Michael Dillon was founding Director of the Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Durham, where he taught modern Chinese history. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Asiatic Society and was Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing in 2009. He has travelled throughout China and Central Asia for over 40 years, and speaks and reads both Chinese and Mongolian. He is the author of China: A Modern History.
Michael Dillon has provided us with a 'first' - a study of the modern Mongolian state from its beginnings in the early 20th century to the present. He identifies major events and trends focussing on topics such as domestic politics, the impact of global and regional relations and economic policy, and he examines the development of the state through some of its prominent and influential individuals. His critical analysis of works, mainly in English, challenges some long-held opinions including that of the extent of Choibalsan's involvement in the political violence of the 1930s. This book will find a readership among undergraduates and other students and academics reading outside their discipline. It will also be useful to readers working with Mongolians or in Mongolia and who, until now, have felt the lack of a monograph that covers the development of the modern state. * Dr Judith Nordby, Honorary Fellow in Mongolian Studies, University of Leeds, UK *