OUP US/92Lester CAN/92Stanford University Press US/98 QUELLING THE PEOPLE A highly readable account of the 1989 military suppression of democracy in China by Timothy Brook, a renowned China scholar who holds the Shaw Chair in Chinese Studies at Oxford University.

Vermeer’s Hat The 17th Century and the Dawn of the Global World Entertainment Weekly Pick of the Week! MORE REVIEWS “It’s a fascinating approach to cultural history, providing new ways of thinking about the origins of commonplace objects.” Michael RomeroEntertainment Weekly “… Brook takes us on rich, suggestive tours of the 17th century.” Douglas SmithThe…

Vermeer’s Hat The 17th Century and the Dawn of the Global World More reviews: “This is a spellbinding book… a telling antidote to the doctrine that art exists in some pure, ethereal realm, abstracted from the lives people lead… as a guide to the world behind the pictures Vermeer’s Hat is mind-expanding.â€John CareyThe Times “This is a fabulous…

“This is joyful and comprehensive scholarship, full of motion and detail. Timothy Brook encases the fascinating and changeable world of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) in a clear conceptual and chronological framework which any non-specialist can follow. Here are a wealth of Ming people and their problems, along with the very stuff of their world: bricks…

“Thanks to Brook’s roving and insatiably curious gaze, Vermeer’s small scenes widen onto the broad panorama of world history… The result is like one of Vermeer’s trademark reflective pearls that magically reveals  a world beyond itself. A more entertaining guide to world history — and to Vermeer–is difficult to imagineâ€Ross King “Vermeer’s Hat is a deftly…

Praise for Mr. Selden’s Map of China: “Brook is a true practitioner of the broad, rich and currently endangered concept of the humanities… reads like a perfect day at the library.†—The Globe and Mail “a fast-moving, conversational narrative, which flies by before you realise you have just been guided through some of the more esoteric…