1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created

Charles C. Mann

Aug 2011 · Sold by Vintage

About this ebook

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A deeply engaging history of how European settlements in the post-Colombian Americas shaped the world—from the highly acclaimed author of 1491. • "Fascinating...Lively...A convincing explanation of why our world is the way it is." —The New York Times Book Review

Presenting the latest research by biologists, anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians, Mann shows how the post-Columbian network of ecological and economic exchange fostered the rise of Europe, devastated imperial China, convulsed Africa, and for two centuries made Mexico City—where Asia, Europe, and the new frontier of the Americas dynamically interacted—the center of the world. In this history, Mann uncovers the germ of today's fiercest political disputes, from immigration to trade policy to culture wars. In 1493, Mann has again given readers an eye-opening scientific interpretation of our past, unequaled in its authority and fascination.

Ratings and reviews

Based in part on my belief that this is one of the most well researched books that I've ever read up to this point in my life, and it's ability to provide a context that words in understanding a time that I've only briefly discussed in history-focused classes; I personally rate this book as an "exceptional" must-read!

Who would have thought a book about post Columbus US history would be so interesting and engaging? I loved this book and learned a lot; there were no earthworms in America prior to Columbus? Lots of interesting facts and ideas on why things happened. Mann makes a very compelling case that slavery in the US was the economic result of a mosquito? Read it. History based upon facts, not popular ideas.

Very thorough, does a great job of describing how important and complex the consequences of 1492 were. Mixes in some science too!

About the author

CHARLES C. MANN, a correspondent for The Atlantic, Science, and Wired, has written for Fortune, The New York Times, Smithsonian, Technology Review, Vanity Fair, and The Washington Post, as well as for the TV network HBO and the series Law & Order. A three-time National Magazine Award finalist, he is the recipient of writing awards from the American Bar Association, the American Institute of Physics, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the Lannan Foundation. His 1491 won the National Academies Communication Award for the best book of the year.