Book Review: Cartoon History of the Modern World - Part 2

I'm a big fan of cartoonist Larry Gonick. As a kid I'd flip through Grandpa's science magazines and find Gonick illustrating some point or other in a humorous manner. When I picked up "Cartoon History of the Universe" back in 9th grade I didn't recognize the name, but the art was clearly from the same guy. Ever since then I've picked up everything I can with his name on it. "Cartoon Guide to Physics" ...Statistics" ...Computers" ...Sex" ...the Environment" ...History of the United States" - I got 'em all. Still missing the guides to Chemistry and Genetics, though.

I mention this because I just finished reading "The Cartoon History of the Modern World - part 2". Despite the "part 2" this is actually the fifth book in a series that includes three "Cartoon History of the Universe" books and two "Cartoon History of the Modern World" books.

This book covers everything from the French Revolution up until the publication date. You'll learn a lot from the book. It fills in a lot of area that our history classes didn't seem to cover. It talks about how the French Revolution led to Napoleon taking power and talks about some significant battles that I hear about from British television but are largely ignored here. It spends time talking about goings on in China that just don't make it in western history books.

The only real issue I have with the book is the end. The 80's until now are blasted through pretty quick and focus primarily on the United States and it's international dealings. He then apologizes for largely ignoring South America in this book and everyone else there at the end.

These books are educational and entertaining. I'd recommend giving these books to school children or grandparents. I brought them into the office where the doctors would hide them inside medical texts so they could read them at work. One of my high school history teachers copied pages out of my "Cartoon History of the United States" book for use in class. I've read my older stuff several times. I'll be rereading the history series again before long.