1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created

About this book

Christopher Columbus's voyage did not simply discover a New World – it set in motion the creation of a new one. In 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, award-winning science journalist Charles C. Mann explores how the sudden mixing of the world's ecosystems and economies reshaped life on every continent. The book begins in a garden, with a curious heirloom tomato, and follows a simple question: how did American crops end up on farms in Ukraine, Italy, Japan and the Congo? From there Mann draws on environmental history, Atlantic studies and modern scientific tools such as satellite mapping and DNA analysis to trace the Columbian Exchange, the movement of plants, animals, microbes and people across oceans. The result is a sweeping, readable account of globalization's origins. It looks at trade, agriculture, ecology, the slave trade and the rise of a world-spanning economy, showing how potatoes, maize, rubber, silver and disease altered empires and everyday life alike. Mann connects distant places, from the Americas and Europe to Africa and China, into one interlinked story. If you enjoy popular history that overturns familiar textbook narratives and explains how our modern world came to be, this is a compelling read for curious minds. Buy now and start reading 1493 instantly in your browser, with an optional printed copy available.

Author

Charles Mann, Charles C. Mann

Length

~825 pages

Reading time

16 h 26 min

Chapters

35

Released

November 11, 2026

Languages

🇬🇧 EN · 🇵🇱 PL · 🇩🇪 DE · 🇫🇷 FR · 🇪🇸 ES · 🇮🇹 IT · 🇧🇷 PT-BR · 🇲🇽 ES-MX · 🇵🇹 PT · 🇺🇦 UK · 🇨🇿 CS · 🇸🇰 SK · 🇬🇷 EL · 🇭🇺 HU · 🇹🇷 TR · 🇳🇱 NL · 🇷🇴 RO · 🇧🇬 BG · 🇭🇷 HR · 🇷🇸 SR · 🇸🇮 SL · 🇱🇹 LT · 🇱🇻 LV · 🇪🇪 ET · 🇸🇪 SV · 🇩🇰 DA · 🇳🇴 NB · 🇫🇮 FI · 🇯🇵 JA · 🇰🇷 KO · 🇨🇳 ZH · 🇹🇼 ZH-TW · 🇮🇩 ID · 🇻🇳 VI · 🇹🇭 TH · 🇮🇳 HI · 🇸🇦 AR · 🇮🇱 HE

Formats

eBook

Print format

Paperback, 15.5 × 23.5 cm, 600 pages

ISBN

9780307596727

Age rating

All Ages