The book certainly has plenty of endless battles and plenty and discusses war strategies. The most famous and gruesome battle, described in detail by Iggulden, is the one fought at the Badger Mouth. To combat the Mongol advance, the Chin had assembled approximately half a million soldiers (versus the Mongol's 100 thousand) and stationed them at Badger Mouth. However, the Chin appeared to have been overly confident in their numbers and mainly in their defensive position: Genghis eventually circumvented their defenses by sending part of his men over the peaks surrounding the pass, something the Chin thought impossible, allowing him to encircle the much larger army. As a result, he slaughtered thousands and the enemy’s soldiers and practically destroyed its army. The news from the north is rather grim. There is an army massing under the new king of Feal. They are heading toward Darien, the city of the Twelve families, and he demands either allegiance, or war. Tellius, who is the Speaker to the Council, knows that the divided city is never going to stand up against such a horrible enemy. But he does have a plan.

Es en este contexto donde surge la figura de Temujin, jefe (Khan) de una de estas pequeñas tribus, el cual, tras superar unas durísimas pruebas de supervivencia en su infancia y juventud, es capaz de unificar en poco tiempo gracias a su valentía, su habilidad y, porque no, a un poco de suerte muchas de estas tribus, empezando a gestarse un poder nunca visto en la estepa. Un poder que sus estados vecinos, ni siquiera son capaces de imaginar y que, en la primera mitad del siglo XIII se cernirá de forma mortal sobre todos ellos en forma de hordas mongolas.If you have read any of this author's books then you will know how fascinating and engaging they are. He gives an account as close to what he thinks life was like at that time. He does it so well and as a reader, you are able to immerse yourself. Rather than a dull account he gives a tale that is bursting with life and imagery to a point where you can see things as you read. The time for Julius Caesar to indulge in treacherous political battles has come. His great courage to face slave rebellion, love for a beautiful older woman and the sword of his loyal friend, Marcus Brutus has strengthened him. Once his rank is promoted, he is able to do what no other leaders of his era did. Marcus Brutus and Julius Caesar did not grow up together. Caesar was 15 years older than Brutus. I mean, sure, it makes it more "dramatic" to have them grow up together like brothers, but it is wrong. Just like if a book had Lincoln and Jefferson Davis growing up together and was put out as a historical fiction.

Note: for some unknown reason the Taiwanese translation duds the book's title as Conqueror: Wolf of the Plain/征服者︰瀚海蒼狼 instead of Genghis: Birth of an Empire. He was born Temujin, the son of a khan, raised in a clan of hunters migrating across the rugged steppe. Temujin's young life was shaped by a series of brutal acts: the betrayal of his father by a neighboring tribe and the abandonment of his entire family, cruelly left to die on the harsh plain. But Temujin endured--and from that moment on, he was driven by a singular fury: to survive in the face of death, to kill before being killed, and to conquer enemies who could come without warning from beyond the horizon.

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

A new empire is being raised at the Italian peninsula. During this time, two boys, at the City of Rome are transforming to men whose ambitions are nothing but glory, battles and serving the greatest empire in the world. This book is not only just an intriguing coming-of-age, survival-themed and 'rags to rich' story, it also gives us a vivid picture of how life on the Mongolian harsh plain was like at that time. I also like how the different tribes' way of life is described with rich details. (the author is known for going to Mongolia for research)

O samom djetinjstvu Temuđina, koji se kasnije prozvao Džingis-kan malo se zna, pa je pisac imao dosta prostora za razvijanje zanimljive priče o odrastanju u surovim uvjetima. Uspio je od njega stvoriti zanimljivog i kompleksnog lika do kojeg ti bude stalo i za kojeg navijaš. Povremeno prebacuje point of view na druge likove, a već nakon par rečenica su ti jasne njegove motivacije i priču doživiš iz drugog kuta. There were times when I thought this book was the best I’d read this year for sure. Unfortunately it failed to reach that level in the end, but it got pretty close. Iggulden is often accused of completely ignoring historical accuracy, and often that’s even true, but what does it matter when you can tell stories like this? In just about every single aspect of writing, he’s second only to Bernard Cornwell himself in this particular genre.I should probably say at this point that I'm a massive history nerd and I've read a lot about Genghis Khan. Some of my complaints about this book (and probably part of the reason I'm rating it lower than most of my friends) are down to the way that some events and characters were presented by Iggulden in contrast with my previous understanding of what happened. I can't say whose interpretation is better... although if the measurement is sales of historical fiction books probably Iggulden. Temujin, the son of Yesugei, khan of the Wolves, goes to a neighboring tribe to find a wife. While he's away, his father is murdered by a gang of Tartars. Worse still, his father's friend usurps the role of khan and leaves Temujin and his family to die on the steppe. Can Temujin and his family survive long enough to get revenge on the Tartars and regain control of the Wolves? His childhood experiences created the man he would become, who would not bend or allow fear or weakness in any form. He cared nothing for possessions or wealth, only that his enemies fall.” I don't like Roman historical fiction much, but I bought this (used) book based on some decent experiences with that Ghengis series. In the early part of the year, around 1160 AD, a Mongol khan of a small tribe, known as the Borjigin (Blue Wolves), fights and kills a Tartar raiding party. One of the Tartars is a very brave warrior and earns the respect of the Mongol Khan (Yesugei), who after killing the warrior, honors him by naming his newborn son after him- Temujin, which means "iron".

I love that with historical fiction you can get transported to a different place and time, but in this book if you renamed the people and places you would have a hard time figuring out where the book was even set. There is absolutely nothing descriptive that makes it truly feel like you're in Roman times. The historical accuracy is questionable at best (according to the postscript, many of the few details known about Julius Caesar as a youth were changed for the book). That in itself I don't mind, but here it is just another disappointment. The story is cookie cutter and simple, with all attempts to add surprise or intrigue clunkily done. Nearly all of the characters were completely one-dimensional and emotionless. I even had a hard time telling the two main characters apart - they were interchangeable for most of the book. In short, there were no redeeming qualities about this book. However, I chose to ignore this while reading the book. Because when I read a book, I don't read it for accuracy. I read it because it's entertaining. And this book was definitely entertaining. I now conclude that I love reading about military and war fiction/non-fiction. I'm also currently reading The Thousand Names by Django Wexler, and I'm enjoying it a lot. Both focused heavily on war and military. I will surely read more of the genre.Unbelievably good; this marked the first time I finished reading Iggulden’s work, and it’s VERY promising that this will become one of my favorite series.