1493 - Uncovering the New World Columbus Created (Charles C. Mann, 2011)

This book is a follow-on to the author's highly successful book from a couple years - titled "1491" (discussed here).  "1491" had a bunch of interesting ideas, many admittedly speculative, about life in North America prior to the arrival of Columbus.

"1493" is about what is loosely defined as the "Columbian Exchange" - the massive exchange of plants, animals, diseases, humans, culture, ideas between the eastern and western hemispheres that followed in Columbus's wake.   The book isn't as good as "1491" - scattershot - there are so many aspects to the Exchange that it's impossible for an author to try to cover it so broadly.  But I still think this is worth reading (quickly). 

Some things I was interested in:

1.  The power of tobacco.  Widespread use, addiction.  Interesting how governments wanted to ban it but couldn't as a practical matter, plus it was useful to tax it heavily.  Sounds familiar.

2.  I like the stories about how the transfer of potatoes out of the Andes led to much change in Europe and elsewhere.  Turns out that people can live just fine on no food other than potatoes and milk.  Potatoes stored well.  They grew underground - safer.  They were ready for harvest earlier than traditional grains (starving time for Europeans typically was the weeks/months before harvest - now you could eat potatoes during this gap).  They dramatically out-produced traditional grains (wheat, barley, oats) - by at least a factor of four.  This supported population increase, and pretty much ended famine in Europe.  Countries like Ireland became heavily dependent on potatoes; Ireland had a massive population boom before the famous 19th-century blight episode.  Ireland still is the only country in Europe with a lower population now than in 19th century.

3.  Maize.  Tomatoes.  Peppers.  Made in Americas, associated with cuisine from other parts of the world. 

4.  China traded silk and porcelain for Spanish silver.  Took in Western hemisphere plants.  Big changes.

5.  Interesting discussion of how the races intermingled in the early days pretty freely; then as the years went by, things became stricter.  In the early days, the native Americans were considered innocent and redeemable - unlike Jews and Muslims, their religious beliefs were excused as a product of ignorance rather than knowing rejection of the true faith.  As time passed and acceptance of the true faith was increasingly sketchy, the somewhat-tolerant view changed.  Gotta preserve status somehow.  Unlike the English in North America - the Spanish and Portuguese seldom brought along women - so mixing with the locals was widespread.  Mulatto (Afro-European); mestizo (Indo-European); zambo (Afro-Indian); Castizo (Spaniard-mestizo); morisco (Spanish-mulatto); etc.  Bizarre "casta" paintings that provide instruction about cultural mixes. 

6.  Barbers in Mexico City complaining about cheap Chinese immigrant competition.  A common complaint in those days.

7.  That the numbers of blacks and Asians coming into the Americas was massively higher than the number of whites.  Many escaped or otherwise established a way of life independent of the white power structure.  But pretty much out of sight.  Massive European immigration in 19th century increased the number of whites to the level we're familiar with now.