As a record-breaking, rapturously reviewed exhibition at the Rijksmuseum gathers together more paintings by Vermeer than have ever been shown in the same place, Vermeer's Hat is a fascinating examination of the world in which the Old Master painted.

'Effortless and compelling, Brooks is a wonderful storyteller. I doubt I will read a better book this year.' Sunday Telegraph Each of Vermeer's paintings tells a story. In one, a military officer leans toward a laughing girl; in another, a woman stands by a window and weighs silver; in a third, fruit spills from a porcelain bowl onto a lavish Turkish carpet. Hiding in plain sight, these details hint at the intricate threads that bound Vermeer's world together - the officer's hat is made from North American beaver, bought with silver extracted from the mines of Peru, while beaver pelts were traded in their thousands for the Chinese porcelain so beloved by the Dutch in the Golden Age. From a view of Delft, Vermeer gives us the world. As a new Vermeer exhibition opens at the Rijksmuseum, the largest of its kind in history, Vermeer's Hat offers a fascinating perspective on how the burgeoning forces of trade and commerce shaped Vermeer's masterpieces.

"Spell-binding ... as a guide to the world behind the pictures Vermeer's Hat is mind-expanding" - Sunday Times

"A brilliant attempt to make us understand the reach and breadth of the first global age" - Guardian

"Brook takes you into the paintings in a way that can be spookily intimate" - Evening Standard

"Brook is a gifted storyteller... spellbinding... a treasure trove of astonishing pleasures" - The Lady

"How brilliantly Brook connects all with all" - Guardian

"Revelatory" - Sunday Business Post

"Illuminating footnotes to Vermeer's miracles on canvas" - Independent

"An erudite, surprising book that finds traces of swashbuckling where you'd least expect" - Daily Telegraph

"Truly mesmerising. In this accessible but authoritative study, he... shows better than anyone I've read so far, the truly subversive power of detail" - Independent on Sunday