Secret History of the Mongols: The Origin of Chingis Khan

A poetic adaptation of an English translation of a Chinese copy of a vanished Mongol original. The writing replicates the rhythm and alliteration of the epic mode, as if the anonymous author were a Homer of the steppes. Explanations are incorporated into the text, obviating the need for notes, allowing one to follow the story with a modicum of historical background. This gambit avoids pedanticism but compromises precision. It works for me, a casual reader, but I could see how it might offend a scholar. From them, there's always Francis Woodman Cleaves.

He calls this an adaptation, not a translation, and that's my note of caution. It interprets for you, and often, I think, chooses a simple meaning out of several. Still, it's great for an easy-to-get and unfrightening English version.

I love the Cleaves -- Francis Woodman Cleaves whose translation he uses for this, but whose language he changes. Even though Cleaves' presentation, the intro and how he sets out the text, is only fit to baffle you, and he never did publish the second part: the notes.

Urgunge Onon is another alternative: strictly a translation, but meant for a general audience.

Five stars for the Secret History itself, obviously.