Charlotte Brooks – författare

RHS Botanical Illustration: The Gold Medal Winners collects outstanding examples of botanical illustration from around the world, all of which have been awarded prestigious gold medals by the famous Royal Horticultural Society. This new updated and extended edition includes all new gold medal winners from 2019 to 2024, with an additional 29 stunning works from 14 new and accomplished artists. The RHS only award their gold medal to the most outstanding artists, encouraging the international artistic community to perform to the highest standard for the RHS annual exhibition, now held at the Saatchi Gallery in London, which runs for six weeks every summer. This gold medal is a highly coveted testament to an artist’s abilities, and the illustrations gathered in these pages demonstrate great attention to detail, masterful colour work and outstanding technical skill.Insightful commentary on the artists’ creative process accompanies each picture. The perfect book for the lover of horticulture, as well as an excellent reference both for botanists and aspiring artists, this collection also includes an updated introductory essay that delves into the history of the RHS.

Between the early 1900s and the late 1950s, the attitudes of white Californians toward their Asian American neighbors evolved from outright hostility to relative acceptance. Charlotte Brooks examines this transformation through the lens of California's urban housing markets, arguing that the perceived foreignness of Asian Americans, which initially stranded them in segregated areas, eventually facilitated their integration into neighborhoods that rejected other minorities. Against the backdrop of Cold War efforts to win Asian hearts and minds, whites who saw little difference between Asians and Asian Americans increasingly advocated the latter group's access to middle-class life and the residential areas that went with it. But as they transformed Asian Americans into a "model minority," whites purposefully ignored the long backstory of Chinese and Japanese Americans' early and largely failed attempts to participate in public and private housing programs.As Brooks tells this multifaceted story, she draws on a broad range of sources in multiple languages, giving voice to an array of community leaders, journalists, activists, and homeowners - and insightfully conveying the complexity of racialized housing in a multiracial society.

Between the early 1900s and the late 1950s, the attitudes of white Californians toward their Asian American neighbors evolved from outright hostility to relative acceptance. Charlotte Brooks examines this transformation through the lens of California’s urban housing markets, arguing that the perceived foreignness of Asian Americans, which initially stranded them in segregated areas, eventually facilitated their integration into neighborhoods that rejected other minorities. Against the backdrop of cold war efforts to win Asian hearts and minds, whites who saw little difference between Asians and Asian Americans increasingly advocated the latter group’s access to middle-class life and the residential areas that went with it. But as they transformed Asian Americans into a “model minority,” whites purposefully ignored the long backstory of Chinese and Japanese Americans’ early and largely failed attempts to participate in public and private housing programs. As Brooks tells this multifaceted story, she draws on a broad range of sources in multiple languages, giving voice to an array of community leaders, journalists, activists, and homeowners—and insightfully conveying the complexity of racialized housing in a multiracial society.

During the Cold War, Chinese Americans struggled to gain political influence in the United States. Considered potentially sympathetic to communism, their communities attracted substantial public and government scrutiny, particularly in San Francisco and New York. Between Mao and McCarthy looks at the divergent ways that Chinese Americans in these two cities balanced domestic and international pressures during the tense Cold War era. On both coasts, Chinese Americans sought to gain political power and defend their civil rights, yet only the San Franciscans succeeded. Forging multiracial coalitions and encouraging voting and moderate activism, they avoided the deep divisions and factionalism that consumed their counterparts in New York. Drawing on extensive research in both Chinese- and English-language sources, Charlotte Brooks uncovers the complex, diverse, and surprisingly vibrant politics of an ethnic group trying to find its voice and flex its political muscle in Cold War America.

During the Cold War, Chinese Americans struggled to gain political influence in the United States. Considered potentially sympathetic to communism, their communities attracted substantial public and government scrutiny, particularly in San Francisco and New York. Between Mao and McCarthy looks at the divergent ways that Chinese Americans in these two cities balanced domestic and international pressures during the tense Cold War era. On both coasts, Chinese Americans sought to gain political power and defend their civil rights, yet only the San Franciscans succeeded. Forging multiracial coalitions and encouraging voting and moderate activism, they avoided the deep divisions and factionalism that consumed their counterparts in New York. Drawing on extensive research in both Chinese- and English-language sources, Charlotte Brooks uncovers the complex, diverse, and surprisingly vibrant politics of an ethnic group trying to find its voice and flex its political muscle in Cold War America.

