This is a good book, although I would not recommend it as an introduction to the subject. If you're not already familiar with the characters and events to some degree, you'll just be lost, because he doesn't refer to specifics too often. It deals in generalizations and large sweeps. And it's no good for research for the same reason. What it's good for is in helping those of us who already have some familiarity with the subject to see it in a new way, and to draw connections that probably escaped us. The value of the book is in the perspective of an accomplished and perceptive expert that it provides.Sadly, the quality of the printing in this Penguin edition is absolutely deplorable. It is the worst I have ever seen. It looks like a bad photocopy. Apparently Penguin is too cheap to reset the type, and is using plates that should have been thrown out long ago. Buy a used copy. Don't patronize Penguin for producing such a shoddy product.