Research on Central Asia and Mongolia

Since I began to cover Mongolia and Central Asian countries some years ago, I got myself a new habit: Looking for Mongolia and Central Asia related books (in English) at any bookstore I visit.

I personally already got a good collection of books about those countries but whoever study Mongolia and Central Asia will tell you the existing literature and research materials in English language about those five or six (or seven) countries (depending on how you define the region) are still very very limited.

The only exception may be Afghanistan due to the long-time conflicts and wars. You can find many books about Afghanistan although those books in English are mostly from US perspective and about counter-terrorism. There are a few good books about Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire, the world’s second largest empire ever in history.

Today at Harvard Book Store (btw, this is an independent bookstore on Harvard Square, which has nothing to do with the university), in the Asia Pacific (APAC) section, I cannot find any book about Central Asian countries. I searched in Eastern Europe section too. Neither. Most of the books in the APAC section are about China (of course!), Korea, Japan, and etc.

Just feel a bit sad about those “underrated” countries. They are worth world attentions, not to mention China has made more efforts to form allies in Central Asia, a long-term strategically important region for China’s ambitious Belt and Road blueprint to counter the influence of the United States alongside the ancient “Silk Road”, which can be traced back to Italy and some countries in Middle East.

I remain a humble student of Mongolia and Central Asia. Welcome recommendations on good books. The more I read, the more I feel why and how big and different the world is. It’s all about perspective.