Since 1971 Gonick has been writing and drawing his highly entertaining
\t\t Cartoon Guides, popularizing an extraordinary array of subjects, including
\t\t genetics, physics, and even sex. Picking up where his most celebrated work, the
\t\t multivolume Cartoon History of the Universe,
\t\t left off, Gonick has now undertaken to cover the modern world. Though Europe is
\t\t his focus, Gonick commendably devotes considerable attention and empathy to the
\t\t native peoples of India and the Americas. He irreverently undercuts commonly
\t\t accepted historical myths: for example, Gonick persuasively and humorously
\t\t depicts Columbus as utterly hapless in dealing with other people, whether
\t\t native Americans or his own crew. He also presents serious themes, tracing a
\t\t history of religious intolerance and amoral quests for power and wealth,
\t\t repeatedly resulting in mass slaughters. Gonick points to visionaries who saw
\t\t beyond the prejudices of their times, focusing particularly on the Dutch
\t\t Republic as a forerunner of American liberty. Gonick usually draws his figures
\t\t in appealingly cartoony style, but will surprise readers with his occasional
\t\t ventures into realism. Readers will be impressed by the scope of Gonick's
\t\t research, covering subjects from Shakespeare, Galileo and Machiavelli to the
\t\t Reformation and the American Revolution. (Jan.)
