Jack Weatherford is an anthropologist and author of New York Times bestselling Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. He has spent over 25 years exploring Mongolia and its history, and his writing on the Mongol Empire has transformed our understanding of its long legacy. Jack Weatherford is the retired DeWitt Wallace Chair of Anthropology at Macalester College in Minnesota, and he is the only foreigner ever inducted into the Order of Chinggis Khaan, Mongolia’s highest national honour. His other books include The Secret History of the Mongol Queens, Genghis Khan and the Quest for God, Indian Givers: How Native Americans Transformed the World, and The History of Money.

Astonishing...brings to life the smells and tastes of distant lands

• CONTENTSPreface: China’s Golden Age on the SeaIntroduction: The Travels of Marco PoloI: KUBLAI: A PRINCE WITHOUT QUALITIES1. The Mongols Descend on China2. Left Standing in the Dust 3. Brothers on Two Continents4. Möngke Becomes Great Khan and Restarts the Mongol Wars5. War from the Pacific to the Mediterranean6. Kublai AwakensII: KUBLAI TURNS TO THE SEA7. China’s Great Water Wall8. An Arms Race Begins with Financing 9. Kublai Builds an Offensive Navy10. Da Yuan, the Great Beginning11. Chaos on the Sea of Japan12. Decadence Before the Deluge13. Grand Finale of the Great Song14. Navy Without a Country III: THE SILK ROAD OF THE SEA15. Black Wind Over Japan16. Markets, Money and Murder17. Mongols Lost in the Jungle, Adrift at Sea18. If Vietnam Fails, Attack Egypt 19. The Mongol Princess and her Tiger20. Kublai Completes his AgeIV: THE CALM AFTER KUBLAI AND THE DECLINE21. Iron Man and the Lotus22. From Conquest to Commerce23. Ports of Profit and Pleasure, Poetry and Pretence 24. Rotting Ships, Sinking Currency25. China Retreats from the Sea26. Wolves Come During Rain27. The Empress of China Sets SailEpilogue: History Allows No FavouritesResearch and SourcesNotesIndex

Jack Weatherford is an anthropologist and author of New York Times bestselling Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. He has spent over 25 years exploring Mongolia and its history, and his writing on the Mongol Empire has transformed our understanding of its long legacy. Jack Weatherford is the retired DeWitt Wallace Chair of Anthropology at Macalester College in Minnesota, and he is the only foreigner ever inducted into the Order of Chinggis Khaan, Mongolia’s highest national honour. His other books include The Secret History of the Mongol Queens, Genghis Khan and the Quest for God, Indian Givers: How Native Americans Transformed the World, and The History of Money.

Astonishing...brings to life the smells and tastes of distant lands

• CONTENTSPreface: China’s Golden Age on the SeaIntroduction: The Travels of Marco PoloI: KUBLAI: A PRINCE WITHOUT QUALITIES1. The Mongols Descend on China2. Left Standing in the Dust 3. Brothers on Two Continents4. Möngke Becomes Great Khan and Restarts the Mongol Wars5. War from the Pacific to the Mediterranean6. Kublai AwakensII: KUBLAI TURNS TO THE SEA7. China’s Great Water Wall8. An Arms Race Begins with Financing 9. Kublai Builds an Offensive Navy10. Da Yuan, the Great Beginning11. Chaos on the Sea of Japan12. Decadence Before the Deluge13. Grand Finale of the Great Song14. Navy Without a Country III: THE SILK ROAD OF THE SEA15. Black Wind Over Japan16. Markets, Money and Murder17. Mongols Lost in the Jungle, Adrift at Sea18. If Vietnam Fails, Attack Egypt 19. The Mongol Princess and her Tiger20. Kublai Completes his AgeIV: THE CALM AFTER KUBLAI AND THE DECLINE21. Iron Man and the Lotus22. From Conquest to Commerce23. Ports of Profit and Pleasure, Poetry and Pretence 24. Rotting Ships, Sinking Currency25. China Retreats from the Sea26. Wolves Come During Rain27. The Empress of China Sets SailEpilogue: History Allows No FavouritesResearch and SourcesNotesIndex