The Cartoon History of the Modern World Part 2

By Larry Gonick
Harper Paperbacks, $18.99, 260 pages

Larry Gonick has a gift for explaining complex subjects with seemingly simple cartoons. Statistics, taxes, genetics, chemistry, sex… Gonick has tackled them all, and nothing is more complex and worthy of his singular attention than world history.

As a history minor in college, I have a deep and abiding affection for world history, and I admit that reading The Cartoon History of the Modern World, Part 2 thoroughly impressed me with its depth of detail, the expansiveness of its scope, and simply how much actual history it covered. This is no mere recap of European and American history; it is truly a look at the modern world.

And while I found the book more informative than funny, the simplistic artistic style itself adds a lighthearted touch to often unpleasant moments of human history. Gonick pulls no punches, even with the events of the last few years, like the World Trade Center attacks and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

It’s more important than ever to know where we’ve been, in order to understand where we’re going, and hopefully The Cartoon History of the Modern World, Part 2 will shed some light on the subject for new readers.

Reviewed by Glenn Dallas