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Jaguars and Electric Eels
A great, innovative and restless thinker, the young Humboldt (1769-1859) went on his epochal journey to the New World during a time of revolutionary ferment across Europe. This part of his matchless narrative of adventure and scientific research focuses on his time in Venezuela - in the Llanos and on the Orinoco River - riding and paddling, restlessly and happily noting the extraordinary things on every hand. "Great Journeys" allows readers to travel both around the planet and back through the centuries -- but also back into ideas and worlds frightening, ruthless and cruel in different ways from our own. Few reading experiences can begin to match that of engaging with writers who saw astounding great civilisations, walls of ice, violent and implacable jungles, deserts and mountains, multitudes of birds and flowers new to science. Reading these books is to see the world afresh, to rediscover a time when many cultures were quite strange to each other, where legends and stories were treated as facts and in which so much was still to be discovered.
100 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1853
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466 people want to read
About the author
Alexander von Humboldt
1,108 books215 followersExpeditions of German scientist Baron Friedrich Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt to Latin America from 1799 to 1804 and to Siberia in 1829 greatly advanced the fields of ecology, geology, and meteorology.
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt, a naturalist and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher, and linguist, Wilhelm von Humboldt, explored. Quantitative botanical work of Humboldt founded biogeography.
Humboldt traveled extensively, explored, and described for the first time in a generally considered modern manner and point of view. He wrote up his description of the journey and published an enormous set of volumes over 21 years. He first proposed that forces once joined South America and Africa, the lands, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Later, his five-volume work, Kosmos (1845), attempted to unify the various branches of knowledge. Humboldt supported, included, and worked with Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac, Justus von Liebig, Louis Agassiz, and Matthew Fontaine Maury and most notably conducted much of his exploration with Aimé Bonpland.
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt, a naturalist and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher, and linguist, Wilhelm von Humboldt, explored. Quantitative botanical work of Humboldt founded biogeography.
Humboldt traveled extensively, explored, and described for the first time in a generally considered modern manner and point of view. He wrote up his description of the journey and published an enormous set of volumes over 21 years. He first proposed that forces once joined South America and Africa, the lands, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Later, his five-volume work, Kosmos (1845), attempted to unify the various branches of knowledge. Humboldt supported, included, and worked with Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac, Justus von Liebig, Louis Agassiz, and Matthew Fontaine Maury and most notably conducted much of his exploration with Aimé Bonpland.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 10, 2014
An excellent travelogue, with lots of details about the flora and fauna and indigenous Indians of the South America. The author combines successfully the erudite languange (and thus admits himself as the child of the Age of Reason) and the style of writing that will later be popularised by the Romanticism.
June 18, 2021
There's no escaping the fact that this writing is a product of its time - the early 19th century - and as such can be problematic. However, on this occasion I find it fairly easy to forgive Humboldt, knowing as I do that he was a lifelong and outspoken abolitionist, openly against slavery, colonialism and missionaries and their poor treatment of native people. Overall, I can comfortably say he was a good egg.
June 12, 2023
i am a sucker for nature
November 20, 2015
Another of the Penguin Great Journey books, this one excerpts from von Humbolt's Personal Narrative of a Journey to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent, which itself appears to be a very shortened version of his writings about the top of South America.
It was one of the books in the series that I was looking forward to the most, and for that reason perhaps, I was a little underwhelmed. It was interesting - particularly the jaguars and the electric eels, but it was not really a narrative that stopped me putting the book down. He had some great descriptions of flora and fauna - it was obvious he was passionate about these topics, and there was some interesting stuff about the geography, the culture and the legends of the native Indians. Despite this for me the narrative just didn't enthral me.
Bits from the capture of the electric eels - tembladores - "which make you tremble".
"The Indians decided to fish with their horses, embarbascar con caballos. It was hard to imagine this way of fishing; but soon we saw our guides returning from the savannah with a troop of wild horses and mules. There were about thirty of them, and they forced them into the water.
The extraordinary noise made by the stamping of the horses made the fish jump out of the mud and attack. These livid, yellow eels, like great water snakes, swim on the water's surface and squeeze under the bellies of the horses and mules. A fight between such different animals is a picturesque scene.
