Cartoon History of the Universe 2: Volumes 8-13 (Pt.2) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "IN THE LAST VOLUME, ALEXANDER THE GREAT MARCHED INTO INDIA, WITH ITS SWELTERING HEAT, POISONOUS SNAKES, ARMORED WAR ELEPHANTS, AND MOSQUITOS THE SIZE OF CHIHUAHUAS....." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Continuing right where the first book left off, The Cartoon History of the Universe II once again combines Gonick's superb cartooning with the lessons of history. Find out what Lynn Johnston, creator of For Better of Worse, calls "a gift to those of us who love to laugh and who love to learn." Part II contains volumes 8 to 13, from the Springtime of China to the Fall of Rome (and India, too!).

From Publishers Weekly

Gonick has done it again with a diffuse but deep excavation into early civilizations from ancient China to the Germanic tribes. In some ways, Gonick asks a lot of American readership's occidental training by detailing every dynastic hotshot from the Orient. This also being a fertile time for the development of religious cults, Gonick spends much time on Christ (whom he insists on calling "Jeshua ben Joseph"), Confucius, (not, one might note, Lao Tsu or K'ung fu-tsze), Buddha and the like. Gonick's main focus is not to outline the contributions that allowed their teachings to survive the centuries, but rather to humanize them, and some come across as fanatical seekers simply looking for a following, a good meal, a wicked battle, a girlfriend or a shower. The artist's style is versatile and engaging, and his asides, puns and parenthetical references do much to keep the reader's attention throughout this tome, but that cannot entirely make up for the fact that some of this history is just plain dry. However, aficionados of cartoon blood, backstabbing, sex and history will love this volume, and might find a place for it near their encyclopedias.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 305 pages
• Publisher: Main Street Books/Doubleday (September 18, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385420935
• ISBN-13: 978-0385420938
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,881 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The bloody history of early China and early Europe, July 16, 2004

By	Charles Ashbacher "([e-mail])" (Marion, Iowa United States([e-mail])) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Even though this is a collection of cartoons and the text in the dialog balloons is generally meant to be frivolous, it is possible to learn a lot of history from the book. Unlike so many history books that concentrate on Western Europe and derivatives, this one deals extensively with India and China. Volume 8 deals with the early history of India and how the great religions that we associate with India arose. From it, you also learn the origins of the great early works of Indian civilization such as Bhagavad Gita.
The origins of the ancient Chinese civilization are covered in volumes 9 and 10. Most of the points deal with the battles for supremacy and feature court intrigue, deception and a lot of killing. We tend to think of massive deaths in war as being a modern invention, but that is a misconception. Well before the year 0, the army of Chin was ambushed and massacred, over 200,000 men were killed in one day.
Chapter 11 begins with the last days of Alexander the Great. It correctly points out that while Alexander was married to a Persian, that union was largely political. The great love of Alexander's life was Hephaestion, his male grand vizier. When Hephaestion died, Alexander grieved over the body for two days. The next sections chronicle the origin and rise of Rome as a great power. Once again, it is largely a tale of murder, intrigue and war. As the power of Rome grew, it was no longer possible to maintain the republican form of government. At first the supreme position was called the consulship, where the holder was powerful, but not yet a dictator. All this changed when Julius Caesar marched off to conquer Gaul and then returned to march on Rome. This began several decades of near constant warfare in the Empire, some of which was civil.
The numbers of people that were killed in these wars are amazing to consider. Some history books estimate that Julius Caesar killed over a million while in Gaul. Descriptions of Western history describe the carnage of World Wars I and II as unprecedented in human history. In fact, the concept of total war with deaths numbered in the hundreds of thousands or millions is an old theme of history. The wars that took place between the Europeans in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were comparatively limited in consequence.
After a few pages, the discerning reader will understand that the text in the captions is generally designed to impart the history while the balloon dialog is reserved for the humor. I enjoyed this book immensely, learning many things about Chinese history. I also learned some additional details about western history. If there is a theme to the history presented here, it is how many people were killed in acts of the powerful fighting for control. We tend to think of the twentieth century as being the bloodiest on record. That is probably not the case. Given the carnage that occurred in China and the Mediterranean even before the birth of Christ, there might be centuries before the A. D. label that were bloodier. That fact is disturbing, whether learned by text or by cartoon.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The kind of of book you never want to loan, February 2, 2000

By	Jenifer Wells (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

This is one of those books that you have to tell people to buy, because if you loan it to someone, chances are you'll never see it again.

As a historian who bemoans the lack of interest shown by most kids today in the subject, I applaud Larry Gonick for giving us another tool to use in trying to spark enthusiasm. The humor is great, and in some places almost bawdy, which keeps a teenager's attention far better than a list of emperors in a textbook. Example: Julius Ceasar tries to ask an intellectual question of Cleaopatra. She responds as she leans over him seductively, "You sure talk a lot for a guy with your reputation." All the scandal and sex and violence of history (and the religions that have driven it) are here, not hidden as they are in most texts. All the excitement of pop culture, but with substance behind it, not to mention an excellent bibliography. This series is the only set of books that I have known students to actually read from cover to cover without expecting a test. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in history, or anyone with a sense of humor.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Missing A Star The First Volume Received, September 24, 2005

By	Penny Dreadful (Under Your Skin) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Although Gonick's second cartoon take on the history of the peoples of planet earth is lacking some of the flavor of the first book, this follow up is entertaining and richly informative in its own right.

I think a problem here is that in the first book we were treated to Gonick's zesty wit and in here it too often fell into the realm of biting sarcasm, and that wasn't as much fun. Gonick also spent too much time in eastern Asia and not enough in Rome. His non-reverent views on Jesus, whom he treated like just another historical personage--and possibly a disreputable/looney one at that--presented the central figure of western history in a thought-provoking light that should take many off guard. (But Gonick raised a couple interesting questions: If Jesus was so important, why did the Romans let his followers go? And why did Jesus get so mad at the tree not producing fruit in spring, when the tree wasn't supposed to bear fruit till autumn?)

In covering the period between the death of Alexander and the collapse of Roman central authority, Gonick chose a far more limited time from which to create his canvas, but even so the subjects came across as less explored than the 'billions and billions' of years the first Cartoon history worked through. But enough nitpicking. Gonick is a genius and this is better reading material than most history books out there.

Well done, Larry!