本书由梅维恒先生授权我国知名语言学家徐文堪先生根据国内学界的具体状况辑编，所收12篇论文略依时代和主题排列。1～3篇主要涉及新疆青铜和早期铁器时代考古学和上古时期中西交通，包括吐火罗问题。4～6篇为语言学论文，特别关注汉语语言史与梵语和佛教的关系。7～11篇均与敦煌吐鲁番学相关，对唐五代变文的研究是其重点，还讨论了《心经》诸本与《西游记》的关系。第12篇是与著名语言学家、台湾“中研院”院士梅祖麟教授合撰，讨论近体诗与梵文诗律的关系，对沈约的“四声八病”说作了深入分析，是继陈寅恪先生名作《四声三问》之后的一篇精心杰作。除上述12篇外，梅氏于2010年写成长文《近三十年来北美中国语言研究的进展》，涉及汉语与内陆欧亚语言关系的研究情况，此文由其学生、密歇根大学东亚图书馆馆长杨继东博士和匹兹堡大学博士生崔捷先生合译为中文，并附详细书目，故作为“附录”收入。

Svat Soucek's book offers a short and accessible introduction to the history of Inner Asia. The narrative, which begins with the arrival of Islam, charts the rise and fall of the different dynasties right up to the Russian conquest. Dynastic tables and maps augment and elucidate the text. The contemporary focus rests on the seven countries which make up the core of present-day Eurasia, that is Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Sinkiang and Mongolia. Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, renewed interest in these countries has prompted considerable political, cultural, economic and religious debate. While a divergent literature has evolved in consequence, no comprehensive survey of the region has been attempted. Soucek's history promises to fill this gap and to become an indispensable source of information for anyone studying or visiting the region.