Surrounded by an unfamiliar language, references and ideas, many students coming here to learn English along with newcomers hoping to start a new life in the United States find themselves quickly overwhelmed and bewildered. This book is their road map to an American culture that has enveloped them and has spread worldwide. For Americans, it's also a reminder of where we were and how much has changed in the more than 500 years since Christopher Columbus made landfall in the New World.