The Cartoon Guide to the Environment [Paperback]

Larry Gonick (Author), Alice Outwater (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 15, 1996

Do you think that the Ozone Hole is a grunge rock club? Or that the Food Web is an on-line restaurant guide? Or that the Green Revolution happened in Greenland? Then you need The Cartoon Guide to the Environment to put you on the road to environmental literacy. The Cartoon Guide to the Environment covers the main topics of environmental science: chemical cycles, life communities, food webs, agriculture, human population growth, sources of energy and raw materials, waste disposal and recycling, cities, pollution, deforestation, ozone depletion, and global warming—and puts them in the context of ecology, with discussions of population dynamics, thermodynamics, and the behavior of complex systems.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA?Using the ecological collapse of Easter Island as an example of a failing environment, the authors present the historical, scientific, and ethical backgrounds to the environmental challenges faced currently, and in the near future, by all humanity. Nothing less than the fate of life on Earth lies in the balance, which makes for an engrossing plot, made more poignant by the scientific research and data that back it up. Black-and-white cartoons clearly explain, define, and graphically display terms, events, and situations. They also impart both an awareness of the destructive behavior of humankind and its consequences while imparting a sense of hope for the future. The foreword, the brief notations dispersed throughout the drawings, and the bibliography provide information about sources used in formulating the book. Gonick's humor helps to lighten the dark realization of what is happening to the Earth. Teens will be drawn to the format, the short chapters, and the drama of the our planet's fate, a potentially frightening scenario that should motivate more research about the environment.?Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Larry Gonick has been creating comics that explain history, science, and other big subjects for more than forty years. He wrote his first guide, Blood from a Stone: A Cartoon Guide to Tax Reform, in 1977. He has been a calculus instructor at Harvard (where he earned his BA and MA in mathematics) and a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT, and he is staff cartoonist for Muse magazine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Collins Reference; 1st edition (March 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062732749
• ISBN-13: 978-0062732743
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.6 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,922 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Ecology
  • #64 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Earth Sciences > Environmental Science
  • #92 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Conservation

More About the Author

Larry Gonick has been creating comics that explain history, science, and other big subjects for more than thirty years, ever since Blood from a Stone: A Cartoon Guide to Tax Reform appeared in 1977. He has been a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT and is staff cartoonist for Muse magazine.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars For kids AND adults April 17, 1999

By [e-mail]

Format:Paperback

Kids will tend to ignore this book because it is too serious for a comic book and they will believe it is a klutzy attempt by adults to sneak up on kids with something educational. They are mistaken. Adults may, with a glance, dismiss this book as being for kids. They should know better. It is a systematic approach using pictures and limited captions to explain the basics of environmental science. It also uses Gonick's humor, sometimes-- ahem-- mature humor, and charming cartoonery.

Not as good perhaps as some of Gonick's other works-- due to limitations posed by a difficult topic for him to do-- it is still pure Gonick and worth the money and worth keeping (or giving to a kid or adult).

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book to teach science! September 27, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This is a great book with which to teach science. It gets and keeps the attention of teenagers who have the attention span of a gnat. Each chapter is a great overview and summation of a unit that I teach at some time during the year.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Environmental Science and Cartoons September 27, 2005

By B. C. Bodas

Format:Paperback

Great book as a break from the normal Environmental science textbooks. A funny and informative look at many of the key ideas and concepts related to environmental science. Many of the cartoons are also useful for teaching biological science. Don't be fooled, some of the cartoons demonstrate fairly advanced ideas, but in a humerous and entertaining fashion.