This book deserves to grace the shelves of anyone involved or interested in Taiwan studies. It asks authors of influential books on Taiwan to reflect on their work, years or in some cases decades after their publication. In doing so, we learn much about the consequential ways in which Taiwan has changed and our evolving understanding of those changes. I think we sometimes take for granted the magnitude of transformations in Taiwan. A moment of conscious reflection, as presented in this book, forces you to consider them anew. Building on prior research is the lifeblood of scholarship, but requiring authors to confront and engage with their work in this deliberate way is not something we often do. Prompted by the book I am minded to redirect some of the time I spend chasing the latest literature into re-reading prior work.

The book grew out of a panel at the Second World Congress of Taiwan Studies and subsequent lecture series at the SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies. I attended the latter, which drew highly diverse, but uniformly engaged, crowds of students, scholars and Taiwan enthusiasts. The editors pose a number of questions to the contributors. What would you have done differently? How was the book's critical reception? What did you do next? Did the book stand the test of time? It also contains reflections on research design, methods and data, and theorizing in the original studies, and hard-earned advice on the research process and the state of related research. One question – How did the book come about? – is an invitation to speak about more individual issues. Depictions of the research puzzles, personal motivations and acts of serendipity that gave rise to the projects before they became classic texts contributes a texture and intimacy to the book that I found quite affecting. These are the kind of conversations that might come up late at night in the conference hotel bar; the book makes them available to everyone.

The selection is ordered chronologically, starting with Michael Hsiao in the early 1980s and ending with Mikael Mattlin at the start of the 2010s. The volume draws its contributors from the fields of political science (Dafydd Fell, Shelley Rigger, Mikael Mattlin), anthropology (Melissa Brown, Anru Lee), sociology (Michael Hsiao, Thomas Gold), language and literature (Henning Klöter), ethnomusicology (Nancy Guy), public policy (Joseph Wong), international relations (Chris Hughes) and a senior Asian affairs journalist and editor at The Economist (Simon Long). The selection is exemplary, and I have no quibble except to regret that other deserving titles and authors have yet to receive the Revisiting treatment.

Taiwan studies has gone through a similar transformation during the past four decades, and the issue of the vitality and sustainability of the field is infused subtly throughout the book. This is not idle navel gazing: Taiwan's particular circumstances raise epistemological, substantive, practical and professional issues. A decade on from my own answer to the question “Is Taiwan studies in decline?” (The China Quarterly 207 [2011]: 706–718), the field has gone from strength to strength. The editors are not shy about labelling the current period a “golden age of international Taiwan Studies” (p. 1). I agree, with the exception that haunts all social science and humanities fields: the number of talented Taiwan scholars coming through PhD programmes greatly exceeds the number of academic positions available.

The health of research owes much to the fact that Taiwan is a dynamic and fascinating case in its own right, with much to contribute to comparative disciplinary research and theorizing – as evidenced by the works that are revisited here. Over time, Taiwan has also become hard to beat for access, availability of data and supportive institutions and colleagues. In terms of the vitality of the field internationally, we have been well served by a globally dispersed cohort of exceptionally capable, motivated and dedicated colleagues, who have worked tirelessly to promote and consolidate the institutionalization of Taiwan studies. It is gratifying to note the growing number of Taiwan studies programmes at universities around the world, energized Taiwan studies associations (and their conferences) in North America, Japan and Europe, and dedicated venues for the field in the International Journal of Taiwan Studies under the editorship of Ming-yeh Rawnsley and the Routledge Research on Taiwan Studies series (which published Taiwan Studies Revisited) under Dafydd Fell. Finally, we should recognize the generosity and far sightedness of Taiwanese governments in facilitating much of our work. Numerous institutions have contributed substantial resources to research, teaching and capacity-building over a long period, creating the foundation for sustainable excellence in the field. It is not coincidental that the institutional settings in which Revisiting Taiwan Studies was honed were funded by Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Long may it continue.