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What Members Thought
A biography of a true renaissance man and a history of Western ecological thinking. The concept of nature as an interconnected web stretching all over the world stems from Alexander von Humboldt and he was profoundly influential, making this an interesting, if at time a little bit uncritical, book
I cannot exist without experiments
Context and growing up
As the most famous man after Napoleon during his day, being born in the same year as the Corsican, Humboldt is rather forgotten in the Anglo-Saxon ...more
I cannot exist without experiments
Context and growing up
As the most famous man after Napoleon during his day, being born in the same year as the Corsican, Humboldt is rather forgotten in the Anglo-Saxon ...more
Not flawless (for me the weakest chapter was on Humboldt and Thoreau), but endlessly fascinating. Before there was Carl Sagan and his Cosmos, there was the great Prussian naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, and his Kosmos.
Why have we forgotten him? Because he was German? (That would be depressing.) Because he did not invent one theory in a specific field, but a way of looking at the universe? (Possible, I think. The former is easier to teach in school than the latter.) I don't know. At any rate, ...more
Why have we forgotten him? Because he was German? (That would be depressing.) Because he did not invent one theory in a specific field, but a way of looking at the universe? (Possible, I think. The former is easier to teach in school than the latter.) I don't know. At any rate, ...more
Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland at the foot of the Chimborazo Volcano:
Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland in a jungle hut in the Amazon:
What a delightful read! Before a friend of mine mentioned The Invention of Nature to me, I never heard of Alexander von Humboldt, who was the most influential scientist of the 19th century, a polymath, the father of environmentalism, an abolitionist and an educator.
The South American expedition from 1799 to 1804 was the foundation of his lifelon ...more
Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland in a jungle hut in the Amazon:
What a delightful read! Before a friend of mine mentioned The Invention of Nature to me, I never heard of Alexander von Humboldt, who was the most influential scientist of the 19th century, a polymath, the father of environmentalism, an abolitionist and an educator.
The South American expedition from 1799 to 1804 was the foundation of his lifelon ...more
This is a well written, comprehensive account of the life of Alexander von Humboldt, and his influences and influence. I found it an interesting read, and the specialist sections clearly explained. I found the section on his links with Simon Bolívar especially interesting.
Well done to Andrea Wulf for introducing a man who was so important in his own time to a present day audience.
Well done to Andrea Wulf for introducing a man who was so important in his own time to a present day audience.
Alexander von Humboldt comes across as a thoroughly modern man in this book, an atheist, an opponent of slavery and colonialism, a proponent of Big History, and an all-around bad ass. He was a great supporter of science and scientists, best buddies with Goethe, and a smart-aleck. He talked fast (and didn't let anyone else get a word in), and climbed mountains because they were there. He didn't let sleeping and eating get in the way of his quest for scientific knowledge. He was probably also able
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