Book excerpt: "The Old World, the New World, and the Creation of the Modern World, 1400-1650: An Interpretive History" provides a unique look at the early years of European discovery and colonization, examining the impact of this period on the historical development of both the New and Old Worlds. The text is enhanced by the incorporation of a wide variety of original source material, allowing readers to benefit from a more first-hand experience of the historical events of the period. Providing the essential facts in conjunction with expert analysis, the volume poses a number of important questions to enable readers to construct their own analysis of the evidence presented. Uniquely, the volume goes beyond the standard textbook formula of "what, when and where" to delve more deeply into the specific (as well as the wider) significance of historical developments, thereby providing the platform for a textured, interpretive understanding of the history of the Atlantic world.