This collection of articles is the outcome of a conference, "Recapturing the Tibetans who Escaped the Historian's Net", that was held in Bonn in May 2013. Most of the contributors are directly associated with the Franco-German project "The Social History of Tibetan Societies, 17th to 20th Centuries". As the title of the work suggests, the broad focus of interest is provided by "the sort of people who usually escape the historian's net" (a phrase borrowed from William Dalrymple's The Last Moghul). However, in addition to the social groups that are still largely underrepresented in studies on Tibetan communities both within the PRC and in adjacent countries, the contributions to this volume include the attitude of the central government and its organs towards its subjects, and to the analysis of some of the source materials themselves.

The Manual of Standard Tibetan presents the everyday speech of Lhasa, as it is currently used in Tibet as well as amongst the Tibetan diaspora. It not only places the language in its natural context, but also highlights along the way key aspects of Tibetan civilization and Vajrayana Buddhism. The Manual, which consists of forty-one lessons, is illustrated with many drawings and photographs, and also includes two informative political and linguistic maps of Tibet. Two CDs provide an essential oral complement to the Manual. A detailed introduction presents a linguistic overview of spoken and written Tibetan.