'No one summarizes the historical backdrop to current events for the general reader like Diane Wolff. Even when the history is complex as it is for China and Tibet, Wolff does it with style and economy.' - Peter A. Brown, columnist, Wall Street Journal Online 'Ms. Wolff has produced a well-written and readable account about their crucial era in world history She offers a sound guide and analysis to the complex era, which initiated global history.' - Professor Morris Rossabi, Columbia University, USA; Biographer of Khubilai Khan 'Diane Wolff has written an important book that focuses on the history of the Tibet-China relationship. Especially fascinating is her excellent description of how the 'Loose Reins' government of Chinggis Khan held an empire that included China, Tibet, Mongolia and other regions together for a century, and she goes on to show how this could serve as a workable model for today's multi-national People's Republic of China, achieving the stability and harmony the Chinese leadership is striving for, while allowing the Tibetan people to enjoy their spiritual culture and restore their fragile environment. Her vision of how the 50-year-long futile China-Tibet struggle could easily be turned into a positive, win-win cooperative relationship is brilliant, and is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the issues and the possibilities.' - Robert Thurman, Professor of Tibetan Buddhist studies, Columbia University, USA; President, Tibet House US; author of Why the Dalai Lama Matters, Atria, and Beyond Words 'I welcome this new book on Tibet. This is a critical juncture in Tibetan history, when the future of the Tibetan people, their culture, and the very concept of a Tibet, as a nation or a distinct entity, is under stress. It does us all a world of good to understand the history and complexity of the issues that surround Tibet.' - Tenzin Tethong, Stanford University, Board of International Campaign for Tibet, Tibetan Cultural Official Ex Officio for Tibet House 'How do competing imaginations of Tibet's history affect the current debates over the Tibet question? Wolff provides an accessible, intelligent, and sophisticated insight and is a must read for those wanting to understand the story behind the headlines.' - Dibyesh Anand, Westminster University, UK author of Geopolitical Exotica: Tibet in Western Imagination