Explore the mysteries and treasures of prerevolutionary Beijing with Derek Sandhaus's colorful Tales of Old Peking (Earnshaw Books). He delivers an informative and entertaining historical collage that includes riveting first-hand accounts dating back to the early nineteenth century as well as Western representations of the city occasionally colored by "Yellow Peril" paranoia and Orientalist fantasy (check out, for example, the amusing excerpt from Jack London's The Unparalleled Invasion, set in an imagined 1976 Peking "filled with [a] chattering yellow populace" with "queued heads" and "slant eyes.")

Tales of Old Peking is both intelligent and educational, with Sandhaus' clever insights maintaining a constant editorial presence throughout as he weaves together the words of literary masters from Mark Twain to Lu Xun with excerpts from publications written by everyone from missionaries and diplomats to amateur scholars and opinionated businessmen.

Like China's historical center of political intrigue itself, the book possesses a rich and mysterious quality that emerges from the wide range of subjects covered, including oppressed concubines and the eunuchs who protected them, to first-hand accounts of the Boxer Rebellion and the Opium Wars. Combined with well-chosen images, Tales of Old Peking offers an engaging and often enlightening historical introduction to the imperial city. 

Sandhaus provides glimpses into the real historical Peking, warts and all, drawing on both Western and Eastern sources to give the reader a sense of China's often strained encounters with foreigners while also reveling in the richness of Peking's many-layered story. 

Sandhaus is skeptical where warranted, questioning, for example, the truthfulness of Marco Polo's travel narrative and even the existence of Marco Polo himself. Such bold inferences invite readers to ask their own questions and form opinions while drawing them further into Peking's intriguing history. A great addition to the expat or visiting history buff's library and of interest to anyone curious about China's storied capital city. 

—Jaclyn Hourihan