1493 for Young People

November 15, 2015
In this sweeping world history, Mann chronicles the spread of globalization, examining the mingling of the world's ecosystems through travel, trade, colonization, conquest, and migration, from its beginnings in the 15th century to its continued impact in the present day. Adapted by Stefoff for teen audiences, this riveting account shows how the complex, interconnected economic and environmental consequences of the European "discovery" of the Americas shaped many unexpected aspects of the modern world. The collision of unfamiliar flora, fauna, and microbes produced unforeseen wealth, conflict, exploitation, disease, misery, and social upheaval. Mann examines such fascinating subjects as the connections between malaria and slavery, how silver mined in Bolivia funded economic development in rural China and wars waged by the Spanish empire, how the rubber plant enabled industrialization, and how the potato plant fed millions of Europe's poor for centuries and then caused the deaths of millions. All of these fascinating stories are woven together in a clear, compelling narrative. The complex subject matter is impressively handled with deftness and wit. A provocative, gripping account. (photos, maps, timeline, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)

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Starred review from January 1, 2016

Gr 7-10-Stefoff abridges and simplifies Mann's adult title 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created (Knopf, 2011), objectively describing how European exploration and the resulting Columbian Exchange of plants, animals, and diseases rapidly made the world "global" in outlook and practice, with a mixed legacy of wealth and higher living standards, oppression, losses of entire populations, and environmental degradation. Both versions share format and topics and are not complete histories of global exploration and exchange. They instead focus on large and small factors, such as the failed Scottish colony in Panama, European earthworms in North America, and Africans' partial immunity to malaria, that had unexpected and significant effects on nations, agriculture, and the spread of slavery. Sections on often-overlooked and important topics such as the trans-Pacific trade that destabilized the Chinese government, the unexpected and enduring environmental and human costs of single-crop (potatoes) and industrial (rubber trees) agriculture, and the "crazy soup" of mixed population groups are informative and thought-provoking. Maps and large illustrations supplement the text. More detailed than Marc Aronson and John W. Glenn's The World Made New: Why the Age of Exploration Happened and How It Changed the World (National Geographic, 2007) and a good companion to Mann's Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491 (S. & S., 2009), this book will help students understand the origins and continuing consequences of the globalization that was the almost immediate result of European exploration and exploitation of the New World. VERDICT An excellent addition to history collections.-Mary Mueller, Rolla Public Schools, MO

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January 1, 2016
Grades 7-12 This adaptation of Mann's best-selling 1493 (2011) makes salient points about globalization accessible to teen readers. Inspired by the mystery of how tomatoes came to be cultivated in Ukraine, Mann begins with the cultural impact of this plant and expands to focus on the Columbian Exchange. Whatever the reader's feelings toward this controversial explorer, the author successfully shows how Christopher Columbus' voyage created globalization and the New World. Rather than providing a daunting, complete survey of modern civilization, he concentrates on events with long-standing ecological and economic impact. Some of these include the role of malaria in the development of the U.S., the potato in producing a population explosion in China, and slavery in reshuffling humans around the world. Profiles of influential yet lesser-known individuals, a time line, and copious color photographs, reproductions, and maps give context to these events. A thought-provoking narrative sure to lead to discussion in and out of the classroom.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)