During my recent trip to Alaska I needed reading material for the various flights and dull moments. I had already read James Michener's "Alaska" (and see that a few Alaska themed books a friend had given me are still sitting where I put them about 8 months ago). Since one reason for the trip is to visit the Russian Orthodox Church in Sitka I decided to read Russka by Edward Rutherfurd. This is a historical novel in the manner of Michener but covering the 2000 years of Russian history (actually the first 1000 are covered quickly) in 945 pages. It was the only book I read during the trip and finished it just last night, a week after the trip was over. Alas, I'm still unclear how the Bolshevik's took over Russia, though I know the Tsar was deposed because of inept handling of WWI. As historical novels go it is pretty good, though not great.
I mention it because of some fortuitous timing. One important aspect of Russian history is the Mongol invasion in the 1200s, which wasn't about domination, but about enforcing peace and profiting from trade routs. Today I saw the movie Mongol, out in limited release, which tells the story of how Genghis Khan got his start. He pulled together bickering clans and established a rudimentary rule of law, a big leap forward for the Mongols. Again, I'd say it is pretty good, but not great. There are a few things that left me wondering. It is definitely rated R due to some violent and blood spattering battle scenes. The movie is interesting on another level -- it was funded by German, Kazak, Russian, Chinese, and Mongolian companies and filmed in Kazakhstan, and China. It was Mongolia's entry for the Oscars. A review on display in the theater says this is the first part of a trilogy.
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