Customer Reviews

The Cartoon History of the Universe III: From the Rise of Arabia to the Renaissance

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Gonick is a highly trained mathematician who more or less left academe to become a cartoonist, and has won several awards in that endeavor. He's also a very fair general historian, especially in the way of multi-everything synthesis. This volume comprises volumes 14-19 in the series (as they were originally published), covering the back-story to and rise of Islam, the post-Roman history of Africa, the further development of China and India, and all the complexity of events taking place in Central Asia. Oh, yeah -- Europe, too! Actually, most of us with professional historian's training are still apt to think in European and North American terms, for which Gonick's work is a great antidote. He also puts paid to any notion of Islam being a "peaceful" religion -- no more than Christianity, certainly -- and readers with a knowledge of Jewish history also will be nodding at his witty but pointed renderings. And how many comic books have you read that include an index and an annotated bibliography?

I just finished reading this third volume of the greatest history books ever! It's simply a masterpiece. Larry Gonick has a superbly keen sense of understanding political, cultural, and even economical atmospheres in the context of the era he covers in this book (appox. 500-1500 CE). All the significant events and trends are tied together in an incredibly witty way, and always in a global context. He cleverly shows how interrelated and interdependent the world was back then. Jewish kingdom in Central Asia, Normans at the Balkans, and the Christian mother of Kublai Khan are all the surprizing new gems of knowledge I gained from this delightful book. Drawing-wise, I am glad Gonick took extra effort (better than Volume II) to create a feast of imagery and emotion. His medium of cartoon really gives much more than plain texts, especially historical texts. Just look into all those sad expressions of the ill-fated ones, and don't tell me you dont get sympathetic!

Volume I was my favorite book when I was in middle school, Volume II during my senior year in high school, and now, with a degree in History, I still get inspired and taught by this new, and best yet, volume of the History of the Universe series.

It's been eight years since the last volume of Larry Gonick's fitfully-amusing, often-infuriating and always-interesting chronicle came out. Was Volume 3 worth the wait?

Well, no, not really. I don't envy Gonick the task of squeezing three continents and 800 years into 300 pages, but he was able to do the second volume in four years, and many fans have been tapping our fingers with impatience waiting for this one to come out.

That snit-fit out of the way, the book is all you'd expect from the previous volumes, with terrific chapters on the rise of Islam and the Mongols. The narrative gallops along at a brisk pace, with unexpected surprises and much needed chronicles of dark chapters in history, like Visigothic Spain. Gonick also cuts back on some of his politically-correct tendencies and amps up the humor in this work. You're not going to agree with all of Gonick's conclusions, he gets a few things wrong (the dates of Clovis' reign in France come 40 years after the man died) and is generally too hard on Europe and too easy on the Byzantine Empire and the caliphate.

These are minor nits to pick, though. The book is as engaging as other entries in the series, and more informative than some straight histories. Here's hoping we don't have to wait another decade for Volume IV.

After having grown up with the "Amar Chitra Katha", a brilliant idea that put India's vast mythology, history, and even some classic stories and legends in comic book form, I can greatly appreciate Gonick's work here.

I give it five stars even after reading some of the criticisms because of my own perspective on the presentation of historical "fact". There's never a case where the author's perspective or opinion isn't reflected in the work. We don't notice it when we agree with most of it. But again, all this is opinion.

The Cartoon History of the Universe series lays out a frame or foundation for otherwise dreary historical matter. After reading this comic series, it's much easier to pick up a history book and build on that base or even make adjustments to suit what you find more accurate. People already in the field of history may see holes or flaws, but anyone who has already dodged that career path is now enlightened, and carries the seed of interest.

Part III continues feeding me the reasonably heavy but still very entertaining content that makes me not want to put the book down. Gonick breaks the book into digestible parts, occasionally switching to a different part of the world or another culture and eventually bringing them all together. And this third book continues to make me laugh or smile. Look how gory history can be. The humor just reminds me of how we'd try to "look back and laugh" at the end of a difficult session of history class.

I admit I may only pick up corrections and adjustments to my historical knowledge over time and as I encounter them. But at least I won't ignore them, thanks to this series.

