The Cartoon History of the Modern World Part 1: From Columbus to the U.S. Constitution

The Good: The story redistributes usual takes on the Age of Exploration by focusing on Cortes and Meso-American while taking some undeserved focus off Columbus and Magellan, both of whom are traditionally used as landmarks in the timeline. The Lutheran Reformation and the effects it creates are explained fairly well for the uninitiated as well as the first two modern European attempts at republicanism, namely Cromwell's Commonwealth (although it was almost a veiled monarchy) and the Netherlands. The sections about the intricate politics during Carlos V's reign was an especially nice part of this. The coverage of America's effect on European politics, as well as India's role in all this is a VERY welcome departure from typical accounts, which shows that Mr. Gonick's work isn't revisionist at all- it's accurately world-oriented. But credit is still given to the West's new Enlightenment-era thinkers as well as the more immediate effects of their theorizing, something that many historians seem to trip on. The Bad: It was a shame to see less coverage of Portugal's (and later other European countries) effects on Africa, which sets the stage for almost everything that happens in Africa from this point on. That Mr. Gonick didn't cover the further spread of the Ming, ongoing contact with the West, the beginning of the Manchu people, or the short but very interesting flare-up of Western culture and technology in Japan seems a terrible shame even if these will be topics covered in the next volume. A few more Enlightenment thinkers could have been more closely examined as well as the noticeable absence of Russia and Eastern Europe in all this commotion. Again, while much of this may be included by the author in the next volume, even a few passing mentions would have lent a lot more strength to how Mr. Gonick lives to weave these overlapping threads of history together. The Ugly: Just about anyone reading this book who follows modern politics will find at least a dozen (if not more) veiled references to the state of current foreign policy, especially in Iraq. It is arguable, however, how much of a role relating past history to current events is, but the author could have either been more upfront or otherwise tabled the entire theme. With that said, even the subtle references to how superpowers fall and the contributing factors in their leaderships' foreign policy, are a nice added touch to how relevant the history in this volume is to our modern world.

Good general purpose book for classroom library. This is a great set of books in cartoon form. Easy to understand. Good condition. Arrived quickly.

I am a college student and my professor required this book. It is the best book for history! It made me really love history since the comic images really helped explain the situation in a easy but fun way! I would recommend history teachers to require this and get students interested and have fun with history!!!

The only "complaint" about any of his stuff is that, given the nature of his format, he can't go into tons and tons of details. To counterbalance that, I love that he always has copious reference pages in the back! :) I've always loved his stuff, and he didn't disappoint here, either.

As always, Mr. Gonick does an excellent job of presenting history in an informative and interesting way. I enjoyed the book immensely, with the disclaimer that it is not a substitute for studying a subject in more detail. The author covers a very large period of history in one book and thus can't give some subjects the scrutiny that they deserve. Also on occasion I have found some details that are not quite correct (which is true of even more scholarly works I've read). Being a avid student of history, his books help fill in some of the gaps in areas in which I have almost no knowledge and on more than one occasion have spark an interest in me to investigate further. Overall, I have bought all Mr. Gonick's books on history and will continue to do so. I recommend them to any reader who wants to get their history in a very readable format.

I was looking for a resource for my kids that would draw them into history. This cartoon approach is packed with details (and some opinions...but I tell the kids if they think that might have happened a little differently then go research it, never trust just one source). It flows fairly well and answers the bell for the purpose I bought it. I will be purchasing the similar one that covers pre-columbus!

Larry Gonick is a genius. He's taken subjects normally avoided by most laypersons (history, genetics, computers, etc.) and made them entirely entertaining. And the best part is he doesn't skimp on the research... just check out the bibliography. You can quote him as easily as you can any boring old textbook. "The Cartoon History of the Modern World, Part I" continues where "The Cartoon History of the Universe, Part III" left off. We get a fresh look at the 'discovery' of the new world and all the political ramifications it had in Europe and the rest of the old world. While these books don't go into great detail about specific events, there is enough there to whet one's appetite to seek out more information and pique one's curiousity about how things came to be the way they are today. I can't remcommend any of Mr. Gonick's books enough.

Having enjoyed the first three in the series, I had to see how Gonick would handle modern history. First, the cartoon framework, with its jokes and simplified (but not simplistic) explanations, helped me to stay engaged through the entire book. Second, actually seeing drawings of the kings and popes, scholars and artists helped me to remember who did what when. Finally, the sources that Gonick relies on seem to be pretty disparate in their viewpoints, and he relies on a number of cross-referenced academic fields, like macroeconomics, human consciousness, anthropology, and geography to help him explain national narratives. Unfortunately, Africa and Asia get short shrift in this edition, and the cartoons are getting denser as the series progresses. Overall, I'd say that if you like history outside of history class, then you should add this book to your collection.

The Cartoon History of the Modern World Part 1: From Columbus to the U.S. Constitution "To teach and to delight" -- I first read Charles Lamb quote Sir Philip Sydney quote Horace on the role of literature (poetry, specifically), and for me, this graphic history succeeds wonderfully in both teaching and delighting the reader, regardless of that reader's age. I told myself that I was buying this book for my two boys to read in the future, but I truly enjoyed the history lessons presented with irony and a touch of satirical wit to top it off. I'm new to the whole genr'e of graphic novels (AKA cartoons, comics, manga, etc.), but when I read "MAUS" some years ago, I started opening my mind to them--and I'm glad I did. I've ordered more in Larry Gonick's history series and look forward to learning and delighting in them. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR ALL AGES!!!

Nice book .

The trouble with history teaching in schools, especially nowadays, is it is too deep and not wide enough. So you'll learn for example all about the industrial revolution in Shropshire in the 18th century and nothing aboout what was going on in other parts of the world at the same time, or what happened thousands of years previously. What Larry Gonick's series does is provide the width. If your history knowledge is basic, you'll learn a lot, very quickly. If you're history knowledge goes to PhD level, you'll still learn a lot because these books will fill in the gaps for you. If you're in the first category you'll love the humour and how easy these books are to read. If you're in the latter category, you'll be impressed that the back of each book contains a proper bibliography. Hugely impressive. Very readable.

Always funny and informative.

Memorable, humourous, visual, clever, reliable, stimulating, thought-provoking, unmissable for students and for anyone interested in the sweep of history without excess detail or too many words. Excellent annotated select reference list for following up the bits that especially interest readers. Should be required reading, along with all Gonick's History volumes. Can't wait for Part 2 (coming soon!). Thank you Larry Gonick! Keep up the great work.