A short, readable treatment of the medieval Mongols, their administration, military, religion and economy. Before the Mongols withdrew from central Europe in 1242, they had reached the Adriatic and become Europe's most formidable -- and dangerous -- neighbor. They once controlled the largest continuous land empire in history. Includes chapters on the predecessors of the Mongols in Central Asia, Chinghiz Khan's rise to power, and the Mongols in China, Russia and Persia.  (MGL15, $34.95)