Simon Schama is University Professor of Art History and History at Columbia University in New York, and was awarded a CBE in 2001. Since 1995 he has been art and culture critic for the
New Yorker and an essayist for
The Guardian. His award-winning books include
Citizens,
Rembrandt's Eyes and the
History of Britain trilogy. His most recent book,
The American Future, was published in 2008.