The Cartoon History of the Modern World Part 1: From Columbus to the U.S. Constitution (Cartoon Guide Series): 11

Nice book .

The Cartoon History of the Modern World Part 1: From Columbus to the U.S. Constitution "To teach and to delight" -- I first read Charles Lamb quote Sir Philip Sydney quote Horace on the role of literature (poetry, specifically), and for me, this graphic history succeeds wonderfully in both teaching and delighting the reader, regardless of that reader's age. I told myself that I was buying this book for my two boys to read in the future, but I truly enjoyed the history lessons presented with irony and a touch of satirical wit to top it off. I'm new to the whole genr'e of graphic novels (AKA cartoons, comics, manga, etc.), but when I read "MAUS" some years ago, I started opening my mind to them--and I'm glad I did. I've ordered more in Larry Gonick's history series and look forward to learning and delighting in them. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR ALL AGES!!!

Excellent. Informative. Fun to read and watch.

The trouble with history teaching in schools, especially nowadays, is it is too deep and not wide enough. So you'll learn for example all about the industrial revolution in Shropshire in the 18th century and nothing aboout what was going on in other parts of the world at the same time, or what happened thousands of years previously. What Larry Gonick's series does is provide the width. If your history knowledge is basic, you'll learn a lot, very quickly. If you're history knowledge goes to PhD level, you'll still learn a lot because these books will fill in the gaps for you. If you're in the first category you'll love the humour and how easy these books are to read. If you're in the latter category, you'll be impressed that the back of each book contains a proper bibliography. Hugely impressive. Very readable.

Always funny and informative.

As always, Mr. Gonick does an excellent job of presenting history in an informative and interesting way. I enjoyed the book immensely, with the disclaimer that it is not a substitute for studying a subject in more detail. The author covers a very large period of history in one book and thus can't give some subjects the scrutiny that they deserve. Also on occasion I have found some details that are not quite correct (which is true of even more scholarly works I've read). Being a avid student of history, his books help fill in some of the gaps in areas in which I have almost no knowledge and on more than one occasion have spark an interest in me to investigate further. Overall, I have bought all Mr. Gonick's books on history and will continue to do so. I recommend them to any reader who wants to get their history in a very readable format.