This is a book for those looking to get their feet wet, so to speak, in the world of royalty. The author talks briefly about the history of each of the current reigning houses of Europe, and also briefly profiles each of its members. The title should say "A Reference Guide to The EUROPEAN Royal Families", as this book deals only with them, though I feel the additions of the Japanese, Jordanian, Thai, Tongan, and other families would have made this book better. The book also contains several unfortunate mistakes, which could have been corrected with better editing. This book seems to have been written in a hurry. ( )