Kramer Pg.

Jason Kramer Book Analysis for AP World History August 15, 2011 Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford Jack Weatherford, the author of the book, is famous for his books of history and his profession as a professor of anthropology in Minnesota at Macalester College. Anthropology is the study of human beings and their humanities. His most recent book is The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire. He is most famous though for Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, which was published in 2004. He had graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1967, with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Masters of Arts in Sociology in 1972. Along with those he also got a Master of Arts in Anthropology in 1973 and a Ph. D in Anthropology from the University of California. I think the author is trying to get out the word that Genghis Khan had a big impact in the world we are in today, and that without him there would not be the big, united countries such as Mongolia, China, Korea, Central Asian Countries, parts of Eastern Europe, and more. Genghis Khan as a child was born on the Onon River and he was named Temujin. He wasnt the best out of his family although he was the middle child. His brothers had more courage and were stronger than he was, so they picked on him. He had met Jamuka who was his best friends, most hated enemy and the love of his life. In his young life he defeated everyone who was more powerful than him until he ruled all of Mongolia. Later, Genghis Khan asked Ong Khan for permission for his son to marry his daughter. Ong Khan declined and then

Kramer Pg. 2 changed his mind just to get Genghis over to a feast so that they can poise him because Ong was scared that Genghis would overpower him. In turn, Genghis found out and killed him. That made Genghis the top ruler in Mongolia. Genghis Khan died in the late summer of 1227. His son, Ogodei, took over and without Genghis to moderate the riches, Ogodei gave out a whole bunch of riches such as pearls to Mongols along with other things. He built a city named Karakorum, which was the only city that didnt move around. Its purpose was to serve as a large warehouse and workshop. Ogodei died in 1241 because he was drinking too much. When he died, Torgene, his wife, ruled as official regent of the empire. Torgene and a small group of other women were in control of the largest empire in world history. In 1246, Guyuk was elected Great Khan, then when Guyuk died, his widow Oghul Ghaimish was put in as regent. This cycle kind of repeated itself though out the generations. After Genghis Khan died, he left the Mongolian Tribe with a great standing. They grew for another 150 years after his death. Centuries after that, the Mongolian Empire was destroyed by the bubonic plague. Bubonic plague is a horrible disease which if obtained there is a 3 out of 4 chance that you will die from it in less than 4 days. It was formed south of China and was carried throughout the trade routes. Over seventy-five million people died worldwide, and as a result, commerce and communication broke down. No one could communicate with each other and as a result, all of the countries were on their own. The Mongols returned to being a nomadic tribe. I believe that the book was very well written. It was organized by chronological order and sections by which events took place. It was easy to read and explained everything that

Kramer Pg. 3

needed to be explained. There were a few bad points in the book though. Although most of it was really easy to understand, there were points where it was boring or I didnt understand what was happening until after I read the rest of the event. That was kind of confusing which made me kind of bored with those parts. Although the book was not that fun and exciting like a novel would be, I enjoyed it. It was entertaining because it was interesting, and it is kind of cool to learn about how a single person came out of nowhere and conquered what is now said to be the land of two-thirds of the population of the world. This book isnt for someone who is looking for a big thrill and a climatic plot. Instead, it is for those who find the history of the world interesting and those who want to learn more about the history of our world. If someone would like a book like that, this is the one for them and I would recommend the book. The main source that I noticed the author used is The Secret History of the Mongols. The literary work was like a life story of Genghis Khan made for the Mongol royal family after Genghis Khan's death. It is written in Mongolian Cyrillic by an unknown author. He also listed many other sources though out the book and in the back of the book in the Notes section. The sources are very believable knowing that is was written many centuries ago and some of the evidence proved some of the things. The authors point of view is almost the same as the thesis statement, which is that without Genghis Khan there might not be these big countries and our lives in the United States might be different. He also believes that Genghis Khan was superior to all other conquerors, for that he used so many working war tactics and leadership. He conquered tribes with 3 times the size of the army than his. That is something to be proud of.