Download or read book Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World written by Jack Weatherford and published by Crown. This book was released on 2005-03-22 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The startling true history of how one extraordinary man from a remote corner of the world created an empire that led the world into the modern age—by the author featured in Echoes of the Empire: Beyond Genghis Khan. The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in twenty-five years than the Romans did in four hundred. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization. Vastly more progressive than his European or Asian counterparts, Genghis Khan abolished torture, granted universal religious freedom, and smashed feudal systems of aristocratic privilege. From the story of his rise through the tribal culture to the explosion of civilization that the Mongol Empire unleashed, this brilliant work of revisionist history is nothing less than the epic story of how the modern world was made.

Download or read book The Secret History of the Mongol Queens written by Jack Weatherford and published by Crown. This book was released on 2011-03-01 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A fascinating romp through the feminine side of the infamous Khan clan” (Booklist) by the author featured in Echoes of the Empire: Beyond Genghis Khan “Enticing . . . hard to put down.”—Associated Press The Mongol queens of the thirteenth century ruled the largest empire the world has ever known. The daughters of the Silk Route turned their father’s conquests into the first truly international empire, fostering trade, education, and religion throughout their territories and creating an economic system that stretched from the Pacific to the Mediterranean. Yet sometime near the end of the century, censors cut a section about the queens from the Secret History of the Mongols, and, with that one act, the dynasty of these royals had seemingly been extinguished forever, as even their names were erased from the historical record. With The Secret History of the Mongol Queens, a groundbreaking and magnificently researched narrative, Jack Weatherford restores the queens’ missing chapter to the annals of history.

Download or read book Genghis Khan and the Quest for God written by Jack Weatherford and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2016-10-25 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Genghis Khan written by Frank McLynn and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2015-07-14 with total page 700 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A definitive and sweeping account of the life and times of the world's greatest conqueror -- Genghis Khan -- and the rise of the Mongol empire in the 13th century Combining fast-paced accounts of battles with rich cultural background and the latest scholarship, Frank McLynn brings vividly to life the strange world of the Mongols and Genghis Khan's rise from boyhood outcast to world conqueror. McLynn provides the most accurate and absorbing account yet of one of the most powerful men ever to have ever lived.

Download or read book Indian Givers written by Jack Weatherford and published by Crown. This book was released on 2010-08-03 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An utterly compelling story of how the cultural, social, and political practices of Native Americans transformed the way life is lived throughout the world, with a new introduction by the author “As entertaining as it is thoughtful . . . Few contemporary writers have Weatherford’s talent for making the deep sweep of history seem vital and immediate.”—The Washington Post After 500 years, the world’s huge debt to the wisdom of the Native Americans has finally been explored in all its vivid drama by anthropologist Jack Weatherford. He traces the crucial contributions made by the Native Americans to our federal system of government, our democratic institutions, modern medicine, agriculture, architecture, and ecology, and in this astonishing, ground-breaking book takes a giant step toward recovering a true American history.

Download or read book The Mongol Conquests written by Carl Fredrik Sverdrup and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2017-05-04 with total page 609 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A scholarly, detailed history of how the Mongols created the greatest landlocked empire in history” (Midwest Book Review). The Mongols created the greatest landlocked empire known to history. It was an empire created and sustained by means of conquest. Initially an insignificant tribal leader, Genghis Khan gradually increased his power, overcoming one rival after another. After he had subjugated all tribes of Inner Asia, he struck southward into China and later attacked distant Khwarizm in the Near East. Sübe’etei continued to make significant conquests after Genghis Khan died, conquering central China and leading a large force into the heart of Europe. Between them, Genghis Khan and Sube’etei directed more than 40 campaigns, fought more than 60 battles, and conquered all lands from Korea in the east to Hungary and Poland in the west. This book offers a detailed narrative of the military operations of these two leaders, based on early Mongolian, Chinese, Near Eastern, and European sources. Making full use of Chinese sourced not translated properly into any European language, the account offer details never before given in English works. Detailed maps showing the operations support the text. Many conventional wisdom views of the Mongols, such as their use of terror as a deliberate strategy, or their excellence at siege warfare, are shown to be incorrect. This is a major contribution to our knowledge of the Mongols and their way of warfare. “History is littered with great leaders leading great armies and conquering large swathes of the world—Attila the Hun, Alexander the Great, the Roman Empire . . . but none perhaps as staggering as that of Genghis Khan. I have never heard of Sube’etei, I’m ashamed to say, until now, in this excellent book by Carl Fredrik Sverdrup. Asian history has never particularly appealed to me, but this is big history, and the author’s style makes it compelling and readable.” —Books Monthly “This is a very valuable addition to the literature on the Mongol conquests, giving us a much clearer idea of the detailed course of their campaigns, the world in which they took place, and the methods used to win them.” —History of War

