The original Mongolian documents, the so-called "Secret History of the Mongols" were not only secret but had disappeared.

In the twentieth century, 2 developments gave the unexpected opportunity to solve some of the mysteries and correct part of the record about Genghis Khan. In the nineteenth century, a copy of the document written in Chinese characters was found in Beijing. Scholars could not understand it because it was written in a code that used Chinese characters to represent Mongolian sounds of the thirteenth century.

Throughout most of the twentieth century, the deciphering of the Secrete History, remained mortally dangerous in Mongolia under the communist authorities. Outside of Mongolia, scholars in many countries notably, Russia, Germany, France, and Hungary, worked to decipher the text and translate it into modern languages.

A major development occurred unexpectedly in 1990 when the Communism collapsed and the Soviet occupation of Mongolia ended.

As a cultural anthropologist, I arrived in Mongolia in 1998 and did my intensive research for the next 5 years. I found the Mongolians to be delirious at their freedom from centuries of foreign rule.

With the most respected Mongolian team of archeologist of the 20th century and with the Secret History of the Mongols as our primary guide, we navigated the plains of Mongolia. Mongolians scholars, locals herders and horseman accompanied us. they knew how thick the ice needed to be in order to cross frozen river, on horseback, when to cross on foot, and when to break the ice and wade through the cold water.

Gradually, we pieced together the story as best as we could with the evidence we had. By finding the place Genghis Khan's childhood and retracing the path of events across the land some misconceptions of regarding his life could be corrected.

Our team went out repeatedly over a five year period under a great variety of conditions and situations. Temperatures varied by more than 150 degrees - from high over 100 degrees to a low minus 51 degrees. Our vehicles  became stuck in the snow in winter, mud in spring and sand in summer. We also experienced some of the worst year- 2000 - of animal famine, called "Zud", when horses and yaks literally dropped dead around us and animals of all sizes froze standing during the night.

I learned that the 15 feet of silk tied tightly around the midriff actually kept the organs in place and prevented nausea. I also learned that the importance of having dried yogurt in my pocket on such long treks and the practicality of the thick Mongol robe, called "Deel", when ridding on wooden saddle. I learned how intimately the Mongols know their own world, how completely I could trust their judgment, physical ability and generous helpfulness.

This book represents the highlights of our findings, the focus remains on the mission of our work: to understand Genghis Khan and his impact on the world history.