When Gonick's comics first started popping up in comic book stores, I took it as some sort of underground comics joke - "This can't actually be about history, right?" Then I figured, "He'll never get an audience." Then I figured, "he'll never finish it."

Well, "Cartoon History" became a bookstore smash, and now Gonick takes us right up to the time of Columbus (the book ends with him setting sail).

I'm not enough of a historian to judge his accuracy, but his hard work and love of the subject are obvious, and his cartooning is delightful. Typically, Gonick's text tells us what's happening, and the cartoon shows it happening, with the real-life characters often giving away their true motives in reg'lar talk that intentionally robs them of their mystique. Instead of making them seem fictional, the cartooning and jokes make the icons of history humans we can relate to.

Sometimes characters are sketchy, or crowded out by text and/or maps, but that's because this book has a lot to say, and Gonick goes with whatever gets his point across best. The best part of this approach is how many disparate events can be tied together, and you SEE not just when but WHERE events happen. This is great because it makes the geography of history, always a great headache to me, easier to follow. Good thing, too, because this one literally goes all over the map. (as it should!)

Highly recommended to history and comics fans of all ages, though high-minded parents should be notified that, though his work couldn't be called [bad], Gonick does not shy from tackling issues ...

It's been almost eight years since the second book in this series was published, and I had given up hope that there would be another. Now, however, the wacky, wonderful third book is here, and I know that the wait was worth it! I just love this series, first of all as a History major and buff, for its accuracy. Secondly., I think that the snide comments in the well-drawn panels add so much to the stories, showing folks that history, when properly presented, is not a dry and dusty subject, but can really come alive. The artistry the author displays is often quite awesome, as in his drawings of Notre Dame, Hajia Sophia, and the Byzantine icons. You couldn't ask for better anywhere. I just galloped all the way through this book, enjoying it from cover to cover. Buy this book and read history, laugh and learn!

There is only one thing wrong with "The Cartoon History Of The Universe".
Each volume has a 7 to 10 year wait between them!
However, they ARE excellent.
A fine, well-researched history, presented in a fun graphic style.

The Hipster gives it a Big Thumbs UP!

History textbooks have notoriously been dreary articles that students have to slog through, often with their noses held tightly. Larry Gonick is the cure. His three volumes of the Cartoon History of the Universe has it all--historical accuracy, depth, breadth and humor. The cartoons are hilarious in themselves but they convey a deeper purpose, to show the sweep of history and the complexity of it.

I think every high school World History teacher should use the series as texts and as the only texts. The volumes show that skepticism about history is not cynicism and that a lot of what happened through out recorded history is somewhat absurd. This is itself an important lesson.

I am trained as an historian and I wish I had had these books available when I was in high school. Heck, I discovered them as a graduate student and they were still coherent and useful as background to my studies.

I loved the first two volumes of cartoon history and also Larry Gonic's cartoon history of USA. I preordered the third volume as soon as I spotted it on internet. This one is good too; but (in my opinion) not as good as previous two. In this volume Gonick focus's on history flow and details so much that historical insight and understanding have almost been abandoned. It almost reads like a race or country coming up and then another one overthrowing them and this goes on and on.

Partly this may be because history during this period is of ups and downs of races and people. Another reason could be that he is covering a huge amount of material and detail in a small space.

Also my opinion may have been distorted by the fact that I was awed and overwhelmed when I saw the first two volumes and was expecting a book from Jupiter on the third.

All this said, I still feel, this is a very good book and I will preorder the next volume too. Hope it arrives soon.

There are two more cartoon histories that I found are good besides the four from Larry Gonic. First - The Story of the Jews: A 4,000-Year Adventure by Stan Mack and the second - Latino USA: A Cartoon History by Ilan Stavans. Interestingly I have not found any other cartoon histories. Are cartoonists listening? There's money in the air; all it you need to do is pick it up.

Gonick does an excellent job mixing education (in this case a heaping third helping of world history) with entertainment.

For anyone who likes seeing the big picture - and perhaps finding places to dig deeper at a later date - this is the place to come.

Though it's a light way to read history, this is not history-lite.

There is a lot here and, from what I've been able to tell by checking with people who teach parts of this, Gonick is careful to get it right.