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420th out of 1,495 books
—
3,010 voters
The Cartoon History of the Modern World Part 1: From Columbus to the U.S. Constitution (The Cartoon History of the Modern World #1)
by
Larry Gonick
The Cartoon History of the Modern World is a wickedly funny take on modern history. It is essentially a complete and up-to-date course in college level Modern World History, but presented as a graphic novel. In an engaging and humorous graphic style, Larry Gonick covers the history, personalities and big topics that have shaped our universe over the past five centuries, in...more
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
December 26th 2006
by Collins Reference
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I'll praise Gonick's Cartoon History of the World series to everybody who will listen. As a history buff and a thoughtful comics fan, this series exists at a perfect intersection for me, and I think that anybody with even a passing interest in one or the other will find this illuminating.
Of course, the usual caveats apply. Nearly 300 years is a lot of ground to cover, and there are things that are left out that I wish had been included. What's more, the format encourages a certain amount of fli...more
Of course, the usual caveats apply. Nearly 300 years is a lot of ground to cover, and there are things that are left out that I wish had been included. What's more, the format encourages a certain amount of fli...more
Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the Modern World Part 1 is divided into five volumes or chapters. It picks up where his 3 volume Cartoon History of the Universe (from the Big Band to the Renaissance) leaves off. For a humorous and popular account, Gonick's Cartoon Histories can not be beat. While telling the big story, his comic book style finds the quirky humor in the personalities of history.
Volume 1, War of the Worlds, starts with Native American Pre-Columbian history and tells the story o...more
Volume 1, War of the Worlds, starts with Native American Pre-Columbian history and tells the story o...more
Larry Gonick's books are educational and entertaining. Although I've taken several classes covering this era, nobody gives the context and big picture as well as Gonick.
The book begins with a history of the Aztecs and an accounting of Cortes's conquest. He then moves to the Incas and the small silver-mining mountain town of Potosi, which provided the Spanish with the bulk of their wealth for many years. In Potosi, everybody was high on cocaine, suffering from mercury poisoning (mercury was used...more
The book begins with a history of the Aztecs and an accounting of Cortes's conquest. He then moves to the Incas and the small silver-mining mountain town of Potosi, which provided the Spanish with the bulk of their wealth for many years. In Potosi, everybody was high on cocaine, suffering from mercury poisoning (mercury was used...more
I loved this. I must have found it through some roundup of good books that break down complicated subjects into understandable and entertaining reading, because that's what it does.
Much of this was familiar - Columbus, the Tudors, Ferdinand and Isabella, etc. But much of it was glossed over in my history classes or not mentioned at all. And I certainly never learned many of these fun little details in class.
William the Orange, the impact of European explorers on India and Africa, John Locke, wh...more
Much of this was familiar - Columbus, the Tudors, Ferdinand and Isabella, etc. But much of it was glossed over in my history classes or not mentioned at all. And I certainly never learned many of these fun little details in class.
William the Orange, the impact of European explorers on India and Africa, John Locke, wh...more
The Cartoon History of the Modern World Part 1: From Columbus to the U.S. Constitution by Larry Gonick is amazingly entertaining as well as informative. Gonick's histories seem to me to just keep getting better, the more familiar the material. Reading 1491 by Charles C. Mann gave me more background on pre-Columbian America, so I returned to the beginning of this volume and read that portion again. Reading about the findings of recent archaeological research reveals subtle hints, colors explanato...more
Solid as usual for Gonick. My only complaint is that Gonick has needlessly dated what should be a timeless book with snarky references to the Iraq War (asking if Spain bankrupting itself on far-flung wars sounds familiar, etc.) which will look petty 15 years from now. Gonick also hits the conquistadors a little harder than I would have... any student of history (and person who read his earlier books) would know that nations invading/slaughtering/killing each other is pretty much what humans do,...more
Jul 13, 2007
Elena
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who want an overview of history, then mine the bibliography!
Shelves:
fromjune07
I wonder what readers will think in 30 years time when they pick up this volume and read all the snarky iraq war references? "Gee, why'd the french call that a shock and awe campaign?" Probably we'll have invaded someone else by that point, but still. Gonick's sly humor is a little less sly this time around. And more dated, for sure.
