Cartoon History of the Universe 1

Rating:
Summary: Better than 9/10th of all history books
Review: The 2 Cartoon history of the Universe Volumes are the bestfunniest waysto learn history. I take part in some academic cometitions for my school, and I swear that all the ancient history questions come from these 2 books. This is really a 10 in terms of quality.

Rating:
Summary: Thorough research and humor - who could ask for more?
Review: The Cartoon History of the Universe is an excellent series. Volume one covers history up through the death of Alexander the Great.

One thing that I really like about this series is the good research that went into it. Although sources are not given in footnotes or interspersed in the text, there is a bibliography, and Gonick includes enough detail to make it possible to verify the facts he states. So basically it is well written and doesn't use being a comic book as an excuse to be sloppy. I wouldn't feel odd about citing it as a reference on a term paper, and completed the pre-med tract - no history of modern comics 101 for me. Another nice feature is that humor is usually in the form of little anecdotes that actually happened and not slapstick. History is full of colorful characters and so it can be presented interestingly with a bit of effort and research. Gonick does that.

I recommend The Cartoon History of the Universe to everybody. The humor and visuals are nice to apply to a subject which can seem like a dull stream of names and dates at times. It is a good supplement to a history class, because it covers in depth some things that tend to only be included in history classes for the sake of political correctness. For example, Gonick includes a section on early civilizations in India which we don't have much written data on since the language et al has been destroyed by conquerors. Because the civilization was darker skinned and later its people became lower caste, most history book present it only in an effort at political correctness. Gonick's treatment doesn't have the normal cheesey feel.

Rating:
Summary: Fun, easy-to-read, history book.
Review: This book is a great. I actually enjoyed reading a history book. I can't wait to see book two.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and Enlightening
Review: This book is an extremely well researched book, yet it remains very accessible to the average reader. The cartoon style makes it very easy to read, and Gonick's tongue-in-cheek writing style avoids one of the pitfalls of most history books; taking itself too seriously! The bibliography is one of the most exhaustive that I have seen in quite a while, and provides a treasure trove of information for anyone who is willing to dig deeper into any of the periods covered in the book. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in history or comics, this is one of the best of both!!!

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and Enlightening
Review: This book is an extremely well researched book, yet it remains very accessible to the average reader. The cartoon style makes it very easy to read, and Gonick's tongue-in-cheek writing style avoids one of the pitfalls of most history books; taking itself too seriously! The bibliography is one of the most exhaustive that I have seen in quite a while, and provides a treasure trove of information for anyone who is willing to dig deeper into any of the periods covered in the book. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in history or comics, this is one of the best of both!!!

Rating:
Summary: Good for high school and above
Review: This book is good for high school and above. It is very well written and very funny. He does talk about greek history (sex), use of drugs for prophecy, and the author does not believe that the bible was written by G-d. For example, he believes that there was a thunderstorm when G-d gave the bible to moses, and he wrote the 10 commandments himself. That is why I would not recommend the book to a younger person, even if there reading skills can handle the book. If religion is important to you (and even if it is not), your child should read the stories from the bible before reading this book.

Rating:
Summary: Very, very good
Review: This book is humorous, intelligent, well-documented, thorough, intriguing, well-written/drawn, innovative, and frank. I'm not out of adjectives, but you get the idea. The bibliography alone is worth the buy, in my view, but don't miss out on the rest, either.

Rating:
Summary: Informative & Enjoyable
Review: This book reminded me of my 7th grade teacher, Mr Henderson, who taught history with such an interesting style, that 6 through 8th graders high - fived each other if they "made" it into his class. I too found that it accompanied me everywhere. I'd studied lots of history, but never so much in such a short time. Being an artist myself though, I'm dying to know what happened in volume 7? It appears that Larry Gonick either broke his hand or rushed the drawings.'Sup with that?

Rating:
Summary: A Must-Have book
Review: This is one of my most recommended books in my library. I give it as gifts and could rave on its merits for days. Don't walk, run and buy it. You will wish you had sooner.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly funny, irreverant, and enlightening
Review: This is the best way to learn ancient history in existance. As both an avid reader and history buff, this book's charm and humor kept me (and all of the people I recomended it to) interested in what can easily be a boring recounting of dates and hard to pronounce names. As you travel from century to century learning every thing from the impact of the Pelopenesian War to the fact that Alexander the Great was gay you will be amused as our history is retold in a memorable, easy to understand format. This book can explain why animals evolved into sexual creatures and humorously recount how Darius attained the Persian throne by nearly giving his horse a hernia... all within the course of a few hours' reading. Even those well versed in the period will be kept interested by Gonick's subtlely placed inside jokes. Oh, and the sequel is just as good... if not better.