In 1493, Charles Mann shows us how Europeans emerged at the center of a modern, globalized world by establishing the Columbian Exchange; a system they created but could not control, and with consequences none of them could imagine.

1493 is nothing short of epic. After reading this book, it’s hard to see the world quite the same way ever again. What makes Charles Mann such a compelling big picture thinker is that, as a science journalist, he has a unique ability to assimilate the insights of countless specialists in multiple fields, from history and archeology to ecology and epidemiology, and cohere them into a dynamic, interconnected story about why things are the way they are.

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