I love reading the nineteenth century authors such as Francis Parkman and William Prescott, perhaps Prescott most of all. The style and grace with which he wrote about the Conquest of Mexico, for example, has not been surpassed. Yet Prescott's historically riveting account, well researched as it is, is too lost in its time. It is misread as Manifest Destinarian (Prescott hated the idea!) but the language and the prejudices jar the modern reader. Teh new transatlantic history generally tells a less compelling narrative, but we learn about things Prescott could not have touched: the scientific and religious discourses that went back and forth, the migrations and remigrations, the multiple migrations of peoples who were not English, Spanish or French. If any historical inquiry has benefitted from the new Atlantic history, it is African American history. Large tomes about the Triangle Trade aside, this was an untold story from the enslaved people's standpoint, and it receives much correction in the new literature. We have many scholars to thank for the renewed interest in the transatlantic history, such as Bernard Bailyn, Jack Greene, Karen Kupperman and others who have hosted seminars and encouraged publication in the area.