With demomcrary facing challanges globally there has been growing interest in the model of metiocracy in recent political studies. M. Hamza Uçar's Imperial Metiocracies: Comparing Models of Ottoman and Ming Dynasty the Sixteenth Century provides a comparative study on the meritocratic systems of the Late-Ming China and the sixteenth century Ottoman Empire. Based on a careful histirocal analysis this study not only accounts vividly the "Imperial Meritocracy" of the two ancient empires but also has important theoretical implications for studies of democracy and meritocracy.