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The Horse That Leaps Through Clouds

a Tale of Espionage, the Silk Road and the Rise of Modern China
May 12, 2011nerowolfgal rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Absolutely brilliant book about a man who had a major effect on European history from the first to the second World War and yet is almost unknown in North America. In 1906 Baron Gustaf Mannerheim was asked by the Russian Tsar to collect information on the sweeping changes in China. He traveled for more than two years in China, Tibet, and the Muslim borderlands writing his observations. After his return home the Baron took a major role in Russian and Finnish history. In 2006 an Ottawa journalist boarded a train in Moscow to retrace Mannerheim's journey and compare what has changed in China from what the Baron saw. The result is a fascinating book about what is happening in China today - which is quite different from the impression given by news reports.