Rating: 
Summary: Worth the wait
Review: I waited 8 years for this book and I want to throttle whichever publisher neglected to promote the thing - thus depriving me of months when I could have been reading it. It's Gonick at his irreverent best - teaching and eschewing history simultaneously. The long-running jokes ("where's Muhammed? Off camera." - repetition of the "pooping in a church" incident from several perspectives, etc.) as well as the sarcastic way of presenting historical facts made the first two books excellent and continues to amuse in this book.However, it's not as fun as the first two books. Maybe because there's too much time jumped in the from 1000 - 1492. Maybe because he's trying to capture the histories of too many simultaneously developing societies and keeps backtracking to the same point in time. Most likely it's because this is history less known. With the first volume we had Biblical history and Ancient Greece. With the second volume there was Roman and Christian history alongside lesser known (at least to Western readers) Chinese and INdian history. In this book the oft-neglected Byzantine history is what we get of Western history while African, Muslim, Chinese and Indian history fight for the spotlight. While I'd like to enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed the first two books, I'm slightly disappointed. Still there's no way I regret buying this book and I eagerly await the fourth volume (hopefully sooner than this one)
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: I was eagerly anticipating the third installment of the Cartoon History of the Universe, as I ABSOLUTELY LOVED the first two installments. I have to say that, although this is a good representation, it was a little disappointing. The book is quite a bit shorter than the two previous volumes, and Gonick seems to have lost a little of his irreverent attitude. Perhaps it is because the subject matter (Mohammed and the rise of Islam, as well as the Crusades) don't quite lend themselves to irreverence. That being said, Gonick still does an excellent job researching and communicating the finer points of history, and his artwork is still way up there in my book. Because of the limitations listed above, I would recommend reading this book first for anyone who doesn't need a linear history, as all three books are relatively self-contained. However, if you are a reader who needs to start at the beginning and go from there, this book is still a good addition to the series. I would recommend this book to any history enthusiast or comics fan.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: I was eagerly anticipating the third installment of the Cartoon History of the Universe, as I ABSOLUTELY LOVED the first two installments. I have to say that, although this is a good representation, it was a little disappointing. The book is quite a bit shorter than the two previous volumes, and Gonick seems to have lost a little of his irreverent attitude. Perhaps it is because the subject matter (Mohammed and the rise of Islam, as well as the Crusades) don't quite lend themselves to irreverence. That being said, Gonick still does an excellent job researching and communicating the finer points of history, and his artwork is still way up there in my book. Because of the limitations listed above, I would recommend reading this book first for anyone who doesn't need a linear history, as all three books are relatively self-contained. However, if you are a reader who needs to start at the beginning and go from there, this book is still a good addition to the series. I would recommend this book to any history enthusiast or comics fan.
Rating:
Summary: Made me question............ EVERYTHING!!!
Review: I'm not a terribly religious guy. And, for better or worse, Gonic's graphic "novel" -- if it can be called that -- made me take long-held beliefs, many of which were based on legend, superstition and the heresay of institutional elders, and flipped the flippin' things upside down! I read "Cartoon History... III" during a time when my already-loose faith in Christ and the church that represents him was on the wane; and this book gave me the chance to reconsider religion's place in my life -- religion, as opposed to spirituality and a hopeful belief in God. It -- religion -- was not crushed in value, but perhaps it was diminished. OK, it was really, really diminished, and perhaps my sense of spirituality and belief in a higher power was, too, though not AS diminished. But never mind all that. Read "Cartoon History" for the comedy within. It is poignant, brilliant, subtle, irreverent and questioning. Gonick is a freakin' genius. In the end, this set of volumes gives readers the chance to question their values, which all great works of art should aspire to. We need to do the proverbial soul-gut check every once in awhile, even if it means a few icons get smashed. This book does a pretty good job of giving readers an overview of the world's great religions, and takes what at least seems like a journalistic viewpoint to the layperson (aka myself) of the events that brought about Judaism, Christianity, Islam, etc. Non-religous history is in there too, but throughout this epoch, religion is history. I was left with the conclusion that many, many souls -- far too many -- have been extinguished in the fight over "your God or mine," which, during the reading, troubled me deeply, but opened new windows in my own outlook. This book affirmed for me the great gift that life is, but proved that, to many thoughout history, life was, and is, cheap. Be careful when you read this -- you may never be able to worship in quite the same way again.
Rating:
Summary: Made me question............ EVERYTHING!!!
