I've always been told that the Bronze Age Collapse was shrouded in mystery and then the lesson would move on to the Iron Age. This book does a great job peeling back those layers of mystery and letting us know about the surprisingly interlaced cultures and economies of the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian world.

Unsurprisingly, the best estimate of why trade networks and palaces suddenly disappeared would be multifactoral. The author explores all these factors along with the archeological evidence to support them. You can probably guess that the story can get dry at times, bogged down in artifacts and writing. But this book puts together an engaging story that has significant relevance for the present day.