Humboldt and the Cosmos

by Douglas Botting

Alexander von Humboldt, once described as the 'last universal scholar in the field of the natural sciences', was one of the most extraordinary men of his time. This work looks at the man, what drove him, the age he lived in, and follows his journeys of discovery along the Casiquiare canal and the Upper Orinoco of Venezuela.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Science, History, History Of Science

323 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Para (wanderer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a little outside of my usual historical interests, but it was nonetheless fascinating and highly readable despite some rather dated language (even for a near 50 y/o book, the word "savage"...🙄) at points. It does a fairly good job of getting Humboldt's personality across as well, in addition to describing his adventures and listing his scientific achievments, and I was surprised to learn how likable I found him. The edition I ended up with was beautiful too, a tiny hardcover with many images, a few inserts in colour, and a huge map.

Recommended to anyone interested in the history of science and queer historical figures.

More reviews on my blog, To Other Worlds.

[Lew Stanisława · Rating 3 out of 5]

This probably wouldn't be as annoying if I got it as an old, long forgotten book, and not a fresh new reprint from the Humboldt Foundation. We really do not need more stuff with wording like "negroes, half-castes and Indians"; nor do we need the repetitive denial of queerness. The author seemed to be so in love with Alexander he would literally call people who disliked him ugly or weak of intellect :D
Still, I am overrating this book, since it gave me some overview of Humboldt's life (and I do like Alexander quite a bit).

[Betawolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking for a copy of Andrea Wulf's _The Invention of Nature_, a bookclub choice, when I came across this book. Recognising that I'd probably not get my hands on the targeted book before I left the country, I decided to get _Humboldt and the Cosmos_ as an alternative so I could at least contribute to the bookclub discussion. As it turned out, Amazon are more efficient than would be planned, and I did get _The Invention of Nature_ before my trip. Given that I don't have any particular interest in Humboldt, I thought it'd be best to read this relatively soon after the first biography.

Botting writes a much better book than Wulf. Perhaps it is because he was an explorer himself, or maybe just because he is a more experienced biographer, but he did what Wulf failed to do for me, and presented South America through Humboldt and Bonpland's eyes, capturing the mosquito-plagued nature of that journey while revealing something about their natures. Botting's narrative is very similarly constructed to Wulf's, leading me to wonder how much of this is due to the source material and how much might be due to Wulf reading Botting. Some interesting divergences do appear, though. Botting writes far more clearly about Humboldt's concrete accomplishments, such as his early work with miners in Europe, and spends far less time trying to magnify the importance of Humboldt or his ecological thought. As a result, I feel far less cheated -- Botting is just writing a book about a great scientist and explorer, and he shows me why.

This is a richly illustrated biography, including several of the plates included in Humboldt's own works -- which Botting thankfully warns me off reading by including some discussion of Humboldt's poor writing -- as well as paintings of Humboldt and his adventures by contemporary artists. These do add something to the book, particularly the maps which outline his routes in South America and in Russia. Suitable in tone for a variety of interested readers, being both informative and adventurous, this is the sort of book Wulf should have written.

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anstelle des hochgelobten Kehlmanns doch erst einmal die Biographie des einen Helden. Humboldt. Verdient schon den Ruhm. Was für ein Leben. Gauß aber kommt kaum vor. Wahrscheinlich war der Mann schwul, dann also groß werden.

[Dec · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mesmerising biography

[Gencis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good written biography of the outstanding scientist, traveler, and geographer Alexander von Humboldt.

[Froggarana · Rating 3 out of 5]

i would have liked more science

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never heard of Alexander von Humboldt, which is a shame.

He coined the terms 'Jurassic' and 'magnetic storm.' He traveled over 6,000 miles in Central America taking hundreds of meteorological measurements (he was the first to quantify the temperature dependence on latitude and altitude with his isothermal maps), gathering tens of thousands of plants specimens. On his way back to Europe, he visited Thomas Jefferson. He was mistrusted by Napoleon and an inspiration to Charles Darwin. When he was 60, he traveled nearly 10,000 miles in Russia. I enjoyed this book much more that I expected.

[Rhea · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's is one of the best books I have ever read. Detailed review coming up soon.