I found COC a bit hard of a read. Parts of it were excellent, but he drones on a bit too mcuh for me,. Still, a very essential book. I really found "The Battle for God" by Karen Armstong to be better for me. For while it does not directly even mention JWS, it talks about the history of relijgion and how it evolved. When i saw in print that CT Russel was just another guy at the turn of the century with end of the world theories, wow it was very liberating. It put it all in prespective. I did not leave the "truth" i just left another end of the world religion.
The 1800-why 1914 line has been helpful. They have some great literature. short reads. I have a bit of a problem concentrating for long periods of time so that is perfect for me.