In the first decades of the 20th century, almost half of the Chinese Americans born in the United States moved to China—a relocation they assumed would be permanent. At a time when people from around the world flocked to the United States, this little-noticed emigration belied America’s image as a magnet for immigrants and a land of upward mobility for all. Fleeing racism, Chinese Americans who sought greater opportunities saw China, a tottering empire and then a struggling republic, as their promised land.  American Exodus is the first book to explore this extraordinary migration of Chinese Americans. Their exodus shaped Sino-American relations, the development of key economic sectors in China, the character of social life in its coastal cities, debates about the meaning of culture and “modernity” there, and the U.S. government’s approach to citizenship and expatriation in the interwar years. Spanning multiple fields, exploring numerous cities, and crisscrossing the Pacific Ocean, this book will appeal to anyone interested in Chinese history, international relations, immigration history, and Asian American studies.

In the first decades of the 20th century, almost half of the Chinese Americans born in the United States moved to China—a relocation they assumed would be permanent. At a time when people from around the world flocked to the United States, this little-noticed emigration belied America’s image as a magnet for immigrants and a land of upward mobility for all. Fleeing racism, Chinese Americans who sought greater opportunities saw China, a tottering empire and then a struggling republic, as their promised land.  American Exodus is the first book to explore this extraordinary migration of Chinese Americans. Their exodus shaped Sino-American relations, the development of key economic sectors in China, the character of social life in its coastal cities, debates about the meaning of culture and “modernity” there, and the U.S. government’s approach to citizenship and expatriation in the interwar years. Spanning multiple fields, exploring numerous cities, and crisscrossing the Pacific Ocean, this book will appeal to anyone interested in Chinese history, international relations, immigration history, and Asian American studies.

The most extraordinary family you’ve never heard of.Born to Chinese immigrant parents, the Moy siblings grew up in an America that questioned their citizenship and denied their equality. Sophisticated and self-consciously modern, they challenged limitations and stereotypes in the United States and sought new opportunities in China’s tumultuous republic. Sometimes the risks they took paid off, but their occasional recklessness also led to infidelity, divorce, bankruptcy, and worse. Those in China faced pressure to collaborate with Japanese occupiers, making choices that had serious consequences for their siblings in the United States.  Charlotte Brooks’s gripping tale follows the family back and forth across the Pacific and through two world wars, China’s Nationalist and Communist revolutions, and the Cold War—events that the siblings and their spouses helped shape. The Moys’ incredible story offers a kaleidoscopic view of an entire generation’s struggle for acceptance and belonging.

The most extraordinary family you've never heard of. Born to Chinese immigrant parents, the Moy siblings grew up in an America that questioned their citizenship and denied their equality. Sophisticated and self-consciously modern, they challenged limitations and stereotypes in the United States and sought new opportunities in China's tumultuous republic. Sometimes the risks they took paid off, but their occasional recklessness also led to infidelity, divorce, bankruptcy, and worse. Those in China faced pressure to collaborate with Japanese occupiers, making choices that had serious consequences for their siblings in the United States. Charlotte Brooks's gripping tale follows the family back and forth across the Pacific and through two world wars, China's Nationalist and Communist revolutions, and the Cold Warevents that the siblings and their spouses helped shape. The Moys' incredible story offers a kaleidoscopic view of an entire generation's struggle for acceptance and belonging.

In the first decades of the 20th century, almost half of the Chinese Americans born in the United States moved to China—a relocation they assumed would be permanent. At a time when people from around the world flocked to the United States, this little-noticed emigration belied America’s image as a magnet for immigrants and a land of upward mobility for all. Fleeing racism, Chinese Americans who sought greater opportunities saw China, a tottering empire and then a struggling republic, as their promised land.  American Exodus is the first book to explore this extraordinary migration of Chinese Americans. Their exodus shaped Sino-American relations, the development of key economic sectors in China, the character of social life in its coastal cities, debates about the meaning of culture and “modernity” there, and the U.S. government’s approach to citizenship and expatriation in the interwar years. Spanning multiple fields, exploring numerous cities, and crisscrossing the Pacific Ocean, this book will appeal to anyone interested in Chinese history, international relations, immigration history, and Asian American studies.

"HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: For all botanical artists aspiring to enter the RHS Botanical Art Exhibition and win a Gold Medal - and for all botanical art lovers everywhere. This book makes a major contribution to both the recording of contemporary botanical art and learning about how to produce top quality botanical art" - botanicalartandartists.com "An attractively varied compendium of top prize-winning botanical paintings, together with an informative introductory essay." - Gardens Illustrated Botanical Illustration: a genre of art that endeavours faithfully to depict and represent the form, colour and detail of a plant. Abiding by this definition, the RHS Lindley Library has secured approximately 30,000 splendid illustrations of buds, fruit, flowers and leaves since they first started commissioning artists in 1806. RHS Botanical Illustration: The Gold Medal Winners represents a cross-section of recent gold medallists from around the world. The RHS only award their gold medal to the most outstanding exhibitions, encouraging the international artistic community to perform to the highest standard. This gold medal is a highly-coveted testament to an artist's abilities, and the illustrations gathered in these pages demonstrate great attention to detail, masterful colour work and outstanding technical skill. Insightful commentary on the artists' creative process accompanies each picture. The perfect book for the lover of horticulture, as well as an excellent reference both for botanists and aspiring artists, this collection also includes an introductory essay that delves into the history of the RHS.

