Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Emperor of the Seas:
Turns out, to beat a Khan, you just needed a boat.
Quick synopsis:
The life and reign of Kublai Khan.
Fact for Non-History People:
Marco Polo served Kublai Khan for 17 years.
Fact for History Nerds:
Kublai Khan’s mother was a Christian.
My Take on Emperor of the Seas:
While I fashion myself a history nerd, I have to admit to knowing very little about Kublai Khan before picking up Emperor of the Seas by Jack Weatherford. In fact, if you asked me to spell it, I would have failed quite badly. Now I am educated!
Weatherford tells the story of Kublai’s rise from a child to becoming, well, that is a bit complicated. First, there is a not a ton of documentation on the life of the Khan’s on account of being nomadic and prone to taking over other societies. The other reason his title is complicated is that Kublai and various family members were very scattered and the question of who was truly the successor to the Great Khan was up for debate. Kublai was mainly based in China and carried with it a lot of uncertainty. Weatherford unpacks this all very well in easy to read prose and an eye for interesting detail (when it is available). Kublai would eventually create a navy with varying initial success which is unusual for a bunch of reasons that are better if Weatherford tells you.
I’d say the sole weakness of the book would be some extraneous information. A chapter on cuisine seems out of place, and there are too many chapters after Kublai’s death which could have been cut or shortened. I still enjoyed the book immensely and learned quite a lot.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Bloomsbury.)
Verdict:
A good read on someone I knew little about. Buy it here!
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