An irreverent survey in comics spanning world history from the birth of Islam to the Byzantine Empire to the Italian Renaissance. Larry Gonick's celebrated series The Cartoon History of the Universe is a unique fusion of world history and the comics medium, a work of serious scholarship and a masterpiece of popular literature. Praised by Jonathan Spence in the New York Times Book Review as "a curious hybrid, at once flippant and scholarly, witty and politically correct, zany and traditionalist," Gonick's clever illustrations deliver important information with a deceptively light tone, teaching us about the people and events that have shaped our world. This long-awaited new volume covers the Middle Ages around the globe, including the multicultural Middle East, West Africa and the cross-Saharan trade, Central Asia and the Byzantine Empire, the European Dark Ages and the Crusades, the Mongol conquests, the Black Death, the Ottoman Empire, the Italian Renaissance, and the rise of Spain, leading up to Columbus's departure for the new world. Gonick offers an historical survey that is at once multicultural, humanistic, skeptical, and laugh-out-loud funny.

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Cartoon characters explain cosmology, quantum physics, and other concepts covered by Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time. Humorous graphic novel–style treatment, perfect for young readers and curious folk of all ages.

From celebrated artist Lary Gonick, here is the extraordinary story of the modern world, from the French Revolution to today. More than thirty years ago, master cartoonist and historian Larry Gonick began the epic task of creating a smart, accurate, and entertaining illustrated history of the world. In this, the fifth and final book of this beloved and critically acclaimed series, Gonick finally brings us up to the modern day. The Cartoon History of the Modern World, Part II picks up at the Enlightenment; continues through two and a half centuries of revolution, social and economic innovation, nationalism, colonialism, scientific progress, and the abolition of slavery; and concludes in the early twenty-first century with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Essentially a college-level course in modern world history, with equal attention given to every area of the globe, Gonick's witty and engaging pages bring the past to life and put a brilliant new spin on our world. Whether you are a longtime fan or a first-time reader, this thrilling conclusion of our civilization's monumental story is not to be missed!

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Machine generated contents note: Companies mentioned and location: -- Advanced Technology Services, Peoria, IL Caterpillar, Peoria, IL World's Finest Chocolate, Chicago, IL Milwaukee Gear, Milwaukee, WI Ford Motor Company, St. Louis, MO Wunderlich Fibre Box Company, St. Louis, MO General Motors, St. Louis, MO; Wentzville, MO Anheuser-Busch, St. Louis, MO McDonald-Douglas, St. Louis, MO Industrial Engineering and Equipment Company (Indeeco), St. Louis, MO; Brentwood, MO; Boonville and Cuba, MO ASPEQ Holdings (a private equity firm), St. Louis, MO Emerson Electric, Ferguson, MO GlaxoSmithKline (manufacturing Tums), St. Louis, MO