin of the book's premise, Weatherford explores the religious history of the Mongol Empire with keen anthropological insight. Here, he works through the native and personal beliefs of Chinggis Khan and the various tribes of Mongolia as well as Chinggis Khan's interactions with various religious leaders. Weatherford is a gifted writer, and it is not difficult to become absorbed in the narrative he weaves. He presents tantalizing evidence but often become overly exuberant in his conclusions. It is clear that a straight line from Chinggis Khan to the US Constitution does not exist. Nonetheless, the author provides an intriguing argument that the Mongol Empire may have indirectly influenced the concept of religious toleration and freedom as envisioned by Thomas Jefferson or rather how 17th- and 18th-century scholars envisioned the Mongol Empire's policies toward religion. This book will generate discussion. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General, public, and undergraduate libraries. --Timothy M. May, University of North Georgia

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* Weatherford's third revisionist history of the great Mongol Empire frames a biography of its builder within the fascinating argument that that monarch's policy concerning religion anticipates those of the U.S. and subsequent secular nations. Genghis Khan made no establishment of religion, allowing his subjects the unfettered practice of their faiths throughout the largest state in history. He professed no faith himself, though he did habitually refresh himself spiritually at the sacred mountain in whose shadow he was born. He relished learning about religions, however, especially Christianity and Taoism. He knew enough about Confucianism to consider it not a religion but a bureaucratic regime inimical to the adventurousness necessary for empire-building. The spiritual value he most valued was loyalty, the betrayal of which he implacably punished with death. Weatherford proposes that Genghis, regarding religion as a disruptive force, wanted it kept far from the councils of state. Several founding fathers Jefferson chief among them knew of Genghis' separation of church and state and saw to it that the Constitution essentially mandated it. Waterford bases some of his interpretations on the most recently discovered imperial Mongol documents, including one that offers a view of Genghis' encounter with a great Taoist leader that is very different from the other eyewitness account of it. An engrossing history that sheds further light on a figure the West has long regarded as the ultimate barbarian.--Olson, Ray Copyright 2016 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

Even historys most famous conqueror had a soft side.An acclaimed expert on Mongolia, Weatherford (The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire, 2010, etc.) introduces readers to a Genghis Khan (c. 1162-1227) not discussed in most history books. Though he was unquestionably a ruthless and violent conqueror, the author wants readers to see his subject as a thoughtful leader marked by extraordinary forethought and wisdom, paired with a religious personality. Among Weatherfords most startling revelations is that, centuries before John Locke and similar thinkers, Genghis Khan believed in and promoted religious tolerance within his great empire. Early in the book, the author does an admirable job explaining the physically harsh and brutal life into which Temujinthe name of the future Khanwas born and raised. Readers may grow to feel empathy for the young and unlikely future ruler, until fratricide and other acts of violence quickly taint his image. Founding the nation of Mongolia in 1206 with 1 million followers, Genghis Khan showed early wisdom in deciding to bring the written word to his empire, and he set about having scribes put the Mongolian spoken language into writing. Military success led to vastly increased landholding, and his empire grew. Weatherford details his conquest of China and then of Muslim lands to the west. Throughout, Genghis Khan considered himself the whip of heaven, chosen to bring order and justice to a troubled world. This included a solemn religious duty: As heavens representative on earth, he felt it was his duty to examine the religions of the people he had conquered to determine what they were doing incorrectly and to correct their errors. As he aged, however, Genghis Khan transformed from judge to student, as he spent more time learning about the religions of his conquered lands and incorporating their finest points into his administration and lawmaking. An intriguing, eye-opening spiritual biography. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.