Genghis Khan

Emperor of All Men

By: Harold Lamb

Narrated by: Charlton Griffin

In the early 13th century, a simple nomad chieftain managed to cobble together a powerful kingdom in the highlands of northern Asia, which was subsequently to challenge the greatest powers of the day. He was triumphant in all directions. This leader was Timujin, whose name meant "Iron Man". He became Genghis Khan, "Universal Ruler", the greatest conqueror ever known - a warrior feared from the British Isles to the tip of the Korean peninsula.

Known by many names, including "The Scourge of God", Genghis Khan sent his Mongol armies ranging over most of the Eurasian land mass. He first sent his hordes of cavalry crashing into China, then turned on the ancient Persian Shah before smashing the Muslim Caliphate. He left smoldering ruins and depopulated nations in his tracks. Instead of measuring his progress in miles, we measure it today by degrees of latitude and longitude.

The tough, barbaric Mongolians were welded into the finest, most highly disciplined force of mobile fighting men assembled up to that period. Mongol leadership, unlike those of other armies, was based strictly on merit. Incompetence was not tolerated among the Khan's generals. The lightning quick movements and encircling tactics of Mongol horsemen baffled their opponents time after time. In fact, under Genghis Khan, they were never defeated. At the Great Khan's death in 1227, there were hardly any worthy opponents left to fight anywhere in the world.

©2007 Audio Connoisseur (P)2007 Audio Connoisseur

Audio cuts out for 5-10 seconds sometimes

Audio cuts out for 5-10 seconds sometimes. Pretty annoying oversight. Overall an easy, somewhat informative listen.

This is the best Khan book

This is definitely the best book on Genghis Khan even though it is old, it is not outdated and it gives you a complete historical picture of the time. The language is beautiful and the reader's voice reflects the spirit of the book. I am ordering another audio book of Lamb and I want to make sure it is also read by Griffin.

Interesting...and dull

I have to admit that while I knew very little about Genghis Kahn and was interested in the topic, that the overall tone of the book made me want to set it aside more than once. It was interesting and held my attention at times...at other times dull, monotonous, and droning, with too much detail in minutiae.

If you're looking for something spell binding and riveting...this isn't it.

Great Book

This is a part of history that I know nothing about. The book is well written and makes the "Mongol Horde" human. I'm currently reading Manchester's book about Douglas MacArthur, American Caesar. MacArthur was a fan of Genghis Khan and his tactics. This book has given a good foundation for understanding MacArthur's admiration. I loved reading about Genghis Kahn stopping in the Delhi area because of the heat and humidity. That man was no fool.

Genghis Kahn

I am more than a bit unqualified to critique this book. Curiosity rather than any scholarly background was the reason for my choice. But, I liked it. The Mongolian words sounded like linguistic acrobatics, but specific name associations were not necessary for me to be absorbed in this narrative of an amazing people.

A tolerable narrative

This narrative was understandable, at least the first seven chapters of the book, but after the Chinese conquest, the subject matter started to lose its focus and went everywhere, I enjoyed the first seven chapter, but grind through the last three. The narrator's monotonous voice did not help lighten up the volume, but overall, this is a tolerable presentation.

incredible story

A story of legendary conquest.
the story inspiring and invigorating and will leave you much informed about the life and death of Genghis Khan.

Riveting book...horrible narrator

I found the book very interesting. It didn't hurt that I'd seen the movie first and liked the movie. I didn't find the book tedious at all--but the narrator was terrible. I see that he's narrated many historical books on here, so he must be a big deal. However, at times his inflection did not match the meaning of the words. He seemed so into filling each sentence with Lofty Import that it interfered with getting the meaning sometimes, even when there should have been a hint of sarcasm in the text. There must be a lot of fans who like Lofty Diction well enough to put up with this narrator--I would have liked it better in a Minnie Mouse voice. At least the inflection might have fit the words better.

Good history but a bit dry

I am glad I read the book because I did not know much about the subject. It was useful but not a big page turner. It was a little dry, even with the occasional ringing of gongs.

a little weighty, but still worth it

I had trouble finishing this one, but I did. I had purchased this book with no research, so I didn't notice its age. It was only after I got into it, when I realized how weighty the text was, that I went back and researched it to discover when Harold Lamb wrote it--1927. In that perspective, the style makes sense, but anyone like me, used to modern "entertain with science" writing might find it thick.

Still, I'm glad I bought it, as I know have a much better knowledge of an exciting time.