A transporting account of the people, landscapes and challenges of life in westernmost Mongolia. The author -- who spent a year in village of Tsengel teaching English -- is attuned to the diverse ethnic mix of the region with its dominant population of Muslim Kazakhs, Mongol Halkhs and Altai Tuvans. She also explores outside the village with the nomadic herders of yaks, camels. goats and sheep.  (MGL45, $17.95)