Review: I'm not a terribly religious guy. And, for better or worse, Gonic's graphic "novel" -- if it can be called that -- made me take long-held beliefs, many of which were based on legend, superstition and the heresay of institutional elders, and flipped the flippin' things upside down! I read "Cartoon History... III" during a time when my already-loose faith in Christ and the church that represents him was on the wane; and this book gave me the chance to reconsider religion's place in my life -- religion, as opposed to spirituality and a hopeful belief in God. It -- religion -- was not crushed in value, but perhaps it was diminished. OK, it was really, really diminished, and perhaps my sense of spirituality and belief in a higher power was, too, though not AS diminished. But never mind all that. Read "Cartoon History" for the comedy within. It is poignant, brilliant, subtle, irreverent and questioning. Gonick is a freakin' genius. In the end, this set of volumes gives readers the chance to question their values, which all great works of art should aspire to. We need to do the proverbial soul-gut check every once in awhile, even if it means a few icons get smashed. This book does a pretty good job of giving readers an overview of the world's great religions, and takes what at least seems like a journalistic viewpoint to the layperson (aka myself) of the events that brought about Judaism, Christianity, Islam, etc. Non-religous history is in there too, but throughout this epoch, religion is history. I was left with the conclusion that many, many souls -- far too many -- have been extinguished in the fight over "your God or mine," which, during the reading, troubled me deeply, but opened new windows in my own outlook. This book affirmed for me the great gift that life is, but proved that, to many thoughout history, life was, and is, cheap. Be careful when you read this -- you may never be able to worship in quite the same way again.
Rating:
Summary: The Best History Book I Ever Read!
Review: In all my years of studying history, I have never come across a better, more even-handed survey than Gonick's "Cartoon History" series. He minimizes what should be minimized (Europe in the Dark Ages), and he emphasizes what has been neglected (the role of the Byzantine Empire, the rise of Islam and the Turks). He gets more out of his carefully drawn panels than many authors get out of 500 more pages. Out of the series, I'd rate this installment second, right behind the first volume. The second volume got a bit too bogged down in India for my tastes. I'd recommend this third volume to anyone, regardless of whether you've read the first two or not, because of its illumination of Islam's roots, as well as the root cause of so many of the middle east's conflicts (Muslim vs. Jew, Muslim vs. Christian, Muslim vs. Hindu, Shiite vs. Sunni, Turk vs. Greek, etc.).
Rating:
Summary: The Best History Book I Ever Read!
Review: In all my years of studying history, I have never come across a better, more even-handed survey than Gonick's "Cartoon History" series. He minimizes what should be minimized (Europe in the Dark Ages), and he emphasizes what has been neglected (the role of the Byzantine Empire, the rise of Islam and the Turks). He gets more out of his carefully drawn panels than many authors get out of 500 more pages. Out of the series, I'd rate this installment second, right behind the first volume. The second volume got a bit too bogged down in India for my tastes. I'd recommend this third volume to anyone, regardless of whether you've read the first two or not, because of its illumination of Islam's roots, as well as the root cause of so many of the middle east's conflicts (Muslim vs. Jew, Muslim vs. Christian, Muslim vs. Hindu, Shiite vs. Sunni, Turk vs. Greek, etc.).
Rating:
Summary: No pictures please!
Review: In his third and much awaited instalment of the Cartoon History of the Universe, Larry Gonick tackles a difficult section of human history, one with ongoing repercussions in the modern world: the period from the rise of Islam to the beginning of Columbus's explorations. Aware of the touchiness of some of the material (the cover illustration is a wry acknowledgement of this), Gonick tells the story of Mohammed in an even-handed manner without once allowing an image of the prophet to slip into the frame. The central stage of the story is the Middle East, but Gonick devotes a whole section to African history of the era, and looks at what's going on in China and Japan, western Europe, and of course Central Asia, which becomes so important in this period. Then he ties it all together, somehow even giving tax policy a touch of comic zip. And I especially enjoyed the page about the magic beans of Ethiopia. Both earlier Cartoon Histories are excellent, but this book is more pressingly a valuable backgrounder for current events.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely worth the wait
Review: It's been almost eight years since the second book in this series was published, and I had given up hope that there would be another. Now, however, the wacky, wonderful third book is here, and I know that the wait was worth it! I just love this series, first of all as a History major and buff, for its accuracy. Secondly., I think that the snide comments in the well-drawn panels add so much to the stories, showing folks that history, when properly presented, is not a dry and dusty subject, but can really come alive. The artistry the author displays is often quite awesome, as in his drawings of Notre Dame, Hajia Sophia, and the Byzantine icons. You couldn't ask for better anywhere. I just galloped all the way through this book, enjoying it from cover to cover. Buy this book and read history, laugh and learn!
Rating: 
Summary: Hello, stranger
Review: It's been eight years since the last volume of Larry Gonick's fitfully-amusing, often-infuriating and always-interesting chronicle came out. Was Volume 3 worth the wait? Well, no, not really. I don't envy Gonick the task of squeezing three continents and 800 years into 300 pages, but he was able to do the second volume in four years, and many fans have been tapping our fingers with impatience waiting for this one to come out. That snit-fit out of the way, the book is all you'd expect from the previous volumes, with terrific chapters on the rise of Islam and the Mongols. The narrative gallops along at a brisk pace, with unexpected surprises and much needed chronicles of dark chapters in history, like Visigothic Spain. Gonick also cuts back on some of his politically-correct tendencies and amps up the humor in this work. You're not going to agree with all of Gonick's conclusions, he gets a few things wrong (the dates of Clovis' reign in France come 40 years after the man died) and is generally too hard on Europe and too easy on the Byzantine Empire and the caliphate. These are minor nits to pick, though. The book is as engaging as other entries in the series, and more informative than some straight histories. Here's hoping we don't have to wait another decade for Volume IV.
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