A Good Read

Modern day Mongolian horsemen

A number of months ago, I picked up a book that I thought might be interesting. I was completely unfamiliar with the author, Conn Iggulden, but was intrigued with the cover's synopsis. I have been a Wilbur Smith fan for many years and really enjoy reading about history disguised as fiction. Or is it the other way around? If I can learn some history while reading a ripping good story, it comes alive for me and I can remember and understand the history part of it much easier.

The book to which I am referring happened to be the second in a series of three books depicting the story of Genghis Khan. Then, just before Christmas, when my kids asked me what was on my Christmas list, I suggested the two books of the series which I had not yet read. My Mexico 'beach read' was the first in the series, "Wolf of the Plains". It traces the great Mongol leader's early years and tells the fascinating story of how Genghis united the warring Mongol tribes when he was yet a very young man. His very difficult childhood fashioned him for the job, but he was always driven by who he was, the son of a great Khan who met an untimely death.

I have now learned about his life from childhood to the invasion of China. These books are very well written and hard to put down, right from the first page. I am looking forward to the third and final book of the series. I do not have to go looking for it. It is right here on my shelf. Yes!