...Several horses collapsed from the shocks received on their most vital organs, and drowned under the water. Others, panting, their mane erect, their eyes anguished, stood up and tried to escape the storm surprising them in the water.
...The eel is about 5 feet long, and presses all its length along the belly of the horse, giving it electric shocks... It is obvious that shock felt by the horse is worse than that felt by a man touched on one small part.
...gradually the violence of the unequal combat died down, and the tired eels disbursed. They need a long rest and plenty of food to recuperate the lost galvanic energy... the eels timidly approached the shore, where we fished them with harpoons... in a few minutes we had five huge eels, only slightly wounded..."
and on it went. Great stuff.
It was one of the books in the series that I was looking forward to the most, and for that reason perhaps, I was a little underwhelmed. It was interesting - particularly the jaguars and the electric eels, but it was not really a narrative that stopped me putting the book down. He had some great descriptions of flora and fauna - it was obvious he was passionate about these topics, and there was some interesting stuff about the geography, the culture and the legends of the native Indians. Despite this for me the narrative just didn't enthral me.
Bits from the capture of the electric eels - tembladores - "which make you tremble".
"The Indians decided to fish with their horses, embarbascar con caballos. It was hard to imagine this way of fishing; but soon we saw our guides returning from the savannah with a troop of wild horses and mules. There were about thirty of them, and they forced them into the water.
The extraordinary noise made by the stamping of the horses made the fish jump out of the mud and attack. These livid, yellow eels, like great water snakes, swim on the water's surface and squeeze under the bellies of the horses and mules. A fight between such different animals is a picturesque scene.
...Several horses collapsed from the shocks received on their most vital organs, and drowned under the water. Others, panting, their mane erect, their eyes anguished, stood up and tried to escape the storm surprising them in the water.
...The eel is about 5 feet long, and presses all its length along the belly of the horse, giving it electric shocks... It is obvious that shock felt by the horse is worse than that felt by a man touched on one small part.
...gradually the violence of the unequal combat died down, and the tired eels disbursed. They need a long rest and plenty of food to recuperate the lost galvanic energy... the eels timidly approached the shore, where we fished them with harpoons... in a few minutes we had five huge eels, only slightly wounded..."
and on it went. Great stuff.
August 27, 2013
The briefest sampling of his 21-volume long account of his five years in South America, these few pages give a good insight into a mind which ushered in the scientific age. Humboldt travelled extensively, commenting on geography and geology as well his main areas of expertise, which was botany. He also had insightful things to say about the societies that were emerging in the region, as the European settlers built their cities and extended their commercial activities more deeply into the hinterland. There are implicit criticisms of the slave system he encountered on his travels, both from the standpoint of its cruelty but also its effect in dominating economies that would have been more productive if freer forms of enterprise had more space to develop.
There is also a sophisticated understanding of what we would now call ecology in these writings. Here’s an example:
“By felling trees that cover the tops and sides of mountains men everywhere have ensured two calamities at the same time for the future; lack of fuel, and scarcity of water. Trees, by the nature of their perspiration, and the radiation from their leaves in a cloudless sky, surround themselves with an atmosphere that is constantly cool and misty. They affect the amount of springs by sheltering the soil from the sun’s direct actions and reducing the rainwater’s evaporation. When forests are destroyed, as they are everywhere in America by European planters, with imprudent haste, the springs dry up completely, or merely trickle.....”
There is also a sophisticated understanding of what we would now call ecology in these writings. Here’s an example:
“By felling trees that cover the tops and sides of mountains men everywhere have ensured two calamities at the same time for the future; lack of fuel, and scarcity of water. Trees, by the nature of their perspiration, and the radiation from their leaves in a cloudless sky, surround themselves with an atmosphere that is constantly cool and misty. They affect the amount of springs by sheltering the soil from the sun’s direct actions and reducing the rainwater’s evaporation. When forests are destroyed, as they are everywhere in America by European planters, with imprudent haste, the springs dry up completely, or merely trickle.....”