Download or read book Alexander the Great written by Philip Freeman and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-10-18 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the first authoritative biography of Alexander the Great written for a general audience in a generation, classicist and historian Philip Freeman tells the remarkable life of the great conqueror. The celebrated Macedonian king has been one of the most enduring figures in history. He was a general of such skill and renown that for two thousand years other great leaders studied his strategy and tactics, from Hannibal to Napoleon, with countless more in between. He flashed across the sky of history like a comet, glowing brightly and burning out quickly: crowned at age nineteen, dead by thirty-two. He established the greatest empire of the ancient world; Greek coins and statues are found as far east as Afghanistan. Our interest in him has never faded. Alexander was born into the royal family of Macedonia, the kingdom that would soon rule over Greece. Tutored as a boy by Aristotle, Alexander had an inquisitive mind that would serve him well when he faced formidable obstacles during his military campaigns. Shortly after taking command of the army, he launched an invasion of the Persian empire, and continued his conquests as far south as the deserts of Egypt and as far east as the mountains of present-day Pakistan and the plains of India. Alexander spent nearly all his adult life away from his homeland, and he and his men helped spread the Greek language throughout western Asia, where it would become the lingua franca of the ancient world. Within a short time after Alexander’s death in Baghdad, his empire began to fracture. Best known among his successors are the Ptolemies of Egypt, whose empire lasted until Cleopatra. In his lively and authoritative biography of Alexander, classical scholar and historian Philip Freeman describes Alexander’s astonishing achievements and provides insight into the mercurial character of the great conqueror. Alexander could be petty and magnanimous, cruel and merciful, impulsive and farsighted. Above all, he was ferociously, intensely competitive and could not tolerate losing—which he rarely did. As Freeman explains, without Alexander, the influence of Greece on the ancient world would surely not have been as great as it was, even if his motivation was not to spread Greek culture for beneficial purposes but instead to unify his empire. Only a handful of people have influenced history as Alexander did, which is why he continues to fascinate us.

Download or read book The History of Money written by Jack Weatherford and published by Crown Currency. This book was released on 2009-09-23 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “If you’re interested in the revolutionary transformation of the meaning and use of money, this is the book to read!”—Charles R. Schwab Cultural anthropologist Jack Weatherford traces our relationship with money, from primitive man’s cowrie shells to the electronic cash card, from the markets of Timbuktu to the New York Stock Exchange. The History of Money explores how money and the myriad forms of exchange have affected humanity, and how they will continue to shape all aspects of our lives—economic, political, and personal. “A fascinating book about the force that makes the world go round—the dollars, pounds, francs, marks, bahts, ringits, kwansas, levs, biplwelles, yuans, quetzales, pa’angas, ngultrums, ouguiyas, and other 200-odd brand names that collectively make up the mysterious thing we call money.”—Los Angeles Times

Download or read book Sex Drugs and Cocoa Puffs written by Chuck Klosterman and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2004-06-22 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in paperback after six hardback printings, the damn funny...wild collection of bracingly intelligent essays about topics that aren't quite as intelligent as Chuck Klosterman'(Esquire). Following the success of Fargo Rock City, Klosterman, a senior writer at Spin magazine, is back with a hilarious and savvy manifesto for a youth gone wild on pop culture and media, taking on everything from Guns'n'Roses tribute bands to Christian fundamentalism to internet porn. 'Maddeningly smart and funny' - Washington Post'

Download or read book Savages and Civilization written by Jack Weatherford and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2010-05-19 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A “provocative [and] vivid” (Minneapolis Star Tribune) look at the primitive cultures that have given many gifts to the modern world, and how their very existence is now threatened “This book should serve as a ‘wake-up’ call to people everywhere.”—Library Journal In Indian Givers and Native Roots, renowned anthropologist Jack Weatherford explored the clash between Native American and European cultures. Now, in Savages and Civilization, Weatherford broadens his focus to examine how civilization threatens to obliterate unique tribal and ethnic cultures around the world—and in the process imperils its own existence. As Weatherford explains, the relationship between “civilized” and “savage” peoples through history has encompassed not only violence, but also a surprising degree of cooperation, mutual influence, trade, and intermarriage. But this relationship has now entered a critical stage everywhere in the world, as indigenous peoples fiercely resist the onslaught of a global civilization that will obliterate their identities. Savages and Civilization powerfully demonstrates that our survival as a species is based not on a choice between savages and civilization, but rather on a commitment to their vital coexistence.

