I admittedly knew nothing about Xianjing before picking this up but now I feel like I understand it. Holdstock holds the reader's hand a bit, explaining the history of the Uyghur people and the various movements like East Turkemistan until modern day China with a good exploration of the various, complicated factors that underpin a large government like China. Holdstock is careful not place the blame on religion, culture, or even the media but rather puts a little blame on all of those and mostly on the Chinese government. It makes for a calm book especially compared to the hysterical tone other sources talking about Uyghurs often has.