The Secret History of the Mongol Queens

Upon first hearing Robertson Dean's deep voice, listeners may be surprised to hear a man narrating this account of the women who were often more competent at ruling than were Genghis Khan's male heirs. The surprise is lessened when one remembers that the book's author is also male. Dean's tone as he narrates is consistently even, but it is not devoid of empathy for the queens who did much to build up and sustain the empire only to be betrayed by their male relatives and ultimately forgotten by history. Dean's steady delivery also makes the disturbing scenes of physical violence more bearable to listen to. This is an enlightening biography. A.E.B. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine