MONGOLIA evokes images of magnificent desolation--sandy deserts and rolling tundra dotted with nomadic camps. It is a place where many outsiders believe they will find a culture untouched by the modern world, one steeped in a history of strong warriors and their conquering armies. Reality, however, paints a much more complex picture. For the past half century, Mongolians were almost invisible to the world as they straddled two cultures, conforming to Soviet-style socialism while ...