Reddit mentions of Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia

I added some Achaemenid works to the r/askhistorians reading list a while back:

• From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire by Pierre Briant. From Cyrus to Alexander, written by the doyen of Achaemenid Persian studies, is the most comprehensive history of the Persian empire. Briant covers all aspects of Persian history in exhaustive detail in addition to addressing aspects of society like warfare and the structure and administration of the empire.
  
  
• Ancient Persia: A Concise History of the Achaemenid Empire, 550-330 BCE by Matthew Waters. Considerably shorter than Briant's book, this book provides a concise but comprehensive summary of Persian history. Waters does a good job of incorporating Greek sources in addition to Elamite and Persian texts.
  
  
• The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period by Amelie Kuhrt. An excellent companion volume to the histories of Waters and Briant, Kuhrt has provided a superb compilation of annotated translations for the major Persian texts and inscriptions as well as Greek accounts of ancient Persia.
  
  
• Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia edited by John Curtis and Nigel Tallis. This well-illustrated book is a very readable introduction to all aspects of ancient Persia, including history, language, palaces, food and dining, jewelry and clothing, religion, administration, and warfare.
  
  
• King and Court in Ancient Persia, 559 to 331 BCE by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones. This is the best overview of the royal court of ancient Persia, including chapters on high officials, royal women, and daily life in the court. Each chapter is accompanied by a variety of translated primary sources drawn from Persian and Greek texts.
  
  If you're interested in Greek sources as well, see Ctesias'’ Persica in Its Near Eastern Context by Matt Waters and Ctesias' 'History of Persia': Tales of the Orient by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones and James Robson.

Hi there! I will recommend three books, each of them with different goals. First, Pierre Briant's From Cyrus to Alexander is the history of the Persian Empire right now. It is meticulous, detailed, thorough, and dense. Thus, the book is not for everyone. Also, the visuals are disappointing, so if you're looking for glossy photos or excellent maps, this is not the book.

For a book with excellent photos, however, find John Curtis and Nigel Tallis's Forgotten Empire. The editors are renown scholars at the British Museum, and with such resources at their hands, they have published a magnificent and beautiful book. High quality photos of Persian artifacts, architecture, ceramics, etc. are to be found here.

Lastly, if you want a book that focuses on the primary textual sources of the Persian Empire, you must go to Amelie Kuhrt's The Persian Empire. She is a well-respected scholar who has meticulously translated nearly all of the ancient documents written both by and about the Persian Empire. The book is physically huge, but if you want to read the words of Persian kings themselves (in English), then this book is a must-read.