"This beautifully produced book will be inspiring to botanical artists and all those who are captivated by the orchid." — Leisure Painter "Through these paintings, stories of high stakes orchid breeding and exhibiting are explored, with a cast of characters who helped shape the horticultural world we know today, alongside the dedicated artists who still support their endeavours." — Lovely BooksOrchids have long held a place of esteem and fascination in the horticultural world. In the 19th century, orchid collecting reached new fanatical heights, with explorers dispatched to every corner of the globe in search of new varieties that could be auctioned at extravagant prices, and orchids are still one of the most popular flowers to breed and buy to this day. These beautiful, diverse flowers are one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with over 30,000 species and over 181,500 hybrids and cultivars.The RHS Orchid Committee have commissioned watercolours of over 7,000 award-winning hybrids that demonstrate particular value in their fabulous array of colours, patterns, sizes and shapes. Through these paintings, stories of high stakes orchid breeding and exhibiting are explored, with a cast of characters who helped shape the horticultural world we know today, alongside the dedicated artists who still support their endeavours.

Everyone thinks June did it. Her access credentials were used near the crime scene. Her name appears in the victim's notes. Witnesses heard the argument. And for twelve crucial minutes, June cannot prove where she was. It looks like an open-and-shut case. It isn't. Hidden inside a field of 43,000 suspects is the one person who actually killed Marcus Vale. Before he died, Marcus left behind 17 precise clues. Each clue eliminates part of the suspect pool. Some remove only a few names. Others erase thousands at once. And one tiny detail clears June completely. Your task is to follow the evidence, test every assumption, cross out the impossible, and keep narrowing the field until only one identity survives. This is not a mystery you simply read. You solve it. No trivia. No guesswork. No outside knowledge required. Every fact you need is inside the case. The challenge comes from spotting patterns, checking contradictions, understanding what each clue really means, and refusing to be fooled by the suspect everyone else believes is guilty. As the list shrinks, the pressure grows. A harmless-looking letter becomes decisive. A number wipes out entire groups. A surname pattern changes everything. 17 clues. 43,000 suspects. One killer. Can you clear June's name and unmask the murderer before the final reveal?

The groom is dead. The bride is covered in blood. Every piece of evidence points directly at her. Her fingerprints are on the knife. Witnesses heard her threaten him. Security footage places a woman in white near the murder scene. By midnight, everyone at the wedding believes the case is already solved. But one clue proves the bride could not have done it. Now the real puzzle begins. Hidden inside a damaged wedding access database are 43,000 possible suspect profiles. Seventeen carefully constructed clues reveal the killer's name, surname, and table assignment one step at a time. Each clue eliminates the impossible, narrows the field, and exposes another weakness in the story everyone was too quick to believe. This is not a traditional murder mystery where you simply wait for the detective to reveal the answer. You are the detective. Follow the evidence. Test the names. Track the numbers. Challenge every assumption. One clue clears the bride. Another destroys the timeline. Others wipe out thousands of suspects until only one person remains logically possible. But beware. The strongest evidence in the case is real. The blood is real. The argument is real. The bride really did touch the weapon. Someone has simply arranged the truth to tell the wrong story. 17 clues. 43,000 suspects. One killer. Can you prove who did it before the final reveal?

Alice looks guilty. The evidence is devastating. Her access card opened the restricted gallery. Her scarf was found beside the body. Her fingerprints are on the display case. Witnesses heard her threaten the victim. Security footage appears to place her near the scene just before the murder. Everyone thinks the case is over. Then one clue proves Alice could not have done it. Now the real mystery begins. Hidden inside a damaged museum access system are 43,000 possible suspect profiles. Seventeen carefully constructed clues reveal the killer's identity one piece at a time. Every clue eliminates the impossible, narrows the field, and exposes another flaw in the story everyone was too eager to believe. But this is not a mystery where you simply wait for the detective to reveal the answer. You are the detective. Track the names. Test the access sectors. Question every witness. Follow the forged provenance trail. Examine what the security footage actually proves, and what it only seems to prove. Because the most dangerous evidence in this case is not false. It is real evidence arranged to tell the wrong story. A curator is dead. A priceless painting hides a secret. Someone inside the museum has spent years manufacturing history. And Alice may have been chosen as the perfect suspect long before the murder ever happened. 17 clues. 43,000 suspects. One killer. Can you clear Alice, expose the contradiction, and identify the only person who could have committed the murder before the final reveal?