Here is given a bibliography of useful literature on the Mongol phenomenon. Since this a list of the most important works I have read and drawn most heavily upon, I can recommend those sources. It is my hope that you will want to read some of these yourself. I believe that in the same way they have proven invaluable in my own writing, those works should be informative and relevant for every individual who feels that the Mongols have something for him or her.
If you come up with suggestions for further reading, it will be welcome.
Barthold, W: "Turkestan down to the Mongol
invasion." Luzac & Company Ltd, London 1977. ISBN: 0-906094-01-1
(Edited by) Boyle, J.A.: The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5, the
Saljuq and Mongol periods. Cambridge University Press, 1968. Standard
Book Number: 521 06 936 x
Carpini, Giovanni DiPlano: "The story of the Mongols whom we call Tartars," translated with an introduction by Erik Hildinger. Branden Publishing Company, Boston 1996. ISBN: 0-8283-2017-9
Chambers, James: "The Devil's Horsemen," The Mongol Invasion of Europe, Phoenix Press 2001. ISBN: 1-84212-243-6
Christian, David: "A History of Russia,
Central Asia and Mongolia," Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1998. ISBN:
0-631-183213
(Translated by) Cleaves, Francis Woodman: "The Secret History of the
Mongols." Harvard University Press, 1982. ISBN: 0-674-79670-5 The
Secret History of the Mongols is the most important Mongolian source of
events of the Empire period. As such, it is unique and must be regarded
as authoritative historical evidence. Comparisons between the Secret
History and Chinese and Persian independent sources reveal a very high
degree of correspondence.
de Hartog, Leo: "Genghis Khan, Conqueror of the World." I. B. Tauris
& Co. Ltd, 1979. ISBN: 1-85043-139-6
de Hartog, Leo: "Russia and the Mongol Yoke." British Academic Press,
1996. ISBN: 1-85043-961-3
Eliade, Mircea: "Shamanism." Ancient techniques of ecstasy. Princeton
University Press, 1974. ISBN: 0-691-09827-1
Eliade, Mircea: "Patterns in Comparative Religion." Sheed and Ward Ltd,
1993. ISBN: 0-7220-7945-1
Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol. 7, Genghis Khan. Encyclopedia
Britannica Pub. Co.
Grousset, Rene: "The Empire of the Steppes." Rutgers University Press,
1970. ISBN: 0-8135-0627-1 A major work that has become a true classic.
Heissig, Walther: "The Religions of Mongolia." University of California
Press, 1980. ISBN: 0-520-03857-6
Henning Haslund-Christensen: (Collected by) "The Music of the Mongols."
Da Capo Press, New York 1971. ISBN: 306-70009-3
Halperin, Charles J: "Russia and the Golden Horde," I.B. Tauris 1987.
ISBN: 1-85043-057-8
Hoang, Michel: "Genghis Khan." Saqi Books, 1990. ISBN: 0-86356-293-0
Jagchid, Sechen, and Hyer, Paul: "Mongolia's Culture and Society."
Westview Press, Inc. 1979. ISBN: 0-89158-390-4 Although the book
emphasizes modern Mongol society, it nevertheless contains much
historical material of great value.
Lamb, Harold: "Genghis Khan, The Emperor of All Men." McBride and Co.,
1927. Not a scholarly work if one is to be strict, but the book gives
some insights in how people look at the Mongol phenomenon.
Lattimore, Owen: "Chingis Khan and the Mongol conquests." Scientific
American nr. 209, August 1963. This is the best description of how
Chingis Khan meticulously built his empire.
Liddell Hart, B. H.: "Great Captains Unveiled." Chapter 1: Jenghiz Khan
and Sabotai. Ayer Co., Pub., Inc., Salem, N. H., 1928. Reprinted 1984.
Lhagvasuren, Gongor: "The Stele of Chingis Khan." Article written
for the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles (AAFLA), which
explores the possibility that Mongolian archers might have been able to
hit targets in excess of 500 meters.
Mackenzie, Donald A. "China and Japan," Myth and Legands." Senate,
London 1994. ISBN: 1-85958-013-0
Morgan, David: "The Mongols." Blackwell, 1986. ISBN: 0-631-13556-1
Onon, Urgunge: "The History and Life of Chinggis Khan," E.J. Brill
1990. ISBN: 90-04-09236-6 This is another translation of the Secret
History.
Ratchnevsky, Paul: "Genghis Khan - His Life and Legacy," Blackwell
1992. ISBN: 0-631-16785-4 This one is considered the most scholarly
authoritative among the biographies of the Great Mongol.
Riasanovsky, Valentin: "Fundamental Principles of Mongol Law." Indiana
University Press, 1965.
Ronay, Gabriel: "The Tartar Khan's Englishman," Cassell, London, 1978.
ISBN: 0-304-30054-3
(Edited by) Sinor, Denis: "The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia."
Cambridge University Press, 1990. ISBN: 0-521-24304-1
Spuler, Bertold: "History of the Mongols." Dorset press, 1968. ISBN:
0-88029-271-7
Szamuely, Tibor: "The Russian Tradition," Secker & Warburg, London
1974. Chapter 2, The Mongol Heritage, is a very good account of the
ideological and philosophical basis for the work of Chingis khan and
the Empire.
"The travels of Marco Polo." Dorset Press, 1987. ISBN: 0-88029-135-4
Trubetzkoy, Nikolaj Sergeevich: "The Legacy of Genghis Khan," Michigan
Slavic Publications, Ann Arbor 1991. ISBN: 0-930042-70-0
Vernadsky, George: "The Mongols and Russia," Yale University Press,
1953. Apart from the mistake the author commits on page 19 on
supernatural birth, where he ascribes certain elements to Christian
influence, thereby failing to understand that this is in fact a common
feature in many mythologies, this is the book among those read by me
that best describes the nature of the Mongol Empire. The first 150
pages are nearly indispensable to any student of Mongol history who
wants to understand its philosophical and spiritual foundations.
Vernadsky, George: "The Scope and Content of Chingis Khan's Yasa."
Printed in Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Volume 3, 1938, pages
337-360.
Weatherford, Jack: "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern
World." Crown Publishers, New York. ISBN 0-609-61062-7 A truly
recommendable work of enlightening history, which stresses and
convincingly documents the
social and humanitarian intentions and policies of Chingis Khan.
(Translated and compiled by) Wing-tsit Chan: "A
source book in Chinese Philosophy." Princeton University Press, 1963.
ISBN: 0-691-01964-9
From time to time valuable articles appear in journals written for the
general public. One of these is to be found in "National Geographic,"
Vol. 190, No.6, December 1996. Another is found in Time Magazine,
September 26, 1994 Volume 144, No. 13, wherein this theme is discussed:
"A trove of archaeological treasures proves the Mongols and their
leader were surprisingly civilized."
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