The Cartoon History of the United States Author: Larry Gonick | Language: English | ISBN:
143524270X | Format: EPUB
The Cartoon History of the United States Description
What? You don't know what a Burgess is? -- You can't outline the Monroe Doctrine? -- Recall the 14th Amendment? -- Explain the difference between a sputnik and a beatnik?
Then you need The Cartoon History of the United Statesto fill those gaps. From the first English colonies to the Gulf War and the S&L debacle, Larry Gonick spells it all out from his unique cartoon perspective.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
- Library Binding: 392 pages
- Publisher: Paw Prints 2008-04-18 (April 18, 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 143524270X
- ISBN-13: 978-1435242708
- Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 7 x 9.2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
In a comic book format, Larry Gonick tries to cover all of American history, from the discovery of the New World by Europeans until the 1991 Gulf War. The book had a lot of potential, but for me, it really fell flat.
Despite the flaws, the book does pretty much cover everything in American history, albeit not a lot of detail.
There are numerous problems with the book. The first is the bias. I hate to sound like some raging conservative, but this book had a very liberal bias. He always seems to give credence to a liberal view of historical events rather than a more objective view. For example, Franklin Roosevelt is shown as a saint whose New Deal policies got America out of the Great Depression while Reagan, and his policies, is shown as a complete buffoon. I am not saying whether or not I agree with this type of view, but the point is the bias is there. Another example regards Lyndon Johnson (Democrat) and Richard Nixon (Republican). Although Johnson is derided mainly for his policies in Vietnam, at least his admirable accomplishments are mentioned (namely his Great Society programs). The only things he says about Nixon's presidency are bomb Vietnam and Watergate. None of his more admirable aspects are even mentioned in passing.
Another is the omissions. He spends a page explaining colonialism before spending not even a whole page about the Spanish-American War. There is no mention of the explosion of the USS Maine, yellow journalism, or the situation in Cuba. The reader is led to believe the war was nothing more than an imperialistic venture (I know there is a lot of controversy surrounding the Spanish-American War, but still). The section on World War II is woefully lacking and really contains almost no information on the war itself.
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