Continuing his previous investigations into issues of religion and ethnic relations among the Muslims of the Volga-Ural region, Frank draws on locally produced Islamic manuscripts to explore how the Muslims of the two peoples manipulated local legends, conversion narratives, and sacred geography to create a body of sacred historiography that expressed a meaningful regional identity and that responded to the changing relationship between them and the Russian state over the course of the 19th century. He also considers the debate between traditionalists and reformers and the fate of Bulghar identity through the 20th century. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.