Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

In a way, the title is misleading. I was expecting something like a biography of Genghis Khan, and it is that to start with. I was surprised when the death of Genghis Khan occurred about a third of the way through the book. There's a definite tonal change at this point. The parts about Genghis's early life and eventual rise to power feel more like legends and myths because the research is drawn from stories that were probably passed down orally before being recorded historically. After his death, the book shifts to a more high-level account of his descendants and empire. As the empire grew, so did the number of “proper” historians taking down the events. As a result, the text becomes more encyclopedic and less personal, and I found it less compelling. Still, I learned a lot about a subject that I wasn't that familiar with before, so it's good.