The back cover of this book pretty much sums up on what this book is about. It is about a fiery ruler who united the disparate tribes of Mongolia to take on their 'common enemy'. How he made The Great Wall of China fall and went on to conquer pretty much whole of East Asia. All this while managing his growing sons, ambitious brothers, power thirsty Khans, and contesting wives. The description that Conn Iggulden has wrote of Genghis is mostly about how he managed the disparate tribes, how he kept them disciplined in scorching heat of Gobi desert and freezing cold of present day Beijing. Conn, however, hasn't written much of that side of Genghis for which he is more famous - his brutality and ferocity. There is not much description of Genghis killing, except for a few.
The book starts with blind Khan of the Naiman's listening to the live commentary of his Shaman, Kokchu, who was one of the central, and quite eccentric, characters of this book.Kokchu describes to his Khan how forces of Genghis are whipping their army and informs him of the fate that awaits the Khan if he doesn't submit. Genghis finally beheads the Khan of the Naiman's and wins his last conquest of uniting the tribes, later on conquering most parts of present day China. He spares the life of Kokchu after being convinced that the shaman has super natural powers. It is revealed that Kokchu is just a quack, slight-of-hand-trick magician who rises to power through deceit.
Genghis has by now taken pledge of allegiance from all the tribes ready to serve under him and acknowledging him as Gurkhan, The King of Kings, and defeated all those who refused to comply, killing many and absorbing in his army even more who surrendered. He has stripped all other Khans of their powers and proclaimed that it is him that all the tribes should consider as the ruler and not their older khans.
Genghis then calls a meeting of all the tribes at the bank of Yellow river and addresses them. He convinces them to cross Gobi desert and attack Xi Xia kingdom. Then starts a series of bloody battles between mongols and Chinese.
Genghis attributes the misery of their tribes to their internal conflicts- until he unites them. He views Chinese as the cause of keeping them divided. He has immense hatred for Chin and views them as persecutors of Mongols. There are few allusions to his childhood and hard times he witnessed when he and his family had to see his father killed in one of the battles between the tribes.
The writer in his note describes Genghis as a visionary, one who dreamed of forming a nation out of nomadic tribes. He even wrote a discipline named Yasa and insisted that The Khan, his family members, and noble men should strictly adhere to the discipline in order to keep the state powerful. Although Genghis bypassed The Great Wall of China accidentally (it never came in the path that Genghis took) he however, could not break the walled cities of Chin. Engaging in such a battle would have broken the backbone of Mongols author writes. He brought the emperors on their knees but could not get through the city walls. In his later conquests, Conn says, Genghis left China just when it was about to fall at his feet in order to answer a challenge by Shah of Khwarazm, Ala-ud-Din Mohammed. Genghis was not a man who would let a challege go unanswered, in fact he reveled in them. His later generations however will see them fall.
The book talks much of mongol warfare. A victory by deceit was considered more honorable than through strength. They used innovative ways to fool the enemy, sometimes by false withdrawal, hidden reserves, or even straw dummies on spare horses to give the illusion of reserves they actually didn't have. Revenge was another key feature of mongol warfare. They would go on an all out attack after a setback. Genghis was far from invincible, he got himself into trouble many a times in wars but always got away with a little bit of luck, which only reconciled tribe's faith in him.
The book holds a neutral and disinterested view of Gengis' conquests. It never brings into play arguments of morality or ethics. It also cleverly conceals the atrocities of Genghis' men. Mass execution, human shields, rape, and murder are described with uncanny indifference. Lords of The Bow is between being a historic chronicle and a mongol epic. A savory feast for a reader nonetheless.
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