The Mongols at China's Edge: History and the Politics of National Unity (Asia/Pacific/Perspectives) Paperback – Import, 3 June 2002

A must-read about modern history of Inner Mongolia.

Uradyn Bulag is a Mongolian anthropologist and historian and because of his expertise of the subject and his native land being Inner Mongolia, the book couldn't be more enlightening or authoritative. This book is about the political history of modern Inner Mongolia roughly from the late Qing Dynasty to the early 21st century. When the author decides to be clear the topic of Inner mongolia and its modern history, politics and culture come to life quite vividly. The book also has photos, illustrations, and a useful bibliography for further reading. Since there are few books on Inner Mongolia it is timely as it is needed.Unfortunately, this book is not a lucid read. There are so many difficult technical, sociological and anthropological terms in the book that at some points it's hard to digest or even comprehend what the author is trying to say. The author goes off tangent many times and ends up with a few pages that have little to do with the topic. The prose is not always clear and the book definitely assumes you have a background of the subject already. I would even say that the book is dull much of the time. I'm no stranger to academic literature but the author seems to have gone out of his way to make this book incomprehensible.To wrap up this review let me summarize a bit. The book is one of the few on modern Inner Mongolia and one of the most definitive in that matter. When the author makes any sense, it reveals a fascinating story and facet of minority identity in China. On the other hand however, this book is way too technical and academic for it to be of any use or enjoyment to the majority of people. So if you are a scholar or a very serious student then by all means read this book. For the rest of us though it wouldn't be recommendable.