Download or read book Kublai Khan written by John Man and published by Random House. This book was released on 2012-03-31 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure dome decree Kublai Khan lives on in the popular imagination thanks to these two lines of poetry by Coleridge. But the true story behind this legend is even more fantastic than the poem would have us believe. He inherited the second largest land empire in history from his grandfather, Genghis Khan. He promptly set about extending this into the biggest empire the world has ever seen, extending his rule from China to Iraq, from Siberia to Afghanistan. His personal domain covered sixty-percent of all Asia, and one-fifth of the world's land area. The West first learnt of this great Khan through the reports of Marco Polo. Kublai had not been born to rule, but had clawed his way to leadership, achieving power only in his 40s. He had inherited Genghis Khan's great dream of world domination. But unlike his grandfather he saw China and not Mongolia as the key to controlling power and turned Genghis' unwieldy empire into a federation. Using China's great wealth, coupled with his shrewd and subtle government, he created an empire that was the greatest since the fall of Rome, and shaped the modern world as we know it today. He gave China its modern-day borders and his legacy is that country's resurgence, and the superpower China of tomorrow.

Download or read book The Devil s Horsemen written by James Chambers and published by Booksales. This book was released on 2003 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on a weath of contemporary sources, The devil's horsemen examines the origins and consequences of the Mongol invasion of Europe. It decribes the tactics and training of the first army the world has ever seen, and tells the story of Subedei Bahadur, the illiterate military genius who brought twentieth warfare to medieval Europe.

Download or read book Origin Story written by David Christian and published by Little, Brown Spark. This book was released on 2018-05-22 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This New York Times bestseller "elegantly weaves evidence and insights . . . into a single, accessible historical narrative" (Bill Gates) and presents a captivating history of the universe -- from the Big Bang to dinosaurs to mass globalization and beyond. Most historians study the smallest slivers of time, emphasizing specific dates, individuals, and documents. But what would it look like to study the whole of history, from the big bang through the present day -- and even into the remote future? How would looking at the full span of time change the way we perceive the universe, the earth, and our very existence? These were the questions David Christian set out to answer when he created the field of "Big History," the most exciting new approach to understanding where we have been, where we are, and where we are going. In Origin Story, Christian takes readers on a wild ride through the entire 13.8 billion years we've come to know as "history." By focusing on defining events (thresholds), major trends, and profound questions about our origins, Christian exposes the hidden threads that tie everything together -- from the creation of the planet to the advent of agriculture, nuclear war, and beyond. With stunning insights into the origin of the universe, the beginning of life, the emergence of humans, and what the future might bring, Origin Story boldly reframes our place in the cosmos.

Download or read book The Mongol World written by Timothy May and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2022-05-25 with total page 1332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing upon research carried out in several different languages and across a variety of disciplines, The Mongol World documents how Mongol rule shaped the trajectory of Eurasian history from Central Europe to the Korean Peninsula, from the thirteenth century to the fifteenth century. Contributing authors consider how intercontinental environmental, economic, and intellectual trends affected the Empire as a whole and, where appropriate, situate regional political, social, and religious shifts within the context of the broader Mongol Empire. Issues pertaining to the Mongols and their role within the societies that they conquered therefore take precedence over the historical narrative of the societies that they conquered. Alongside the formation, conquests, administration, and political structure of the Mongol Empire, the second section examines archaeology and art history, family and royal households, science and exploration, and religion, which provides greater insight into the social history of the Empire -- an aspect often neglected by traditional dynastic and political histories. With 58 chapters written by both senior and early-career scholars, the volume is an essential resource for all students and scholars who study the Mongol Empire from its origins to its disintegration and legacy.

