I mean, there's plenty of bad 'pop history', but I'd imagine that must be at least something good just by the sheer volume of the stuff floating around.
I read a fair amount of pop history, and there's lots of good pop history! The "good stuff" tends to be quieter and not published by Certain Big Names and will cover more niche topics, or just generally make more modest arguments. I review pop history regularly on Saturday Sources. Honestly I tend to be harder on the academic history. Some recentish pop history I've liked (loosely defined as "costs less than $30")
This Gulf of Fire: The Destruction of Lisbon, or Apocalypse in the Age of Science and Reason
Neither Snow nor Rain: A History of the United States Postal Service I should be posting this review this Sat if I get my review together
[The Great American Cereal Book: From Apple Jacks to Wheaties] (http://www.amazon.com/Great-American-Cereal-Book-Breakfast/dp/0810997991/) breaks my rule because out of print, used copies are pricy for a reason... Happy Cereal Day.
Bel Canto Bully: The Life and Times of the Legendary Opera Impresario Domenico Barbaja
My favorite "pop history" book is A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca by Mexican historian Andrés Reséndez.
It chronicles the adventures of a Spanish explorer during the age of exploration and reads almost like Robinson Crusoe. Its riveting stuff.
I am partial to King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild. It's a very well-written and engaging book about Belgium's record of atrocities during its reign in the Congo. Hochschild is a journalist, not an historian, but he does a good job of synthesizing sources.
There's a bit of extraneous stuff about one figure's sex life in there, but overall it's a rewarding read.