To me, ancient history is no different than science fiction. And while this is not a fictional narrative by any stretch, it does transport me into a time so distant in the past that I am immersed in imagining what life may have been like for the people who lived then.

Eric Cline has written a thoroughly readable, engaging explainer for what the Late Bronze Age was, as well as presenting numerous competing theories that scholars have for why it all went to pieces. As this period of human history happened SO long ago, new evidence is constantly coming to light and challenging scholars' assumptions and theories. It's a bit like travelling through an ancient ruin yourself, complete with shifting ground and structures that might collapse, but Cline is such a great tour guide; knowledgeable, humorous, and composed, that you feel perfectly safe while you dip your toe into the past, wondering at the lives and stories of people that lived so long ago.