1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, by Charles C. Mann (Knopf Doubleday, 560 pp.)
The 鈥淐olumbian Exchange鈥 is the reason there are tomatoes in Italy, oranges in Florida, chocolates in Switzerland, and chili peppers in Thailand. Charles C. Mann (author of 鈥1491鈥) tells the surprising story of what happened when Columbus reached the New World and two very different ecologies collided 鈥 producing the world we know today. (August)