Two hundred million years ago, the earth was a single vast continental landmass, Pangaea, surrounded by a great global sea. Continental drift shattered Pangaea, and for many millennia, the hemispheres were divided, evolving almost entirely different species of plants and animals. Columbus's arrival in the Americas brought these long-separated worlds together. Many historians believe that this collision of ecosystems and cultures - the Columbian Exchange - was the most significant event in human history since the Neolithic Revolution. And it was the most significant event in biological history since the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Starting from the world of microbes and moving up the evolutionary scale to humans, Mann describes in a fascinating way the profound impact this exchange of species had on the culture of both continents.

Pages: 720, Year of Publication: 0906, Dimensions: 12.9x12.9cm