A story
chock-full of
hubris and
tragedy, triumph and sacrifice, winner(s) and losers.
Named "romance" rather than "records" because the novel has some fictional aspects (eg. the use of magic). It is apparently the second most read story in the world, lagging slightly behind the Bible.
The three kingdoms were Wei, established by Cao Cao; Wu, by Sun Quan (debatably); and Shu, by Liu Bei. In the end, Wei won out. However, no family of Cao Cao ever sat on the throne as emperor. There are no heroes, but there are some awesome characters: honourable Guan Yu, deathless Zhao Yun, treacherous Lu Bu, and headstrong Zhang Fei; illustrious Zhuge Liang, shrewd Sima Yi, and unfortunate Pang Tong; ambitious Cao Cao and the scion of destiny: Liu Bei. There are also hundreds of others.
It's a pretty long story separated into 120 chapters, spanning almost 100 years (184AD to 280AD). Those interested in reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms can find it in html formatted, in English, at www.threekingdoms.com. You can also pick up various translations at your local bookstore.
As well, there is a series of strategy games by Koei about Romance. They're popular in both the east and west, and are translated into many different languages.