I am a great believer in history and have often written criticising the extent to which it has been neglected in our schools. But history, as we all know, can be quite dull. Between the two I personally would choose to read the second.
Academic history can be, and actually is, dry and lacking in a human side.
It does not heed the emotional and spiritual journeys which are part and parcel of human existence. One has to admit that some academic history books read like car manuals, and any interest in them, if such exists, does not extend beyond the classroom. As opposed to academic history, popular history exploits both the dramatic and humanistic dimensions of history. The emphasis is on bringing the subject closer to the people. In fact popularised history has an advantage over fiction in that it is real.