When Columbus landed in 1492 there were a hundred million Native Americans - a fifth of the human race. The Europeans encountered great civilizations, some with cities as large as any on earth. Greed and bigotry proceeded to destroy what disease could not. Exquisite works of art were melted for their gold, thousands of books were burned, towns and temples razed, fields fired. Within a hundred years only ten million Native Americans remained. Richard Wright tells the Indian story - from the 16th century to the present day. He concentrates on five peoples - Aztec, Maya, Inca, Cherokee and Iroquois - who at the time of conquest, were all agricultural, all with complex political systems. Other books by the author include Cut Stones and Crossroads: A Journey to Peru, On Fiji Islands, Quechua Phrasebook and Time Among the Maya.