The Onion's book review characterized the artwork on this book as more hurried than the Cartoon History of the Universe volumes. I'd have to disagree, and say that...more
The Onion's book review characterized the artwork on this book as more hurried than the Cartoon History of the Universe volumes. I'd have to disagree, and say that...more
Nov 14, 2012
Meran niCuill
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone interested in history
Shelves:
graphic-novels
Gonick condenses the early history of the US, which of course, means the European history leading up to it.
We get the histories of many pre-Mexican peoples, the naval ruling of the known world by Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and the wars involved in their arguments. Also explained is the birth of Lutherans and other Protestants from the Catholic Church.
Done with humor and fairness, this easily read history is recommended for anyone.
We get the histories of many pre-Mexican peoples, the naval ruling of the known world by Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and the wars involved in their arguments. Also explained is the birth of Lutherans and other Protestants from the Catholic Church.
Done with humor and fairness, this easily read history is recommended for anyone.
Neat book, I gave it an Ok rating because it just didn't keep my attention. While it does a nice job giving account of various events, every little quote wasn't exactly historically accurate.
I went into it thinking this could be a great book for elementary aged kids studying history, but when page 3 had some promiscuous egyptians saying things like "talk dirty to me some more" I started to change my mind. And Did Martin Luther really say "the pope's a pig and the church is a whore"? Seemed to m...more
I went into it thinking this could be a great book for elementary aged kids studying history, but when page 3 had some promiscuous egyptians saying things like "talk dirty to me some more" I started to change my mind. And Did Martin Luther really say "the pope's a pig and the church is a whore"? Seemed to m...more
As fun as all the others in this series, this book is both highly amusing and a really good grounding in a lot of key developments of the beginning of the modern era. It won't replace actually reading normal history books, but it'll give you a lot of background that might otherwise be missing. There's a heavy focus on the Americas and Europe, with a few detours into India, but I suspect that the next volume will feature other areas more prominently, given what Gonick has done before in rotating...more
The Cartoon history of the universe was my high school history text. It was a great text. Not only was it full of history - but funny. And a lot of interesting asides which filled my desire for esoteric trivia.
I saw the Modern World book and bought it for nostalgia's sake. It didn't disappoint. I learned more about Inca history from the 30 pages of cartoons in this book than I did from my two week trip to Peru. I finally understand the history of the 100 year war. Got a really nice review of th...more
I saw the Modern World book and bought it for nostalgia's sake. It didn't disappoint. I learned more about Inca history from the 30 pages of cartoons in this book than I did from my two week trip to Peru. I finally understand the history of the 100 year war. Got a really nice review of th...more
This was a fantastic graphic novel, it's Howard Zinn for young adults. I really like that Larry Gonick doesn't sugar coat any part of history, even ours. The cartoons are simply done, in black and white. This helps readers stay focused on the story rather than the art work. I'm looking forward to part II of the modern world, the Bastille to Baghdad.
Gonick's world history via comics remains the definitive textbook on the subject. This fourth volume in the series switches to the "Modern World," and though it moves quite quickly, it covers its material extremely well. It (and its companion volumes) are indispensable for any middle/high school history class.
Gonick focuses much more on the commonly accepted view of modern Western Civ, and to his credit, he does include many more dissenting views on the history that I grew up with. He puts it in context, as usual, and some of our more famous, influential historic figures, seem like real, flawed people. The best section, however, is undoubtedly the survey of Meso-American cultures that existed before the invasion of the Europeans, and it definitely had me interested in reading more about those culture...more
Genre: non-fiction, history, tongue-in-cheek history...
I didn't find this as much fun as the Cartoon History of the Universe trilogy... despite the fact that it picks up where the previous series left off... I think it tried to fit too much in too few pages. It was much more choppy then the other cartoon histories, and I don't think it drew connections as clearly. There are better overviews to Early Modern history then this, although it does have the benefit of not focusing solely on Europe, whi...more
I didn't find this as much fun as the Cartoon History of the Universe trilogy... despite the fact that it picks up where the previous series left off... I think it tried to fit too much in too few pages. It was much more choppy then the other cartoon histories, and I don't think it drew connections as clearly. There are better overviews to Early Modern history then this, although it does have the benefit of not focusing solely on Europe, whi...more
This one surprised me a little bit. I wasn't expecting this at all. When I saw, I picked it up, read it, and was very glad I got this. Having studied that period in world history already, I was familiar with the source material already. And yet, I still laughed; I hadn't noticed how absurd much of France and Spain's history was until reading this. I particularly liked the part regarding the rise of the Netherlands and how it set almost a template for the independence of the United States. But it...more
During I am reading this book, I saw so many wars in our history of lifetime. It make me learn that war can be stopped.... I believe in faith, that war can only be stopped by love and passions... Stop Wars!!