March 20, 2016
My 2010 bookcrossing review:
This one was one of the really good ones so far! This was written in the early 1800s and is about this guy travelling through Venezuela, starting at the coast and going in land, through the jungles and over plains, to the Orinoco river and then travelling by canoe along there. He seems to be there to take different geological readings; another guy is there collating masses of information on the plants of the country. What makes this a great piece of travel writing is that there isn't masses of European arrogance over the supposedly ignorant natives and locals; he does tell it how it is from his observation point. And in regards to the natural history of the place, there is plenty of observation, and not just a report of how many animals he hunted down and boiled up to collect perfect skeletons. It is a real shame that this ended so soon and it was just a collection of excerpts.
There's plenty of interesting little facts and stories in this. The electric eels are one that really sticks in my memory. Just that their presence is so powerful, and can affect the route of roads and so on. The hunting scene for the electric eels was a bit surreal, and quite harrowing in a way.
This one was one of the really good ones so far! This was written in the early 1800s and is about this guy travelling through Venezuela, starting at the coast and going in land, through the jungles and over plains, to the Orinoco river and then travelling by canoe along there. He seems to be there to take different geological readings; another guy is there collating masses of information on the plants of the country. What makes this a great piece of travel writing is that there isn't masses of European arrogance over the supposedly ignorant natives and locals; he does tell it how it is from his observation point. And in regards to the natural history of the place, there is plenty of observation, and not just a report of how many animals he hunted down and boiled up to collect perfect skeletons. It is a real shame that this ended so soon and it was just a collection of excerpts.
There's plenty of interesting little facts and stories in this. The electric eels are one that really sticks in my memory. Just that their presence is so powerful, and can affect the route of roads and so on. The hunting scene for the electric eels was a bit surreal, and quite harrowing in a way.
November 14, 2017
Short and mostly painless, but this is more of a verbal portrait than a travelogue or an adventure. Von Humboldt tends toward painting his landscapes, tossing out statistics and measurements, and occasionally interjecting a story or encounter. The end result feels unresolved and difficult to interpret as a journey with a start and end... it reads more like aimless wandering, stopping here and there but with no real purpose.
I will say, though, that I did find the bit about the electric eel fishing to be quite interesting.
I will say, though, that I did find the bit about the electric eel fishing to be quite interesting.
May 18, 2020
What a strange, wonderful, little book. It's just a small window into the many adventures taken by Alexander von Humboldt. His descritions can get a bit dry and academic, but his anecdotes and observations are exciting and surprising. He created a clear picture of what life was like in the northern regions of South America. Also surprising, he was much more generous than many of his other other exploring counterparts in terms of his descriptions of the native populations.
It's a fun, quick read that I would recommend for a window into life as an explorer 200 years ago.
It's a fun, quick read that I would recommend for a window into life as an explorer 200 years ago.
October 30, 2017
I enjoyed Alexander von Humboldt´s excerpts from "Personal Narrative of a Journey to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent".
It is an enjoyable read about the flora and fauna of Venezuela.
The first 40 pages are quite descriptive of the flora which was a little boring
but I very much enjoyed the rest of his travels.
Altogether 3,5 Stars
It is an enjoyable read about the flora and fauna of Venezuela.
The first 40 pages are quite descriptive of the flora which was a little boring
but I very much enjoyed the rest of his travels.
Altogether 3,5 Stars
November 1, 2025
A fascinating account of Humboldt's 18th century travels in Venezuela. He is fascinating by the social world and the natural world, and writes about both with respect. Whereas the highest level of fascination in this book is placed on the titular electric eels and jaguars, he is also fascinated by the common people he meets, and ever single animal or plant he comes across.
May 29, 2018
Brief and concise, von Humboldt gives you a glimpse into what is today Venezuela's incredibly rich natural environment. Sprinkled with interesting western scientific observations and a few reflexions on the wonder of travel, this quick read is of great worth.
December 29, 2024
3.5 🌟
Never read a travel journal, initially thought it was a a fiction book. A bit surprised to find journey to Venezuela, not necessarily big fan of all the plants or geological findings, but rather curious experience to follow, make me want to try more in the penguin series.
Never read a travel journal, initially thought it was a a fiction book. A bit surprised to find journey to Venezuela, not necessarily big fan of all the plants or geological findings, but rather curious experience to follow, make me want to try more in the penguin series.
January 26, 2025
It is a brilliant short story that can be quite shocking at times. I just love this series of books as you get to learn about how life was in many different countries and cultures. I definitely recommend reading this book. I am so glad I found it on libby.
