Reviews for Cell Biology & Genetics

The average rating for Cell Biology & Genetics based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-08-30 00:00:00 Andrew Templeton hoards of information The eruption of nomadic warriors across Asia into Europe and the Middle East in the 1200s was only the greatest of many previous waves. Under Genghis Khan (Chingis, Jengiz, etc) and his immediate successors, the Mongols reached Germany and Croatia, Korea, Japan, Java, Burma, and Egypt. They built the greatest contiguous empire the world has ever known. It all collapsed within a century. The Mongols had some military geniuses as leaders in the beginning and were known for religious tolerance once things settled down, but for administration, they had to rely on others---Chinese, Persians, Turks, and even Europeans. The problems of succession did them in, as they have done so many other empires in history. In this very informative work, Saunders acknowledges that he is trying the impossible. How to summarize and explain the vast panorama of events occuring over half the globe during 150 years or more ? He starts with Turkish precursors to the Mongols, then takes readers through the standard history of the Great Khans, Genghis, Ogedei, Mongke, and Kubilai. The Mongol Empire having broken up into four sections, we then get a history of each of the four, as far as is known---the separate khanates of Persia, Central Asia, Russia, and China. The older, more sophisticated societies of Persia and China soon shook off the Mongol yoke, absorbing their conquerors, while in Central Asia, the regime gave rise to Tamerlane, another bloody conqueror who left towers of heads in his wake. His death brought his sudden empire to a speedy end. Only in Russia, where disunity and confusion reigned, did the Mongol rule last 250 years. While memorizing the various rulers, viziers, generals, and rebellious relatives (not to mention names of now-vanished cities) may prove a tough nut for any reader, Saunders' discussion of the ups and downs of three major religions---Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam in the context of the conquests---is extremely interesting and informative. Christianity had a major role in the Mongol realms, but without easy access to a source of finance or priests, and because Nestorian fought with Roman Catholic, Islam won over the rulers and people in time. The earliest Mongol defeats came from Islamic armies as well. Buddhism remained strong in China and of course, in the Mongolian heartland itself. Not being an expert on Mongolian history, I can't say if this book is now outdated; if new information or analytic trends have replaced it. It seems to me, though, that it offers a solid introduction to the history of that people who burst out of inner Asia and changed the course of history. You certainly cannot understand the history of Russia and Europe, never mind Iran and the Middle East, without its subject matter.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-05-25 00:00:00 Melissa Fitches I definitely thought this book came out in 2001 - until I got a copy from work that was published in 1971. So yes, this book is a bit dated, a bit old. On the very first page, Saunders writes: "Few documented studies... exist of the amazing career of Chingis (or, as he is better known Genghis) Khan; no scholarly life of his famous grandson Kubilai Khan, immortalized by Marco Polo and Coleridge, exists in any Western language, and even the best general histories of the medieval world deal very curiously with these tremendous events." Obviously things have changed a bit since 1971, and we have received a number of excellent works covering various topics of the Mongol Empire. But although the book is old, it doesn't mean that the information it contains is wrong or lacking, and I found that I learned quite a bit. I often find older history books to be dry and tedious to get though. I didn't feel that way with this book. Saunders' writing flows and it flows quickly. Almost too quickly. This book really is A Brief History of the Mongol Conquests. There's very little depth or detail to any of the campaigns or battles. Indeed, Khubilai takes over southern China in less than a page. But it's all very readable, even if I think Saunders' writing is plagued by too many commas: "That duty he was, however, unable to discharge, and Transoxiana, during his reign, fell to the Kara-Kitay, a pagan people, and for the first time a Muslim land was lost to the infidel." It's lots of that, basically. One of the things I thought was so interesting about this book was the focus outside of the Mongol Empire from Genghis to Khubilai. Saunders gives a good overview of the Turks before the Mongols and spends a great deal of time discussing events of the Il-Khanate, Golden Horde and Chagatai Khanate. A lot of this was new to me and introduced lots of interesting events and people. But it does move very fast and it's a lot of names and places to take in in a short number of pages. The whole book is only 199 pages before the notes. I think the only thing I can fault the book on is the lack of detail. Don't get me wrong, it does give a very good overview of all the Mongol campaigns and goes well beyond the scope I assumed it would, which was a very welcome find. But if you're looking for more than a glance at anything, you almost need to look elsewhere. I applaud the book for its readability and breadth of time it covers, but I felt it was lacking as a "history" of these campaigns.