Cartoon History of the Universe Volumes 1-7

by Larry Gonick

Paperback, 1990

Status

Available

Call number

D21 .G66

Publication

Crown (1997), Edition: 1st, 368 pages

Description

An entertaining and informative illustrated guide  that makes world history accessible, appealing,  and funny.

User reviews

LibraryThing member spaceowl
This book was responsible for rekindling my love of history and for me eventually returning to university and getting a degree. it is one of the funniest, most erudite and most charming books in my whole collection, and sits proudly beside more 'respectable' histories.

The cartoon style is just the
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right side of wacky without trivialising its subjects and humour runs off every page. More surprising are the things you can learn (The institutionalised weirdness of the Spartans! Minoan flush toilets! Persians disrupted enemy cavalry with camels!) that Gonick happily shares.

Enjoy - it's a marvellous historical primer and a solid base for further reading. Five Stars
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LibraryThing member gbill
What a great book. Gonick is funny, informed, and a great artist. He zips us through history from the Big Bang to Alexander the Great in this edition, his first of the "Cartoon History of the Universe" series. It's a joy to read this and a great reference besides.
LibraryThing member Citizenjoyce
13 billion years of history from the Big Bang through the rise of Alexander the Great. Amazingly Gonick shows much of the history of both halves of humanity - there really were women who contributed to our existence. The drawings add clarification and humor. This is a good historical overview
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recommended for everyone from middle schoolers to adults.
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LibraryThing member youmakemyheartsing
This book is appropriate for the upper end of upper elementary--or at least read through it and be aware of the occasional references to sex and other "mature" themes.
LibraryThing member pjsullivan
Books of historical humor are of two types: those that are more funny than factual and those that are more factual than funny. This one is the latter type. You will find no laugh-out-loud hilarity here. No doubt it is clever, entertaining, and amusing, but you won't split your sides laughing. It is
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solidly fact-based, however, and you can really learn from it. You could even use it as a textbook. Bibliography included. The art work is outstanding!

Book 1 of the series covers a lot of ground, from the Big Bang to the Old Testament. Through the dinosaurs and the early hominids to the first civilizations at Egypt and Sumer, and points in between. Early agriculture, tools, and animal domestications. Nomadic tribes and warfare. Volume 4 follows the Israelites from Sumer to Egypt to Canaan to Babylon, with much violence along the way. But such was the Holy Bible!

A good overview, but not always an easy read, with so much material crammed into so few pages. Thirteen billion years of history in one book means that some of the kings tend to get jumbled together towards the end.
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LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
This graphic novel gives an illustrated, broad look at world history. Everything is done with humor, which is what keeps the book going. The biggest issue with this book is that some things have changed since it was written. There is no longer a brontosaurus and we now know that humans are not
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descended from neanderthal's, they were actually a totally separate branch on the evolutionary tree.
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LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
This graphic novel gives an illustrated, broad look at world history. Everything is done with humor, which is what keeps the book going. The biggest issue with this book is that some things have changed since it was written. There is no longer a brontosaurus and we now know that humans are not
Show More
descended from neanderthal's, they were actually a totally separate branch on the evolutionary tree.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
This graphic novel gives an illustrated, broad look at world history. Everything is done with humor, which is what keeps the book going. The biggest issue with this book is that some things have changed since it was written. There is no longer a brontosaurus and we now know that humans are not
Show More
descended from neanderthal's, they were actually a totally separate branch on the evolutionary tree.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
This graphic novel gives an illustrated, broad look at world history. Everything is done with humor, which is what keeps the book going. The biggest issue with this book is that some things have changed since it was written. There is no longer a brontosaurus and we now know that humans are not
Show More
descended from neanderthal's, they were actually a totally separate branch on the evolutionary tree.
Show Less

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

1990

Physical description

368 p.; 10.8 inches

ISBN

9780385265201
Page: 0.2278 seconds