wide variety of sources--Chinese, Russian, and Western--Dr. Tang has drawn a clear picture of the methods by which Russia advanced its ambitions there, and the role and fate of the first "people's democracy," as the reader will discover for himself, are strikingly similar to those of later exemplars.

In Manchuria, imperial Russia had to be content, by 1911, with a sphere of influence, retained by it in growing co-operation with Japan. The development, until 1917, of its military, economic, and administrative control over its extensive sphere has been traced here with skill. The collapse of Russian control after the October Revolution, the complicated struggle between different Russian factions and among China, Japan, and the Western powers, and the re-establishment of Russian predominance in a Soviet form, are described with care. The conflicts between Soviet, Chinese, and Manchurian regional interests are brought out clearly, down to the point, in 1931, when Japan's expansionist ambitions overwhelmed its potential rivals.

From a careful study of the available documentary and secondary materials, in Chinese, Russian, and other languages, and from insights gleaned from his own experience in diplomacy, Dr. Tang has made a valuable contribution to our understanding of the role of Manchuria and Outer Mongolia in Russian and Soviet diplomacy, 19111931.

PHILIP E. MOSELY

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