Overview

From celebrated Yale professor Valerie Hansen, a groundbreaking work of history showing that bold explorations and daring trade missions connected all of the world's great societies for the first time at the end of the first millennium.People often believe that the years immediately prior to AD 1000 were, with just a few exceptions, lacking in any major cultural developments or geopolitical encounters, that the Europeans hadn't yet reached North America, and that the farthest feat of sea travel was the Vikings' invasion of Britain. But how, then, to explain the presence of blonde-haired people in Maya temple murals at Chichén Itzá, Mexico? Could it be possible that the Vikings had found their way to the Americas during the height of the Maya empire? Valerie Hansen, an award-winning historian, argues that the year 1000 was the world's first point of major cultural exchange and exploration. Drawing on nearly thirty years of research, she presents a compelling account of first encounters between disparate societies, which sparked conflict and collaboration eerily reminiscent of our contemporary moment. For readers of Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel and Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens, The Year 1000 is an intellectually daring, provocative account that will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about how the modern world came to be. It will also hold up a mirror to the hopes and fears we experience today.

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9781797103006

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An impressively well-researched book exploring the documentation of many different cultures and people. -- Library Journal on The Silk Road

"""A whole new way of looking at the world. If you have the idea that medieval history was a time when there were few connections between those who inhabited different places on the map, this book will reorient you in the most stimulating way possible...Brilliant."" -- ""Rana Mitter, author of Forgotten Ally"" ""Anyone who thinks that globalization is something new needs to read this book!"" -- ""Ian Morris, author of Why the West Rules--for Now"" ""Full of eye-opening surprises. Hansen tells a rich and fascinating story of the many ways that far-flung societies a millennium ago forged connections...A masterly work of scholarship."" -- ""Liaquat Ahamed, author of Lords of Finance"" ""Hansen has not only fashioned a coherent and original vision of the world...but described it in a clear, concrete, and absorbing narrative that will entertain and enlighten every reader."" -- ""R. I. Moore, author of The First European Revolution"""

Author Information

Valerie Hansen is the Stanley Woodward Professor of History at Yale University, where she teaches Chinese and world history. An accomplished scholar and author, she traveled to nearly twenty countries to conduct research for The Year 1000. She is several acclaimed works, including The Silk Road: A New History and The Open Empire, and co-author of Voyages in World History. Cynthia Farrell, an Earphones Award-winning narrator, is a singer and voice actor best known for her roll as Catalina in the video games Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. She has also performed off Broadway and has released a number of records.

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