Schama has written for The New Yorker since 1994, winning the National Magazine Award in 1996.

For instance, in the book, Schama writes that he always begins each new writing project with a fountain pen, not a computer.

And so, in 1980, Schama took a job in the United States, at Harvard.

“It serves me right that that would be seen as a massive piece of hyperbole,” Schama said in a phone conversation this week.