The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han by Mark Edward Lewis

I needed another palette cleanse from my study of Classical Greek history, and this first in a six book series on the Chinese empires fit the bill nicely.

The time period of the Qin and Han runs roughly from 200BC to 200AD, on par with the dissolution of the Roman Republic and the peak of the Roman Empire.

I'm reminded of the need to reach back and re-examine the major world cultures beyond the Mediterranean.  Although I doubt I will ever dive as deeply into them, the far east and India, among others, beckon for study.