This study is Warren Smith's latest installment in his growing opus examining the historical vicissitudes of modern Tibetan history and Sino-Tibetan relations. Smith is an eminent independent researcher now working at the Tibetan service of Radio Free Asia. Here, he mobilizes an array of primary and secondary media sources to produce the first book-length analysis in English of the unprecedented, widespread unrest that broke out among Tibetans in the People's Republic of China (PRC) during that country's tumultuous Olympic year (2008–2009).
The book is organized in five (too) long main chapters, four of which lay out key events in rough chronological order, framed by a short introduction and a concluding chapter of analysis: “One State, Two Nations.” Though it is redundant and overly long in places, the book provides an invaluable compendium of data on what Smith convincingly argues was a watershed moment not just for Sino-Tibetan relations, but also...
