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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove) | J 970.01 MAN | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | J 970.01 MAN | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Stillwater Public Library | J 970.01 MAN | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
A companion book for young readers based on 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, the groundbreaking bestseller by Charles C. Mann.
Author Notes
Charles C. Mann is a correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, Science, and Wired. He has also written for Fortune, The New York Times, Smithsonian, Technology Review, Vanity Fair, The Washington Post, the television network HBO, and the television series Law and Order. He has received writing awards from the American Bar Association, the American Institute of Physics, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the Lannan Foundation.
He has written or co-written several books including The Second Creation: Makers of the Revolution in 20th-Century Physics, The Aspirin Wars: Money, Medicine, and 100 Years of Rampant Competition, Noah's Choice: The Future of Endangered Species, At Large: The Strange Case of the Internet's Biggest Invasion, and 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created which made The New York Times Best Seller List for 2012. His book, 1491, won the National Academies Communication Award for the best book of the year.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 6 Up-In this adaptation of his adult title 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Mann helps clear up misconceptions and misinformation, focusing on Western history in the years before 1491. The book is divided into three sections: "How Old Was the New World?," "Why Did Europe Succeed?," and "Were the Americas Really a Wilderness?" Listeners will learn about cities created by the Olmec and Maya, extinction and disease, and the wilderness once thought to be the Americas. Nonfiction can be challenging to listen to, particularly when the original text has sidebars, headings, and photos to break up the text. But reader Stephen McLaughlin skillfully keeps the content smooth and engaging throughout. VERDICT A fascinating and well-done audio offering for most history collections. ["Students and teachers will benefit greatly from this engaging exploration of America's most overlooked and misunderstood historical periods": SLJ 9/09 review of the Holt book.]-Karen Alexander, Lake Fenton High School, Linden, MI © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Mann adapts his acclaimed portrait of the Americas before European conquest and settlement into an engrossing, highly readable account for young people. The title-subtitle combination is somewhat misleading, as this sweeping chronicle of the Americas covers thousands of years before Columbus and a couple hundred years after. Presenting fascinating discoveries and hypotheses of anthropologists, archaeologists, geologists and historians, the author effectively supports his thesis that "Native Americans created societies that were older, bigger, and more highly developed than we used to think." He shows that catastrophic epidemics were most responsible for enabling small parties of European conquerors and colonists to overwhelm much larger Indian societies and demonstrates how Native Americans employed sophisticated agricultural methods that transformed ecosystems and shaped landscapes that Europeans assumed were "wilderness." Attractively designed, the book is abundantly illustrated throughout with maps, photographs and reproductions of art works. Especially appealing is how the author shows young readers that history is not static, but dynamic, organic and ever-changing. (introduction, glossary, further reading, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10 up) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Mann's successful adult book 1491 (2006) is reshaped here for a younger audience, to good effect. Certainly, the material is fascinating. Mann's major point is that much of what's considered common knowledge about the Americas is now under reconsideration. Moreover, new discoveries make possible a rethinking of civilization's beginnings altogether. The book starts with the discovery of prehistoric inhabitants in Peru, whose civilization is as old as, or older than, Sumer in the Middle East. Moreover, pyramids appeared in Peru first as well. After these startling observations, Mann divides his book into several parts, one of which looks at how the Old World was able to defeat the New World (disease helped) and the question of whether the Americas were actually a wilderness. Much has been done to repackage the information for a middle-school audience. Historical engravings and bold art, including work from Diego Rivera, demand attention, meshing well with clean pages and a good-size typeface (yet the maps could use more explanation). The narrative is inviting, too, though the material still remains dense in places. Catnip for budding historians or archaeologists.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2009 Booklist
