It was believed that in 1491, the year before Columbus landed, the Americas were a near-pristine wilderness inhabited by small roaming bands of indigenous people. Here, Charles Mann provides a new, fascinating and iconoclastic account of the Americas before Columbus.

From the Arctic Circle to the Turkish border, a landmark journey along the old Iron Curtain, tracing the history of the Cold War and meeting the people who live with its legacy.

A landmark journey along the full length of the old Iron Curtain - from the Arctic Circle to Turkey's eastern border - tracing the history of the Cold War and meeting the people who live with its legacy.