Customer Reviews

The Cartoon Guide to Physics

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was delighted when some time ago I received two volumes of Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the Universe as a present from a friend. It is absolutely hilarious! Being a physicist, I considered it a must to add Cartoon Guide to Physics to my Larry Gonick collection.

However, I was disappointed. The guide indeed tries to cover a significant amount of the usual high-school physics course - mechanics, electricity and magnetism (missing are thermodynamics and optics) - but it is not really as charmingly funny as the Cartoon History of the Universe. As a physicist, I can assure you that the problem does not lie in the simple fact that the history is more interesting topic than physics - physics is plenty interesting, thank you! But the desired blend between the textbook and the cartoon resulted in something that is not educational enough to actually learn something from it and too boring to make a good cartoon.

Trying to find some bright spot, I am happy to report I have not discovered any major flops in the science part of the book. Also, I believe the book actually becomes somewhat more interesting toward the end. But then again, if I would have to choose between, say, the chapter on relativity and Joseph Schwartz's Einstein for Beginners, I would probably opt for the latter.

This is my third Cartoon Guide, and was purchased after CG to Stats and CG to Genetics. I'm convinced now that I'll just have to buy every single one of Gonicks's guides.

Whenever possible, I have avoided physics classes--they scare me--which is difficult to do. But knowing this, I became obsessed with facing my fear and picked up this book (and a few others). I wasn't disappointed. Although it wasn't as easy to follow his other two books (perhaps because I'm more familiar with the subject of the other two books), it made physics more interesting, and less scary. I was able to reread sections and then cross reference them with a 'real' physics text until I got the point.

I'm still no physicist, and I never will be. But I've got a basic grasp now that I didn't have before, and can understand the simple physics of the world around me. However, the biggest kudo I can give to this book is this: I've enrolled in a physics course at the local university--a course I don't *have* to take but want to take. It's something I never would have done without this book easing my fears and taking the mystery out of the subject.

Bravo Gonick! Where's the Cartoon Guide to the Quantum Theory?! We're waiting....

I have a degree in Physics from 37 years ago and picked this book up after browsing for a few minutes. The book is GREAT, OUTSTANDING, FUN TO READ, WELL ORGANIZED and EXPLAINS a lot about the every day physics we live in. This book is a must for students interested in learning more about physics. I am going to buy a couple of other titles by this author for my library.

If you haven't seen these Cartoon Guides before, you are in for a treat! They are a FABULOUS way to teach science. This book covers a broad range of physics from Mechanics to Electricity and Magnetism. But the whole book is a cartoon that creates most enjoyable reading. Whenever I get one of these books, my preteen asks to borrow it! (He's also learned genetics this way). Although it does not contain experiments as such, the presentations of scientific history and principles are great. Definitely a necessary book for older children, teachers and professionals...from The Science Spiders(TM) Newsletter

It makes all the physics concepts and math in my high school physics class easy to understand. If I were on a textbook adoption commitee, I would buy class sets of these. Cartoon Guide cuts the nonsense and filler of your average high school physics and goes straight to the heart of the matter in a way that is accessible yet not at all dumbed down. Thank you Mr. Gonick for helping me get an "A" in physics! I was using a classroom copy. Now I will buy my own for when I go to college.

The primary hurdle to overcome in learning the basics of physics is believing that it is indeed possible for you to learn them. Motion, electricity, magnetism, light and even relativity are all based on fundamental ideas that are well within the grasp of most people. Your reach and the strength of your grip will both be amplified by the contents of this book. Using simple diagrams and plain language, you are walked through a basic physics course, from the concept of linear motion to the most "bizarre" consequences of relativity.
Gonick it truly one of a kind when it comes to the explanation of complex phenomena using drawings and cartoon-like dialog. It is one of the rare literary creations, a book that educates in science that is also fun to read. There are no sharp edges of difficulty, it is much like one of those disciplinary paddles with a pillow on the end.

"The Cartoon Guide to Physics", first published in 1990, is one of a series of Cartoon Guides which Larry Gonick has co-authored with scientists in the field of choice; in this case it is with Art Huffman who is in the physics department at UCLA. Outside of Larry Gonick's excellent "Cartoon History of the Universe" series, this is the best of his books that I have read.

There are two sections in the book: `Mechanics', and `Electricity and Magnetism'. The first section deals with motion, forces, Newton's Laws, Energy, and associated topics. The second section deals with electricity and electrical fields, and magnets and magnetic fields. It also touches on relativity and quantum electrodynamics. They do not cover topics such as String Theory or Chaos Theory, which have become increasingly more publicized since this book was published.

This book works well as an introduction to the topic, or as a refresher. There is not enough substance for this to serve as a text book, nor do they provide a bibliography to assist the reader in finding more in depth books on any of the topics. However, Gonick does a wonderful job of blending the history of the field with the topics that are covered, and he does so in a way which does not overwhelm the reader.

This is essentially a comic book, yet it is able to communicate the fundamental laws of physics taught in an introductory high school physics course and some taught in college such as relativity. Overall, the book is enjoyable and humorous. However, the constraints of actually teaching the material through the drawings do impose on the humor sometimes. The book is accurate, as far as I can tell, and allows one to gain some understanding on how things work, from how the tides come about, to the motion of a gyroscope, to the Theory of Relativity. One disclaimer that I must add, that should be obvious, is that unless you are sufficient in mathematics (genius) you will not know all the consequences that come out from these laws other than the ones provided to you. I would have to recommend this for people over 12 years old, those who want to learn a little physics in a fun and entertaining way.

Larry Gonick is amazing. I've read a number of his "cartoon guides" and this one didn't let me down. I happened to read it while taking a highschool physics class. It was great--I kept thinking "Oh! *Now* I get it!" I think that this is an excellent supplement to any "official" textbook or class: the textbook will give you the math problems, etc., and the Cartoon Guide to Physics will allow you to understand the concepts behind them.

I believe that my physics career began with this book about thetime I was in fourth grade. I really liked it and I didn't find themath to be too hard. Besides the main point that it got across (atleast to me) was that science was interesting. If you are an educator for students anywhere between the third grade and eighth grades this might be a good book to have on your shelf. Though ... the lower end of this spectrum probably wont be getting as much out of it due to a general lack of mathematical understanding.