Download or read book Grit to Great written by Linda Kaplan Thaler and published by Currency. This book was released on 2015-09-08 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is not native intelligence or natural talent that makes people excel, it's old-fashioned hard work, sweat equity, and determination. In Grit to Great, Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval tackle a topic that is close to their hearts, one that they feel is the real secret to their own success in their careers--and in the careers of so many people they know and have met. And that is the incredible power of grit, perseverance, perspiration, determination, and sheer stick-to-it-tiveness. We are all dazzled by the notion that there are some people who get ahead, who reach the corner office because they are simply gifted, or well-connected, or both. But research shows that we far overvalue talent and intellectual ability in our culture. The fact is, so many people get ahead--even the gifted ones--because they worked incredibly hard, put in the thousands of hours of practice and extra sweat equity, and made their own luck. And Linda and Robin should know--they are two girls from the Bronx who had no special advantages or privileges and rose up through their own hard work and relentless drive to succeed to the top of their highly competitive profession. In a book illustrated with a cornucopia of stories and the latest research on success, the authors reveal the strategies that helped them, and countless others, succeed at the highest levels in their careers and professions, and in their personal lives. They talk about the guts--the courage--necessary to take on tough challenges and not give up at the first sign of difficulty. They discuss the essential quality of resiliency. Everyone suffers setbacks in their careers and in life. The key, however, is to pick yourself up and bounce back. Drawing on the latest research in positive psychology, they discuss why optimists do better in school, work, and on the playing field--and how to reset that optimistic set point. They talk about industriousness, the notion that Malcolm Gladwell popularized with the 10,000-hour rule in his book Outliers. Creativity theorist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi believes it takes a minimum of 10 years for one's true creative potential to be realized. And the authors explore the concept of tenacity--the quality that allows us to remain focused and avoid distraction in order to get the job done--an increasingly difficult task in today's fragmented, cluttered, high-tech, connected world. Written in the same short, concise format as The Power of Nice and leavened with the natural humor that characterizes Linda's and Robin's lives--and books--Grit to Great is destined to be the book everyone in business needs.

Download or read book Queen of Fashion written by Caroline Weber and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2007-10-02 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this dazzling new vision of the ever-fascinating queen, a dynamic young historian reveals how Marie Antoinette's bold attempts to reshape royal fashion changed the future of France Marie Antoinette has always stood as an icon of supreme style, but surprisingly none of her biographers have paid sustained attention to her clothes. In Queen of Fashion, Caroline Weber shows how Marie Antoinette developed her reputation for fashionable excess, and explains through lively, illuminating new research the political controversies that her clothing provoked. Weber surveys Marie Antoinette's "Revolution in Dress," covering each phase of the queen's tumultuous life, beginning with the young girl, struggling to survive Versailles's rigid traditions of royal glamour (twelve-foot-wide hoopskirts, whalebone corsets that crushed her organs). As queen, Marie Antoinette used stunning, often extreme costumes to project an image of power and wage war against her enemies. Gradually, however, she began to lose her hold on the French when she started to adopt "unqueenly" outfits (the provocative chemise) that, surprisingly, would be adopted by the revolutionaries who executed her. Weber's queen is sublime, human, and surprising: a sometimes courageous monarch unwilling to allow others to determine her destiny. The paradox of her tragic story, according to Weber, is that fashion—the vehicle she used to secure her triumphs—was also the means of her undoing. Weber's book is not only a stylish and original addition to Marie Antoinette scholarship, but also a moving, revelatory reinterpretation of one of history's most controversial figures.

Download or read book The Power of Authentic Leadership written by Jeff Davis and published by Ebookit.com. This book was released on 2017-02-21 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you want to... - Learn how to deal with difficult, nasty people? - Understand how to make challenging decisions? - Move beyond the expectations of others? - Change the world through your authenticity? - Become a better leader? - Have more peace of mind on a daily basis? - Know the keys to achieving long-lasting success? In The Power of Authentic Leadership: Activating the 13 Keys to Achieving Prosperity Through Authenticity, authentic leadership and prosperity expert Jeff Davis features life-changing insights from his discussions with more than 20 of the world's most iconic authentic leaders. He directly connected with these history makers, and he's acting as the humble conduit between you and their wisdom. You will soon learn the keys to: - Creating companies worth billions of dollars. - Feeling more prosperous from a mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual standpoint. - Starting initiatives that influence tens of millions of people. - Shattering fears, disregarding conventional thinking, and breaking the rules. - Mastering several important skill-sets. - Building world-class networks. - Setting yourself free from the bondage of society, fake friends, and small-minded people. - Mastering the tools necessary to becoming a world-renowned authentic leader. At times, it may seem like these goals are nice to have but out of reach. That's not the case: these skill-sets were mastered by people who are just like you, and this book will show you the practical way to the iconic success you've always dreamed of.