No, it's not just about Columbus but rather about the whole world before and after that momentous year. Fernandez-Armesto does indeed take us around the world in both place and time to demonstrate his subtitle: "The Year the World Began." And a good adventure it is, if a little wordy and occasionally arcane. (That's why it has three stars instead of four; but that's in some ways my fault, for not knowing enough about certain countries and cultures to appreciate his discussion.) This was overall a disappointing read. I was expecting something much more profound from a historian and a writer of so many books. This was less than a scholarly work with strings of assumptions and grand statements that are poorly supported with evidence, or even with a good argument. Also, for anyone with more than a High School knowledge of history, this read was repetitive and offered little, if anything, in the way of new information. Furthermore, the author seems to have either dismissed off hand or ignored much recent research on the Americas (see 1491, 1493 and Guns, Germs and Steel as some of the more popular works published on the question. The less than scholarly approach to research, in forming a theory and providing evidence and the seemingly surface level of information on the Americas makes me doubt the other chapters that I have not researched as extensively. I do not recommend it for anyone other than a High School student who needs a quick review or introduction to the topic of global history at the time.
Do You like book 1492: The Year The World Began (2009)?
Interesting at times, but not nearly as engaging as some of his other works.
—Ponybutt
Good read. He is thorough and careful in his thesis and in his history.
—nyemplung
Lots of pretty interesting info, but this is a seriously dry book.
—deepanshu
