Following the collapse of nearly seventy years of Communist rule, veteran writer and traveler Tim Severin went to Mongolia "to see how much of the tradtional way of life survived." He discovered a country in an uncertain state of transition and struggling with its newfound identity. Part travelogue and part historical recreation of the legendary journey of the barbaric Mongol warrior Genghis Khan, Severin employs his trademark wit and insight to offer a rare glimpse of a region seldom seen by Westerners and attempts to retrace the great Khan's westward sweep of conquest.