Mongolia: Unknown Land

First published in Danish in 1962, this books collects the experiences of the author in two trips to Mongolia five years apart, the second in approximately 1960.

Firstly the good - the chapter on the Reindeer People of the northern borderlands with Siberia was excellent, and the first I have read of these people. Similarly the chapter on camels and the camel caravans were very informative. The photographs throughout the book, while of terrible quality if compared to today, for 1960 were probably cutting edge, and we can be thankful of the authors persistence in arguing his case for the varied and interesting subjects, while his minders would have preferred him to photograph factories and new apartments.

So to the issues with the book - largely it sets out to describe every facet of Mongolian life. It doesn't delve too deeply though, and a lot of it comes across as superficial. The author cannot be blamed too much I suppose, as the government imposed ‘translators' worked against him to limit anything that could be considered old-fashioned or backwards, even anything unclean, unhygienic or unattractive. The author had to convince them that taking photographs of older people was necessary.
Even the repetition in the book is likely due to the fact factory visits were the governments preferred use of time, to show how Mongolia was advancing in the production fields, as well as collective farms and other industry.

What is apparent, and was also my experience in the 3 weeks I spent there in 2005, was the hospitality of the Mongolian's, and their general good nature.

The strangest thing with this book is the authors suggestion that the changes between his visits were so striking. He made claims about the nomad families who were previously living in gers becoming a thing of the past, and that vast numbers were moving into apartment buildings. While this was likely statistical data provided by the government, it doesn't ring true. Some 40 years later, ger tents were still a part of the nomadic lifestyle of the countryside. While motorcycles and 4wd vehicles were certainly very popular in 2005, there were still many shepherds riding Mongolian horses, attending to their stock. I think the rapid move to industrialisation was either a large leap which levelled off after the 1960s, or there was some skewed data provided.

I found this book an interesting reminder of the time I spent in Mongolia, and as mentioned above, there were some interesting chapters and photographs, but more as a snapshot in time than any serious knowledge.

3 stars.