This is a very nice reference book that chronicles major rulers in history. Beginning with Gilgamesh, it finishes with Diana, Princess of Wales. Each person of royalty is given one page of biography with a facing page portrait, very nice. Featured are rulers from everywhere in the world including the Bible. There is a good amount of history that can be learned by reading a single page about people, clarifying who they were and events of their reigns...easy reading. I'm quite sure I will read the entire book, by subject or time frame in spurts of differing interests, and that could take some time. But I will want to absorb all of it, bit by bit.
For you bibliophiles, the Table of Contents is very beautifully done. You could very well want this one for the pictures and those pages alone, but I'll bet you will put it on your shelf of really good reference books, gathering information in various amounts from time to time and enjoying every moment of it. ( )

I just liked buying an encyclopedia of portraits for less than ten bucks. Then went on to other books with more text when I was interested enough for some entertaining Historical Research. ( )

A good book covering a lot of ground; so much so that only one page and a picture is afforded each ruler covered. Great for summary work, but as any book with this wide a berth, it lacks substance and detail that you would find in a biography or more focused title. Still a very enjoyable read. ( )