10 Followers
30 Following
msleighm

msleighm books

So many books, so little time...

 

Buy indie!

Currently reading

The Partly Cloudy Patriot
Katherine Streeter, Sarah Vowell
The Age of Edison
Ernest Freeberg
Tales of the Alhambra
Washington Irving
Victorian and Edwardian Fashion: A Photographic Survey
Alison Gernsheim
The Collected Plays of Theodore Dreiser
Frederic E. Rusch, Keith Newlin
Great Stories of the Sea & Ships
Peter Hurd, N.C. Wyeth
The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra: A Discussion, Vol 1
Haruo Suda Katsuji Saito, Takanori Endo, Daisaku Ikeda
Advice to Writers: A Compendium of Quotes, Anecdotes, and Writerly Wisdom from a Dazzling Array of Literary Lights
Jon Winokur
Complete Works of Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde, Merlin Holland

The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire

The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire - Jack Weatherford My mom gave me this book, after reading it herself. She knows I've always been drawn to the Mongols, perhaps due to a past life experience (if you believe in that sort of thing), or perhaps because my fathers German - as far as we can trace back - family has distinctly Asian features. I've been asked by Japanese women where my ancestors/grandparents were from. High check bones, rounded nose, large lips, slight eye flap. Me, Dad, Uncle, Aunt, both Cousins... It fascinates me where/how this trait came to be in our family line.

It took me six months to read this book (almost to the day). That's not the books fault; I tend to read non-fiction very slowly, sometimes reading a chapter and putting it down for a long time and then picking it back up again several non-fiction books later. History isn't going anywhere after all... Right? I might have done this book a slight injustice handling it in my usual fashion. The real Mongol queens come to life in some places and by putting it down, I may have ruined some of the magic. I did prefer the beginning with Genghis Khan and his daughters/granddaughters and the end (I won't spoil it). The middle was - historically - more about the men and the mess they made of everything after Genghis passed on. However, it was important to the narrative to keep the historical flow going, even if the stupid guys were a little tedious.

I particularly liked how Mr. Weatherford was able to use multiple sources throughout the centuries, both Mongol and from outside cultures to cross reference the stories and narratives that have been passed down through history. Where there are holes in the records, he says so.

The four star rating comes from it being non-fiction and I have a very specific type of non-fiction that gets five starts. I know it when I see it; this one came close 4.5 if I could.

And the ending is divine. Worth reading every word. To me, it is inspirational.

http://msleighmbooks.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-small-rant-and-mongols.html