In this groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Charles C. Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.Contrary to what so many Americans learn in school, the pre-Columbian Indians were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness; rather, there were huge numbers of Indians who actively molded and influenced the land around them. From the astonishing Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán, which had running water, immaculately clean streets, and was larger than any contemporary European city, to the Mexican corn that was so carefully created in a specialized breeding process that it has been called man’s first feat of genetic engineering, Indians were not living lightly on the land but were landscaping and manipulating their world in ways that we are only now beginning to understand. Challenging and surprising, this a transformative new look at a rich and fascinating world we only thought we knew.

查爾斯·C·曼恩是《大西洋月刊》、《科學》和《連綫》雜誌的撰稿人。他也為《財富》雜誌、《紐約時報》、《史密森尼》、《名利場》、《華盛頓郵報》供過稿，還為HBO電視颱的連續劇《法律與秩序》撰寫過腳本。作為曾三次進入美國國傢雜誌奬決賽的作者，曼恩至今已被美國律師協會、美國物理研究會、阿爾弗雷德·P·斯隆基金會和蘭南基金會授予過與寫作相關的奬項。《1491》贏得瞭美國國傢學院傳播奬的年度最佳圖書奬。他住在馬薩諸塞州的阿姆赫斯特。