Cartoon History of the Universe 1

Rating:
Summary: From ~15 billion bc to Ancient Greece
Review: Great, especially along with book number 2. Can't wait for 3!

Rating:
Summary: It's really good
Review: History is usually a really boring subject and this is the only book I've read that has ever made it really interesting. I'd recommend it to history lovers and history haters alike. Very good!

Rating:
Summary: The easiest, most humorous ways to learn History!
Review: I finally got up the nerve to pay up for this book, and I have to say one thing. It was worth it. I found myself laughing over and over again at the little in-jokes, and intrigued by some of the origins of our species, as well as the great events that have occured since the beginnings of civilization. This book covers it all! The big bang, the first single-celled organisms, evolution of life out of the sea, and eventually into the form of the homo sapien. After this, the author, in his time machine, slowly unfurls every corner of the world civilization by civilization. A classic in my book

Rating:
Summary: Fun and accessible but also packs a of lot of real history.
Review: I had originally bought this book for use in my waiting room. However, some of the sexual humor and the irreverant approach to religious figures meant that it was a "stay at home" book. (Don't tell the IRS)

Now that the book is in its proper place, I should add that I enjoyed it immensely and went on to buy Volumes 2 and 3. (not on my office account though)The book starts with evolution of the earth and its creatures. The pictures were well done and the humor makes the factual material easier to remember.

The bulk of the book deals with the history of the human race. The author does not confine himself to European civilization. Two of my children read all three volumes, and I did not have to hassle them to do it. How often does this happen with other history texts? I am hoping to use their interest in some of the historical topics to encourage them to read other books. Each section of the Cartoon History contains a reference section for those who desire further reading.

Ideally this book should be a companion to serious textbooks on history. However, there are a lot of people who are unwilling and unable to absorb material from textbooks or lectures. People who are visual learners may be able to remember the pictures and the humor when they have trouble remembering college lecutres or long passages of text. I have recommended this and some other of the author's books to individuals who were having trouble with basic college classes.

Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: I highly recommend this book to anyone. It gives an accurate portrayal of the history of the universe, better than some textbooks. It also has a sense of humor. This is clearly one of the best books of all time.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Motivator of History
Review: I liked this book a lot, mainly because I always considered history to be a very boring subject, and I never saw a reason of what I should lose my time with it !! This book helped me to see the big picture and motivated me to look after the parts of history that caught my attention !!! I wished I have read this book in junior school.

Rating:
Summary: Great History Teacher- And its funny too!
Review: I love this book, I have all three in the series, and can't wait for more. It's the best history teaching book I have read, it should be in every high school classroom! Yes, there are parts that young kids shouldnt read (the parts with the greeks and boys, but it actually happened, so dont blame the author, he keeps it pretty PG). A lot of history has stuck in that I wouldn't remember otherwise. The only reason that this didn't get 5 stars is that in the last chapter, the art style changes dramatically, for the worse, in my oponion. But thats just a small nitpick, and otherwise, its a great, great book.

Rating:
Summary: Zoinks! History! Pre-history!
Review: I read this years ago and still recall facts, theories and images I learned from this book as if I just finished it. Gonick resists the temptation to get so deep into any one subject that you lose comprehension of the whole and he provides bridges and connections that put the disjointed mess of history into a easy to follow near-narrative context. This book is though-provoking for the amatuer adult and serious enough to assuage any guilt you might feel for enjoying the humor and drawings.

I wish everyone I know had read this book so I could use the images and stories that frequently leap to mind in conversation.

Rating:
Summary: Objectionably Biased
Review: I received this book as a gift from a friend who absolutely raved about it. After reading it I was sorely disappointed. What began as an interesting scientific look at the beginings of the universe and the history of our planet degenerated into a one man diatribe. Gonick consistently puts his view point to the forefront denouncing anything that steps out of his accepted world view either through the text, or by poking fun at historical characters through ludicrous drawings. What could have been an entertaining way to present history to students is simply a volume of Gonick's personal propaganda. What material in the volume that is good is compromised by Gonick's persistence in inserting his bias into every single page. I realize that every history text is inherently interpretive, but to be an acceptable text it must make more of an attempt to be objective.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic learning aid.
Review: I was introduced to the book by my Western Civilization professor. Now I use Gonick to teach my own history classes. The students think that it is very clever and they remember more of the material on tests.