The book I chose to read tells about the explosion of Mount Vesuvius near Pompeii in AD 79. I picked this one primarily because we have a board game based on this disaster but also because I wanted to see if any detailed information would be included.
I was somewhat disappointed in the approach the author took with this story. Most of the plot involves a father and son who, as far as I can tell, are fictional. (If that's incorrect, I apologize to the author.) I was hoping for more specifics based on what archaeologists have found there.
That said, I suppose it would be difficult to make any sort of story out of the remains of the city themselves. I assume that the story the author created is a plausible account of what could have happened.
I don't plan to read any more in this series mainly because the topics don't interest me all that much. I already know all I care to know about them.
I imagine that teachers often use these books as part of a history class. Our library has a dozen or more of many of the titles in the series, and most of them were checked out the last time I looked.
You would be hard pressed to use these books for more than supplementary material, but they would work well as just that.
