The first part of the book follows the early life of Temüjin, who was born into a landscape of severe tribal strife and poverty. Weatherford highlights how these harsh beginnings influenced his later governance:
In his book Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World , anthropologist Jack Weatherford challenges the traditional view of the Mongols as mere "bloodthirsty barbarians". Instead, he presents Genghis Khan as a visionary leader who laid the foundations for modern globalization through revolutionary policies in trade, governance, and human rights. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World