Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī (224–310 AH; 839–923 AD) comes across in these volumes as a fine writer and collector of writings of historical significance. In the last volumes, he himself is a witness to the events he describes, such as the 18-year revolt of black slaves in southern Iraq. In other volumes, he attempts to rely on the best-authenticated reports maintained by chains of individuals, i.e., the foundation method of Islamic history. In some cases there are several versions of the same incident, all presented without authorial comments.
In a few cases there are other available translations but I have always found these to be the best, as well as having excellent introductions that make it a bit easier to navigate through the welter of events, persons and places from a very remote time. In my experience, the enormous cast of characters is not at all unusual in medieval writing (compare Ming Dynasty novels or Icelandic sagas) as is the frequent presence of adventure and violence. Al-Tabari handles it all with aplomb.
I have mixed feelings about the availability of these writings for free on the Web, as the publisher (State University of New York Press) should benefit by their sale, to encourage them to continue such extraordinary projects.