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1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus Editorial Review:
In this groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Charles C. Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.
Contrary to what so many Americans learn in school, the pre-Columbian Indians were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness; rather, there were huge numbers of Indians who actively molded and influenced the land around them. From the astonishing Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán, which had running water, immaculately clean streets, and was larger than any contemporary European city, to the Mexican corn that was so carefully created in a specialized breeding process that it has been called man’s first feat of genetic engineering, Indians were not living lightly on the land but were landscaping and manipulating their world in ways that we are only now beginning to understand. Challenging and surprising, this a transformative new look at a rich and fascinating world we only thought we knew.
Customer Reviews:
Petiepie
Excellent book. As historically correct as can be expected considering the time frame. The author had numerous references as shown in the index of the book. For anyone interested in the history prior to 1492 this is an excellent book and maybe used as reference material if needed. I highly recommend reading this book.
1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus
Received the book rather quickly and it was in excellent condition. Except for a crease in the spine it would have passed as being new. Thanks!
Everything I learned in school was wrong!
The pre-Columbian American Continent was highly populated with a degree of technological, social and civil sophistication largely unmatched in Eurasia. Simply put, everything I learned in school was wrong!
After peppering my family and friends with snippet after snippet from the enlightening audio edition book I bought the paper edition to get the pictures. I recommend that if you get the audio edition that you do the same for the pictures tell a story that you just can't paint adequately in words.
My intellectual world has been positively rocked and I will never view pre-Columbian or Colonial America the same again. I suspect that your experience will be similar to mine.
Also recommended as a complementary companion to this book: Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (audio edition); Guns, Germs, and Steel (National Geographic documentary based on the book)
1491
Actually submitted a review earlier; but just in case it did not arrive, have done this one. Thnx.
Interesting, but tinged with modernist cultural superiority
This book is somewhat interesting, but what irks me is the tone in which it is written. It could not be more obvious that the author feels "we" Westerners are more superior to the people of the past, including the very people whose memoirs form the base of his book. I admit I didn't read past the first chapter, because of this.
Another glaring problem is the author totally lacks imagination. For instance in the first chapter he is discussing how along the Amazon in the early 1400's, one group of Spaniards reported large communities of natives living on the river bank. The author draws the conclusion that the natives could not have been living anywhere EXCEPT on the river bank, as this is where their villages were reported to be, according to the Spanish. Do you see what I mean about a lack of imagination? How could one think the natives didn't live further inland, simply because the Spanish didn't see them? (as the Spanish didn't travel further inland?)
This bothered me. I think I will find other ways to learn history.
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