THE CARTOON HISTORY OF THE MODERN WORLD

Part I encompasses the period from Columbus’s arrival in the New World (with a detour into ancient Mexico) to the establishment of the U.S. Constitution, while Part II runs from the French Revolution up to Gulf War I. Although each tends to address major topics in a remarkably coherent way, the volumes are also rife with digressions into topics often overlooked by world history surveys: Part 1, for example, looks at the Portuguese empire in Asia and Venetians in the eastern Mediterranean, Part II touches on German breweries in China and pre-WWI railroad-building in Asia Minor.

Full of facts and wisdom, horror and humor….Gonick’s one-two punch of pictures and words isn’t just a gimmick; it makes it much easier to remember the facts of history. If we really wanted kids (or adults!) to learn history, we’d throw away our textbooks, and teach Gonick.
—Bryan Caplan, The Library of Economics and Liberty EconLog

The final installment of Gonick’s deeply funny and impeccably researched series has finally arrived… Brilliantly funny, the series finds the inherent humor in history…
—Publishers Weekly