The Cartoon History of the Universe II: Volumes 8-13

A brilliant book , educational well written and well illustrated , suitable for children and adults

Good for the young.

If I had the money I'd but all the output of the late Larry Gonick's brilliant talent. Only a fraction of it gets onto the wider market.

a present for grandson.

Recipient was pleased. Good size.

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 your 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.

Sometimes a thick book about history can be a drag but with The Cartoon History you can get what you need to understand the times, the politics and the people in an easy to read format while still getting a fair amount of detail. The artwork is excellent, the writing is perfect and the handling of religious history is spot on. No western bias and based on science and historical facts. Genius

Colour more appreciative.

Loved it ! A must for anyone who would like to brush up his or her knowledge of history in a fun and very well-informed way.

Among the comic strips for little ones and the graphic books (which are not 'comics' ... nothing comical in or about these) about well muscled super-heroes in tights for young readers in the US, this series is a gem. A class apart in style ... considering the content, especially. Again, in a country where ignorance is celebrated and knowledge is shunned (in general ... exceptions are there, of course), an overview of the vast history of humankind, in a palatable, interesting and humorous form, is a gem unlooked-for. As one critic said (and quoted somewhere on the book cover), it is better than most (all?!) school text books. And considering a comic strip, it has veritable gold mine of references of published history and research papers showing the fantastic effort and the extent of knowledge of the author. I would say it's the best gift that can be given to a school-age boy or girl (and any adult on any day). At a time of unrest and intolerance as the one we live in especially, a book like this that shows the connections and varieties human civilizations on different parts of the globe is a fantastic first step that can help one appreciate the variety and common grounds of humans all over the mother earth.

Just like the first book, this too, is great ! Absolutely loved it ! I am going to see this series through to the end.

Always funny and informative.