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Title details for Birth of an Empire by Conn Iggulden - Available

Birth of an Empire

A Novel of Genghis Khan

#1 in series

by Conn Iggulden
Stefan Rudnicki
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
2 of 2 copies available

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.

Through a series of courageous raids against the Tartars, Temujin's legend grew—and so did the challenges he faced, from the machinations of a Chinese ambassador to the brutal abduction of his young wife, Borte. Blessed with ferocious courage, it was the young warrior's ability to learn, to imagine, and to judge the hearts of others that propelled him to greater and greater power, until Temujin was chasing a vision: to unite many tribes into one, to make the earth tremble under the hoofbeats of a thousand warhorses, to subject unknown nations and even empires to his will.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Conqueror

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    June 1, 2008

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781483065946
      • File size: 425560 KB
      • Duration: 14:46:34

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • Text Difficulty: 9-12

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      GENGHIS: BIRTH OF AN EMPIRE is 15 hours long, and listeners will wish it were longer. Conn Iggulden's novel looks at the life of a barbarian boy named Temujin, who eventually unifies the tribes of Asia more than 800 years ago. There's no better narrator to bring this work to audio than Stefan Rudnicki. He speaks with a confidence and urgency rarely found. When he describes the rage Temujin feels at meeting a former friend who abandoned him and his family, Rudnicki's anger is palpable. Listeners are never allowed to forget that these men lived in a very different--and unforgiving--time. Staying true to historical records, as he did in his Emperor novels, Iggulden has created a masterpiece, and Rudnicki more than does it justice. M.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from March 5, 2007
      Author of the bestselling Emperor series on the life of Julius Caesar, Iggulden turns to another of history's great conquerors, Genghis Khan, for a new series of brilliantly imagined and addictive historical fiction. Future conqueror Temujin—"a man of iron"—is born to the khan (ruler) of a fierce Mongol tribe that roams central Asia's steppes in the 12th century. When his father is killed by Tartar raiders before Temujin reaches manhood, a rival claims the tribe and banishes Temujin's family. Left behind without resources when the tribe migrates, the family struggles to survive the harsh environment, and Temujin dreams of gathering similar outcasts—wanderers and herdsmen—into a new tribe. After assembling a core of these "men scorned by all the others," Temujin begins raiding Tartar camps. As his fame spreads, Temujin launches an ambitious campaign to unite the Mongol tribes "after a thousand years of warfare" into a single people, defeat the Tartars and invade China. Building on the fragments of Genghis's life, Iggulden weaves a spellbinding story of an exotic and "unforgiving land" and the enigmatic young man—charismatic, a brilliant tactician and capable "of utter ruthlessness"—who sets out to tame it. This is historical fiction of the first order.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from January 19, 2009
      The exciting third novel in Iggulden's Genghis Khan series tells the dramatic story of the Mongol invasion and conquest of Central Asia. Genghis has already defeated the Chinese and Koreans, and now marches his vast army west to punish and conquer the Muslim lands of central Asia ruled by Shah Mohammed. For eight years the Mongols ravage the shah's empire, crushing armies, destroying cities and slaughtering anyone who resists. Iggulden's vivid descriptions of bloody battles, masterful sieges and political intrigue are gripping, showcasing Genghis's brilliance as a strategist, tactician, administrator and leader. Side plots include the deadly rivalry between two of Genghis's sons, the rape and murder of Genghis's sister by a trusted adviser, the surprising rise of the shah's son as a capable enemy and the treachery of Genghis's son toward his father. This is epic historical fiction at its finest: exciting, suspenseful, colorful and well-grounded in fact. With this tale, it is easy to see why the name Genghis is synonymous with conquest and military genius.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Text Difficulty:9-12

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