A very readable and funny history of the Middle East, Europe and Asia from about 300 AD-1492 AD. It's a comic book, so has funny pictures, but it also goes into how religious and economic factors affected the historical timeline, and provides copious footnotes and references. ( )

2012 (my brief review can be found on the LibraryThing post linked)
http://www.librarything.com/topic/138560#3772684

I love how inclusive Gonick is in this edition, covering history across the globe including Africa as he marches from the rise of Islam to the renaissance in this edition. As always, he is funny, insightful, and creative. I only mark my rating down a bit because of my own personal interest in other time periods, but I do recommend the book and believe everyone would find something of interest in it. ( )