Joshua Frydman

Can be a bit heavy going in some sections and getting your tongue around the names is not easy. However, it is a informative read and highlights that possibility that everyone's cultural history could have started from a common story.
Cannot wait to read the others in the series

Informative and long-winded at the expense of clarity. Frydman delivers the raw material for an excellent text. Thames & Hudson's editor(s) did not do enough to extract the precious metals from the slag.

A sentence-level example: "Richū is only the second ruler (after the ill-dated Chūai) to have a short reign, and the first whose lifespan is realistic in length." (p. 90)