Chinese history, in English.

My recent interest in the tv serial Romance of the Three Kingdoms (RoTK) has spurred me to start reading about Chinese history. for the first time EVER. Talk about positive influence! Although much of it is more tale than truth, Im fascinated by the condensed speech used by the characters of the show and the sheer articulation. So i went and decided to get myself a nice solid book on chinese history... only to find that i just. couldnt decipher the words. I ended up getting a history book written in English. oh the irony! The fact that i am of chinese descent and had to read about my own cultural history in another language. Ashamed i am.