secular_mom Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 (edited) DD is interested in learning about the history of Mongolia and any folktales/legends/ etc. She's been trying to find a book but hasn't had any luck. I thought I'd ask here in just in case. Any rec's? Thanks ETA: she's looking for something that's not JUST about Genghis Khan, more about the history and culture. Edited December 14, 2010 by secular_mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 Chingus Khan by Demi I don't know your dd's age so don't know if this is a good level for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secular_mom Posted December 14, 2010 Author Share Posted December 14, 2010 Chingus Khan by Demi I don't know your dd's age so don't know if this is a good level for her. D'oh, she's sixteen. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 Okay, I know this book sounds like it's all about Ghengis Khan, but he dies halfway through the book and the rest is about the Mongolian empire in the couple of generations after. It is non-fiction, very well researched, a great read (not dry at all) - I was fascinated. Ghengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World Ooo - when I went to look that up at Amazon, I found the same author wrote another book: The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire I think I may have to read that one too! :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 Okay, I know this book sounds like it's all about Ghengis Khan, but he dies halfway through the book and the rest is about the Mongolian empire in the couple of generations after. It is non-fiction, very well researched, a great read (not dry at all) - I was fascinated. Ghengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World Ooo - when I went to look that up at Amazon, I found the same author wrote another book: The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire I think I may have to read that one too! :tongue_smilie: I agree that the Genghis Khan book is excellent. I read it at the beginning of the year & I rank it as one of my favorite books this year. I want to read the Mongol Queens too. I know your dd is 16, but there is a nice picture book for younger kids called The Khan's Daughter that is a Mongolian folktale. You might want to see if your library has it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pqr Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 Harold lamb's Ghengis Khan I just started The Bloody White Baron by Palmer it looks like it has real potential. The review is shown below. I cannot comment on how much violence is described or if it is appropriate for a 16 year old. Ancient and modern savageries unite in the colorful antihero of this scintillating historical study. Baron Ungern-Sternberg (1886–1921) was a czarist officer who became a leader of anti-Bolshevik forces in Siberia during the Russian civil war. He was a staunch monarchist and anti-Semite, whose sadism heightened the brutality of an already vicious conflict. He was pushed by the Red Army into Mongolia, where his reactionary impulses, accentuated by an attraction to esoteric Eastern religions, grew downright medieval. Hailed as a reincarnated god by locals who perhaps mistook him for a prophesied Buddhist messiah, Ungern-Sternberg dreamed of leading an Asian empire against the decadent West and instituted a fleeting dictatorship under which resisters were flogged to death, torn apart or burned alive. Journalist Palmer pens a vivid and slightly wry profile of this larger-than-life figure who rode into battle bare-chested and necklaced with bones, and lucidly dissects Ungern-Sternberg's protofascist worldview, with its motifs of racism, feudal hierarchy, regenerative bloodshed and mystic communion with primitive virility. The result is a fascinating portrait of an appalling man—and of the zeitgeist that shaped him. Maps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secular_mom Posted December 14, 2010 Author Share Posted December 14, 2010 Thank you all for the specific recommendations, now I'm following the Amazon rabbit trails LOL. I'm not sure exactly what DD was searching for before, probably something more specific and obscure. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 I don't know of any books, but I liked the film Mongolian Ping Pong, and it takes a look at the culture in Mongolia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secular_mom Posted December 14, 2010 Author Share Posted December 14, 2010 I don't know of any books, but I liked the film Mongolian Ping Pong, and it takes a look at the culture in Mongolia. Ooooh, it's on Netflix Instant too. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 These are about modern Mongolia, but modern Mongolia still involves Yurts and herding horses... There's an excellent PBS documentary about horses in Mongolia; I think it might be a Nature? or Nova? narrated by Julia Roberts of all people. Aha - here it is. Netflix has it. Other films on Mongolia I've seen: The Story of the Weeping Camel (very slow-moving but beautifully filmed) Close to Eden I liked this film a lot (if I'm remembering the right one) - probably fine for a 16yo - read the reviews for storyline. Set in Soviet era, I think the part of Mongolia in the movie was/is part of China. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 I just started a book today called The Shaman's Coat: A Native History of Siberia. I'm not very far into it yet, but it does have a section about the Buryats. The chapter on the Buryat opens with this joke: "Russian to Buryat: 'Why have you got such bandy legs?' Buryat to Russian: 'From Genghiz's time, when we sat on the Russians' necks.' - Buryat joke, 1999" Perhaps this book would have some info that your dd would find interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secular_mom Posted December 16, 2010 Author Share Posted December 16, 2010 I just started a book today called The Shaman's Coat: A Native History of Siberia. I'm not very far into it yet, but it does have a section about the Buryats. The chapter on the Buryat opens with this joke: "Russian to Buryat: 'Why have you got such bandy legs?' Buryat to Russian: 'From Genghiz's time, when we sat on the Russians' necks.' - Buryat joke, 1999" Perhaps this book would have some info that your dd would find interesting. Ooooh, thanks- I'm sure that one would never come up in an Amazon browsing session. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted December 16, 2010 Share Posted December 16, 2010 People have already suggested the books I would have suggested. BUT, have you watched the movie Babies? One of the families was from Mongolia. It was interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secular_mom Posted December 16, 2010 Author Share Posted December 16, 2010 People have already suggested the books I would have suggested. BUT, have you watched the movie Babies? One of the families was from Mongolia. It was interesting. Yes, we did watch that a couple of weeks ago- we watched Mongolian Ping Pong last night and it really reminded me of Babies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.