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| Tumujin, AKA Genghis Kahn courtesy of the Art/Science Museum, Singapore. |
I doubt there is any other woman in my township or any book club reading Genghis Kahn And The Making of The Modern World, but I am--and I'm impressed. Jack Weatherford's biography of the guy who supposedly terrorized the world in the twelfth century is interesting as hell. A 'self made man,' he rose up from being a clan castaway to a leader who shaped the map of the modern world. He was a diplomat, a statesman, a strategist, a skilled hunter, herder, warrior and devoted husband, not at all the guy Hollywood would have us believe. Most impressive was he chose the right guy for the right job based on their skills, not their lineage, rare leadership strategy throughout history. This is great summer reading for folks not into romance novels.
It seems that most of the European population carries genes from this guy. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, he was a ladies man.
DeleteSimilar but yet different, I'm reading, "Queen of the Desert: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell" by Georgina Howell,
ReplyDeleteThis extraordinary woman achieved things that no other English woman of that period (or any other period comes to that) would have dreamt of ... for a start she is responsible for the country of Iraq existing. A 'defenceless' woman who slept with a pistol under her pillow, a knife in her petticoats. and rode a camel with 'Lawrence of Arabia' but kept going long after he threw his hand in.
Her maps were used in the desert in World War 2, She was a mountaineer, linguist, archaeologist and spy
I'll read Gertrude next. I started reading historical biographies the last couple of years, before that I don't recall reading any of significance. Movers and shakers of historical significance are fascinating.
DeleteI know you have loved reading up on a lot of American Statesmen just recently. I never finish books though ...I must finish Alistair Cook's Travels around America.
DeleteI don't always finish them either. I satisfy my curiosity and move on. I'm also reading Frank Auerbach, Speaking and Painting. It's a bit disappointing at the moment because the biographer is speaking and he isn't. She's relating his background--a Jewish child whose parents sent him to 'camp' in England when he was eight and were never heard of again. They lived in Nazi Germany. Why they didn't leave I don't know, especially when all his other relatives were leaving as Hitler became more monstrous. He never left England and had a wonderful art education (I envied)along with such notables as Lucien Freud. His extremely expressive painting and one art critic's use of the word 'Impulsive' made me look into his work and background. Nearly satisfied, I'll probably move on soon.
DeleteI'm also in the middle Of Vincent's Letters To Theo. I read it off and on. Vincent is very long winded and would not be good at texting or email. Short and to the point, he wasn't. I attribute that to his love of his brother and art. Locuasiousness is a symptom of great passion. :-))
Post Script: that's also a marvelous bronze statue they have of Tumujin in Singapore ! The details are exquisite .
DeleteI love listening to Genghis Khan stories when I am in Mongolia… it;s like time travel :-)
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a book I'd love to read. Thank you, Linda! And that photo is WILD!!! [I have a "thing" about armor]
ReplyDeleteKathryn