1493 for Young People by Charles C. Mann tells the gripping story of
globalization through travel, trade, colonization, and migration from
its beginnings in the 15th century to the present.
How did the lowly potato plant feed the poor across Europe and then
cause the deaths of millions? How did the rubber plant enable
industrialization? What is the connection between malaria, slavery, and
the outcome of the American Revolution? How did the fabled silver
mountain of 16th-century Bolivia fund economic development in the
flood-prone plains of rural China and the wars of the Spanish Empire?
Here is the story of how sometimes the greatest leaps also posed the
greatest threats to human advancement. Mann's language is as plainspoken
and clear as it is provocative, his research and erudition vast, his
conclusions ones that will stimulate the critical thinking of young
people. 1493 for Young People provides tools for wrestling with the
most pressing issues of today and will empower young people as they
struggle with a changing world.