Cartoon History of the Universe From the Rise of Arabia to the Renaissance

Nathan Hale, the authorand#8217;s historical namesake, was Americaand#8217;s first spy, a Revolutionary War hero who famously said and#147;I regret that I have but one life to give for my countryand#8221; before being hanged by the British. In the Nathan Haleand#8217;s Hazardous Tales series, author Nathan Hale channels his namesake to present historyand#8217;s roughest, toughest, and craziest stories in the graphic novel format.

One Dead Spy tackles the story of Hale himself, who was an officer and spy for the American rebels during the Revolutionary War. Author Hale highlights the unusual, gruesome, and just plain unbelievable truth of historical Nathan Haleand#151;from his early unlucky days at Yale to his later unlucky days as an officerand#151;and America during the Revolutionary War.

Praise for Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: One Dead Spy

"An innovative approach to history that will have young people reading with pleasure."

and#151;Kirkus Reviews

"Readers interested in American history will enjoy these graphic novels... Comic panels of varying sizes enhance the real-life events and support the storiesand#8217; over-the-top humor... the writing is accessible and entertaining; author Haleand#8217;s style gives readers an insider-y, you-are-there-type scoop."

and#151;Horn Book

"Brilliantly rendered and unexpectedly timely.... Will reading an erudite, if flat-out hilarious, account of Middle East history helps us make sense of our current clash of cultures? Let's put it this way; ignorance hasn't worked." Garry Trudeau, creator of Doonesbury

"A masterpiece! A must for every animated reader!" Steve Martin, actor and writer

"Each new volume of Larry Gonick's epic and irreverent rendition of history is informative, funny, and a triumph of the cartoonist's craft--in other words, cause for celebration." Charles Johnson, National Book Award-winning author of Middle Passage

"A brilliant application of the cartoon medium--wedding learning with fun. Bravo!" Will Eisner, creator of The Spirit, A Contract with God, and The Dreamer

Larry Gonick's celebrated series 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 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.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 299-303) and index.

An irreverent survey in comics spanning world history from the birth of Islam to the Byzantine Empire to the Italian Renaissance.

and#160; The Donner Party expedition is one of the most notorious stories in all of American history. Itand#8217;s also a fascinating snapshot of the westward expansion of the United States, and the families and individuals who sacrificed so much to build new lives in a largely unknown landscape. From the preparation for the journey to each disastrous leg of the trip, this book shows the specific bad decisions that led to the partyand#8217;s predicament in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The graphic novel focuses on the struggles of the Reed family to tell the true story of the catastrophic journey.

This popular topic is a perfect addition to the Nathan Haleand#8217;s Hazardous Tales brand, and a great showcase for Haleand#8217;s storytelling skills.

and#160;

Praise for Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Donner Dinner Party

"This informative graphic novel capitalizes on enticingly gross history to great effect, balancing raw facts with strong storytelling."

--Booklist

and#160;

Awards

YALSA's Great Graphic Novels for Teens List 2014

New York Public Libraryand#8217;s list: Childrenand#8217;s Books list: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2013

Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2014

Nathan Hale is the author of Big Bad Ironclad and One Dead Spy, as well as the illustrator of the graphic novel Rapunzeland#8217;s Revenge, which was an Al Roker Book Club for Kids selection, an ALA notable book, a YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens, and the recipient of three starred reviews. He lives in Provo, Utah.

No pictures, please! -- Mecca -- Medina -- Umayyad tax policy -- City of peace -- Breakdown -- Diversity -- Dry spell -- Wandering bantu -- "King Solomon's mine!" -- Christian kings -- Islam arrives -- Suddenly, Sudan -- Ghana rises -- Zanj revolt -- Caliph, Caliph, Caliph -- Islam goes south -- Shorter houses -- Middle of somewhere -- Huns and Turks and so forth -- Multicultural China -- Emperor's in-laws -- Bang! -- Turks and the west -- India, 300-1000 -- Manzikert -- Dim and dimmer -- Franks, Goths, Latins, Jews, Arabs, Berbers -- Down with pictures! -- Great -- Volga boatmen -- Slav trad -- Fourteen days -- Norm! -- There hasn't always been an England -- Cross people -- First crusade -- Home front -- Second crusade -- Venice the menace -- Third crusade -- Sable coat -- Hulagu -- Kublai -- Pax Mongolica -- Golden opportunity -- Pest and the west -- Mongols cough it up! -- Ottoman is no footstool! -- Knighthood's flower fades -- Flower power -- Fall -- Renaissance marzipan -- Fish story.