Book excerpt: This book investigates Tibetan recovery from the devastation of High Socialism and a new engagement with attempts to modernize the region in the era of ‘reform and opening’ in post-Mao China. With chapters on the negotiation of culture and identity in Amdo in contributions on public debate about traditional culture, on attempts at language standardization, and on sexuality. Concerning religion, there are contributions on critical perspectives on reincarnate lamas, and on cases of revival and reinterpretation of popular rituals. Amdo Tibetan self-expression in art, literature, and performance are studied in articles on folk songs, painters and their works, and on the changing economics of cultural production. The final chapters deal with social and economic trends in two nomadic pastoral areas and with foreign aid for new Tibetan schools. A unique introduction to contemporary life and attitudes in north-eastern Tibet, invaluable for understanding modern Tibetan life in China today, how it developed, and what it is rapidly becoming.