It took me long enough to get around to this book that by the time I started it, I had forgotten a) what it was about and b) why I wanted to read it.
About a page in reminded me - because Spinoza and all the bits of history and philosophy that I knew less about than I wanted to.
And in that respect, this book did precisely what I wanted it to, giving me both context and content for Spinoza's work and a sense of why he pissed off the everybody.
I still don't remember what prompted the interest in the first place (statistically speaking, it was likely a podcast from the era when I took public transit and listened to things), but now I'm glad I know.