I used this book for two courses at Columbia College and I have to say that reading it was like pulling out my own fingernails. Some chapters were written enthusiastically, but overall the book lacked energy... how am I supposed to get excited about this subject when the writer doesn't care about it himself? Some chapters even wander around chronologically without making that obvious on the first reading, leading to confusion and frustration (and loss of my time having to re-read chapters repeatedly).
The insets were nice (original documents, etc), but always appeared in weird spots where you'd have to keep reading before they made much sense.
My other major complaint is that many chapters contained blatant usage and grammar errors. Did no one proofread this book? Sentences don't start with the word "And," just so you know, Kishlansky.