Meh, picked this up at the library on a whim. Read the first 15 pages and I can't really see finishing it. It's fine, I'm just not really that intrigued by a historical summary right now.
top markotop. komik yang mencerahkan. secara detail menjelaskan semua kejadian terkait dengan agama, politik dan kerakusan kekuasaan dari para raja dan pemuka agama di dunia
It was a nice shorthand form of history. Not a flawless representation by any means... some moments were annoying/frustrating due to a oversimplification of an issue. Ultimately, however, it's a fun overview of 200 years of history. I'll probably check out the other books in the series.
buku ini lebih banyak cerita tentang awal-awal ekpedisi penemuan dunia baru. kalo dibaca agak menyedihkan dan menyakitkan bagi bangsa-bangsa yang terjajah, bagaimana perlakuan spanyol dan portugis terhadap penduduk asli, pembantaian-pembantaian lagi.
tidak ketinggalan tentang pertentangan antara vatikan dengan para pemikir-pemikir baru. "pemberontakan" marthin luther, pemikiran si jenius galileo, standing on the shoulder of the giant by newton, dan banyak lagi yg lainnya. satu catatan: kebebasan...more
tidak ketinggalan tentang pertentangan antara vatikan dengan para pemikir-pemikir baru. "pemberontakan" marthin luther, pemikiran si jenius galileo, standing on the shoulder of the giant by newton, dan banyak lagi yg lainnya. satu catatan: kebebasan...more
Fun read. I find that breaking up my reading marathons with graphic books is a nice break and I learned a thing or two in the proces also :)
The best Gonick's work I ever read. I,ve seen the author decreed that the work was comedy. Full of joy. Enjoy!
While I didn't read this cover-to-cover, I did go through it in a fairly though scan. I was very amused.
((for the record: I didn't read it cover to cover because I am not really into graphic novels/comics. It's just not my thing. Another time, perhaps.))
There is plenty of satire and hilarity involved with the White take-over of indigenous nations. Bitterly funny stuff. Gonick seems to spare no one's dignity. This is good. Most historians take history FAR too seriously.
I will be revisiting this o...more
((for the record: I didn't read it cover to cover because I am not really into graphic novels/comics. It's just not my thing. Another time, perhaps.))
There is plenty of satire and hilarity involved with the White take-over of indigenous nations. Bitterly funny stuff. Gonick seems to spare no one's dignity. This is good. Most historians take history FAR too seriously.
I will be revisiting this o...more
Need to reread it a few more times, but see the review for Cartoon History of the Universe Part 1. Similar issues here as with the 3rd installment in that the history gets kinda fragmented. Also, Gonick detracts from the timelessness and "outside observer" status of the books by making several pointed jabs at the Bush Administration. Yeah, I hate(d) them, too, but please, I'm sure your readers are intelligent enough to make a connection between Machiavelli's advice to use religion to manipulate...more
Excellent summarization of world history for teens who may find history either boring or confusing not only because of its comic book format but also the unique editorial biting-humor style of author Larry Gonick.
Into Modern World and I can't wait for the next pasrt. ^^
Man, Columbus was a dick.
lagi2 pinjeman dari radal :D
I give it 3 stars.
Sebetulnya mau ngasih 2 bintang aja buat versi indonesianya... karena to be honest the translations suck. mungkin memang supaya yang baca nggak bosen ato gimana gitu. tapi masa' komik penting begini terjemahannya sejurus dengan Asterix&Obelix atau Komik Donal Bebek?
Mendingan nggak usah diterjemahin sekalian. beneran deh. Either that or u hire someone else to translate!
Sebetulnya mau ngasih 2 bintang aja buat versi indonesianya... karena to be honest the translations suck. mungkin memang supaya yang baca nggak bosen ato gimana gitu. tapi masa' komik penting begini terjemahannya sejurus dengan Asterix&Obelix atau Komik Donal Bebek?
Mendingan nggak usah diterjemahin sekalian. beneran deh. Either that or u hire someone else to translate!
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14 nov. 19:24