1491
By Charles C. Mann

Ancient histories rarely read like detective stories, but Charles Mann is travelling the globe investigating the origins of the Americas.  In 1491, Mann hunts down the latest discoveries about the cultures of the western continents before Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492.

Mann looks at several early civilizations in North, Central, and South America. He synthesizes many recent, but little-known studies from a range of scientific and historical experts.  He challenges that the Americas were home to cultures more advanced than had been previously been known. With this in mind, he also debates their possible beliefs and attitudes toward land, slavery, and governance.

1491 shows how much of what we know today of our continents’ history is highly debatable. There is a faction that holds the Amazon Basin supported vast, thriving civilizations up until the fifteenth century. Others still maintain that this would have been impossible given the unforgiving climate and jungle landscape.

While discussing the new findings, he also tracks how the most common myths were accepted. Though many of the anecdotes in this work are speculative, even the little-known facts of these civilizations are presented in a satisfying tale. His coverage of the Indians who occupied New England and the Mississippi River is fascinating. The work creates a very different, more provoking, study than the grammar school text books provide.

- Kyle