August 16, 2018
Interesting and fun to read. The perspective of a scientist traveling through Venezuela documenting his time in the new world.
June 4, 2016
Here, in a fertile land, in an eternal greenness, you search in vain for traces of man; you feel you are carried into a different world from the one you were born into.
An interesting little read, although I felt it was lacking in narrative. There's little structure to the book which is pretty much just excerpts from Personal Narrative of a Journey to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent. Each small chapter is basically a stand-alone section of some scene of journey Humboldt describes throughout his trip to Venezuela.
Some of the scenes are quite surreal and almost as if they were taken from some Márquez story. Like when José Arcadio Buendía ventures into South America to carve the town of Macondo from the jungle. At this time much of South America must have been untouched by western civilisation and must have been truly incredible to Europeans fresh on the continent. Some of the things the author describes would amaze many around the world in this day.
Humboldt touches lightly on politics, race and class as well as various other aspects of the society at the time which to me reinforced what I already knew about the history of the Americas. Humboldt expresses support for the abolition of slavery, which although hardly novel in our times was much rarer in 1800, particularly in the Spanish Empire.
March 20, 2022
With all of the books paying homage to works that are much longer, all of the books in the Penguin series of Great Journeys {each around one hundred - one hundred and fifty pages} offer the reader a glimpse into a much longer, possibly daunting, text that they may well have never considered. I know a few of them even made me want to take a look at the book from which the abridged excerpt had been taken ... others, well, not so much.
Not one of my favourite reads in the series.
Apparently taken from his 'Personal Narrative Of A Journey To The Equinoctial Regions Of The New Continent' which in itself was taken from a twenty one, that's right, a twenty one volume long account of five years spent in South America, to me this one hundred page extract seemed to wander aimlessly and I'm afraid much as I might have enjoyed the insight into the culture of the indigenous Indians of the South America, the describing of all that flora and fauna just didn't do it for me.
Copyright ... Felicity Grace Terry @ Pen and Paper
Not one of my favourite reads in the series.
Apparently taken from his 'Personal Narrative Of A Journey To The Equinoctial Regions Of The New Continent' which in itself was taken from a twenty one, that's right, a twenty one volume long account of five years spent in South America, to me this one hundred page extract seemed to wander aimlessly and I'm afraid much as I might have enjoyed the insight into the culture of the indigenous Indians of the South America, the describing of all that flora and fauna just didn't do it for me.
Copyright ... Felicity Grace Terry @ Pen and Paper
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January 10, 2011Humboldt is constantly taking measurements: how high the local mountains are (figuring that out requires a day-long expedition), the temperature of various hot springs, how fast the water in the Orinico river flows, the length of gigantic snakes and electric eels they catch, and so on. He is also constantly annoying the locals by expressing skepticism about the legends they tell about hairy man apes and people with no heads and mouths in their bellies.
September 3, 2016
"[The people here] are used to a dull domestic life," writes Humboldt with dismay about the citizens of Caracas, "and avoid fatigue and sudden changes in climate as if they live not to enjoy life but to prolong it" (p. 12). Screw that, thinks the German explorer as he plunges off into the Venezuelan rainforest for hands-on encounters with electric eels and crocodiles. What a complete madman. I am in awe.
April 26, 2014
Electrifying as the eels, particularly the account of their capture.
And poignant:
"....only the United States of America offers asylum to those in need. A government that is strong because it is free, and confident because it is just...."
Well, a couple of centuries surely is a long time in politics.
And poignant:
"....only the United States of America offers asylum to those in need. A government that is strong because it is free, and confident because it is just...."
Well, a couple of centuries surely is a long time in politics.
December 27, 2007
I love the great journeys series - found them in an airport bookstore - perfect size for travel and a nice way to inspire adventure. I would recommend to anyone interested in exploration and discovery.
December 30, 2021
Despite being over 200 years old there are some interesting comments on deforestation, human impact on the river systems, the affect on topsoil erosion due to the loss of tree canopy and roots etc.
Interesting read.
Interesting read.
August 28, 2009
I really enjoy stories of adventurers. People have done some amazing things.
December 2, 2020
Very quick read that provided an interesting insight into the wonders of the south american jungles and all of its-inhabitants.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews