Mr. Craughwell is a superb storyteller most noted for his previous work URBAN LEGENDS. He turns his attention to a much more complex historical account of the Mongols & their remarkable but bloody road to empire & its rapid collapse soon afterwards. The author focuses on Genghis' early life & struggles which he believes prepared Khan to unite a long splintered group into a united deadly force using unique strategies to create an enormous empire against China & the Middle East. Now the author doesn't quite grasp the reasons for its spectacular collapse though he hints to it with the inability of Khan's successors to hold off ambitious contenders, its scale of brutal oppression, its bloody path, & its own cultural traditions undermining the structural integrity of the empire. One plus with this work is that he includes Kublai Khan's success in China which his grandfather had laid the groundwork for his success. The only real drawback to this work is that he leaves out Tamerlane who nearly repeated his grandfather's steps with his path of destruction from the Middle East to India. In spite of some omissions, the author gives a good account of this period albeit brief. ( )