| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 105.1

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| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 105.1 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Asia

Jonathan N. Lipman. Familiar Strangers: A History of Muslims in Northwest China. (Studies on Ethnic Groups in China.) Seattle: University of Washington Press. 1997. Pp. xxxvi, 266. $22.50.

Jonathan N. Lipman has produced a fascinating history of the Muslims of northwest China. This is not a work for casual skimming. On the contrary, it requires a detailed perusal and, preferably, some prior knowledge of the subject. Indeed, the author sometimes appears to be more intent on a private voyage of discovery rather than on communication with the reader. The approach is thematic, the style discursive. The result is a lively discourse, brimming with intriguing comments and digressions. Yet these very qualities are also not infrequently a source of frustration and confusion. The narrative tends to be fragmented, congested with detail that is not always strictly relevant to the discussion in hand. This can distract from the thrust of the argument. . . .

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