The author has made a career of studying the Mongol Empire, a decision that paid off brilliantly in 2005 when he published Genghis Khan and the Making of the Western World, an epic tale wonderfully told that has since been translated into nearly three dozen languages. Now comes a sequel of sorts focusing on Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis, who in the early 13th century expanded by conquest what had been a landlocked empire under his grandfather into a naval empire. His life and accomplishments are utterly compelling, and Jack Weatherford does full justice to how Kublai Khan transformed China and world commerce centuries before Europe mastered the sea. In a bracing epilogue, the author sees the East and West now on equal footing, with the chapter yet to be written on whether peaceful coexistence is possible.
When Princess Victoria succeeded her uncle, King William IV, in 1837, she had just turned 18, which was significant because it meant she was old enough to rule on her own without the need for a regency. And rule Queen Victoria did, for nearly 64 years. Anne Somerset insists that she really did rule and did not simply reign over the British Empire, and she deftly makes the case by examining the Queen’s relationship with the 10 prime ministers who served during those years. She adored Benjamin Disraeli and detested William Gladstone, but, as Somerset points out, this did not stop Gladstone from becoming a more important figure in British history than Disraeli, thanks to his political reforms. Of course, Gladstone served four non-consecutive terms as prime minister over the space of more than 25 years, so perhaps familiarity bred contempt. Somerset has a sharp eye for character and a strong narrative gift for making parliamentary politics exciting, while never losing sight of the “stout little widow in a black bonnet” who ruled over a quarter of mankind.
