The author of The Story of the Borgias and The Story of the Sforzas adds the Medici to his studies. Beginning with Cosmo, virtual founder of the family in Florence, he carries on through Leo X -- covering the period of their fame, 1429-1521. Each character is etched against the background of his period, and the characters of the times are part of the whole. Not a glamorous book -- as one might expect -- sound scholarship -- good reference material.