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L'invenzione della Natura: Le Avventure di Alexander von Humboldt, l'Eroe Perduto della Scienza
Descritto dai suoi contemporanei come "l'uomo più famoso al mondo dopo Napoleone", Alexander von Humboldt fu uno dei personaggi più affascinanti e stimolanti del suo tempo. Nato nel 1769 in una ricca famiglia aristocratica prussiana, rinunciò a una vita privilegiata per scoprire come funzionava il mondo. I suoi viaggi e le sue esplorazioni in ogni angolo del globo ne plasmarono il pensiero e ne fecero un personaggio leggendario, ammirato e citato come diretta influenza non solo da studiosi come Charles Darwin, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson e John Muir, ma anche da letterati come Goethe, Coleridge e Wordsworth; Thomas Jefferson scrisse che Humboldt era "tra i principali artefici della bellezza" della sua epoca. Tuttavia, questa straordinaria personalità, a cui dobbiamo il nostro stesso concetto di natura e l'idea moderna di ambientalismo, sembra oggi pressoché dimenticata, e mentre il suo nome resiste ovunque - piante, animali, fiumi e città prendono il suo nome -, le sue opere prendono polvere sugli scaffali delle librerie. Andrea Wulf, acclamata storica e autrice di numerosi bestseller internazionali, si è immersa nelle opere, nei diari e nei documenti personali di Humboldt, ne ha seguito le tracce in tutto il mondo, visitando gli stessi luoghi e scalando le stesse montagne, per restituire a Humboldt, con questo libro, il posto che egli merita nel pantheon della natura e delle scienze. "L'invenzione della natura" è anche un tentativo di capire come è nato e come si è formato il modo stesso in cui pensiamo il mondo.
518 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2015
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About the author
Andrea Wulf
13 books934 followersAndrea Wulf is a biographer. She is the author of The Brother Gardeners, published in April 2008. It was longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize and received a CBHL Annual Literature Award in 2010. She was born in India, moved to Germany as a child, and now resides in Britain.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,595 reviews
September 25, 2025
For me, this book was — like Why Nations Fail, Guns, Germs, and Steel and Orlando Figes’s The Whisperers— a keystone narrative that linked up many formerly disparate threads of my personal reading. Such books are rare pleasures. I had always known that Alexander von Humboldt’s story was a link missing from my general knowledge. The praises of Oliver Sacks and Stephen Jay Gould alone told me as much. But I didn't know this was generally due to anti-German sentiment so powerful in the U.S. and Europe after World War II.
During his Latin American explorations (1799-1804), Humboldt was front page news in the West. He and his team climbed volcanoes, pressed plants, murdered fascinating new animal species, reset the coordinates, often grossly incorrect, for scores of cartographic features (rivers, mountains, etc.), slept on the shores of the Orinoco River, dodged leopards, crocodiles and other predators, and were eaten alive by mosquitoes. This was a time when his name was a byword for adventure on the lips of every schoolboy, even in the U.S.
Afterward Humboldt returned to Europe, settling in Paris, where he wrote up his findings. What resulted was a series of paradigm-smashing publications for both scientists and general readers. He is the first true naturalist as we understand that term today. It helped that Humboldt was a writer of startling clarity and concision. Until then, it seems, writing for the masses was not considered a career-expanding opportunity by men of science. Author Andrea Wulf does not say why, but I think it probably had something to do with the presumed loss of reputation for so craven an act as moneymaking. Humboldt changed all that. Sacks and Gould and countless other writers would become beneficiaries of his breakthrough.
But his insight into the unplumbed market for science writing is secondary to his real achievement. Humboldt’s revolutionary act was to view nature as a unified force dependent upon myriad interactions and mutual reciprocities, not reduced to mind-numbing categories as taxonomists and other systematists were then doing. Humboldt saw the full ecological impact of forests; therefore, he was the first to warn about deforestation. He saw how greedy cash crops (monoculture), cleared needed forest, leeched the ground of minerals and emptied aquifers, thus touching the fates of countless animal species, including humans. Moreover, he saw the importance of expressing one’s personal emotional responses to nature and he wrote with a passion that repelled some cold men of science, but enlisted scores of readers from all walks of life.
He had as personal acquaintances Simón Bolívar, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, U.S. presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, and Napoleon Bonaparte, who had him arrested briefly as a German spy. They all read him. His works constituted an epiphany for Charles Darwin, who took Humboldt’s Personal Narrative on board H.M.S. Beagle with him and who later met his hero. Henry David Thoreau could not have written Walden without Humboldt's example. The English Romantic poets William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Lord Byron all read and were influenced by him; as was Edgar Allan Poe, who dedicated his Eureka: A Prose Poem to him.
The major figures succeeding Humboldt and carrying his torch, if you will, include George Perkins Marsh, whose Man and Nature coalesced Humboldt’s environmental warnings, previously scattered throughout many volumes, into a clarion call for the conservation of the natural world; Ernst Haeckel, the prolific marine biologist, who virtually broadcast the Humboldtian sensibility to countless millions through his own popular books and articles; and John Muir, the almost comically ecstatic naturalist largely responsible for creating the U.S. federal parks system.
P.S. Humboldt was almost certainly homosexual. He usually had some slender young man with him in the guise of assistant. He avoided women like the plague, except those who could talk science, and he was said, if we are to believe Wulf (I do), to have disappointed entire cities of women who thought he'd make a fine match. His life was, in part, another bullet to the gizzard of that ridiculous fiction, the celibate bachelor.
During his Latin American explorations (1799-1804), Humboldt was front page news in the West. He and his team climbed volcanoes, pressed plants, murdered fascinating new animal species, reset the coordinates, often grossly incorrect, for scores of cartographic features (rivers, mountains, etc.), slept on the shores of the Orinoco River, dodged leopards, crocodiles and other predators, and were eaten alive by mosquitoes. This was a time when his name was a byword for adventure on the lips of every schoolboy, even in the U.S.
Afterward Humboldt returned to Europe, settling in Paris, where he wrote up his findings. What resulted was a series of paradigm-smashing publications for both scientists and general readers. He is the first true naturalist as we understand that term today. It helped that Humboldt was a writer of startling clarity and concision. Until then, it seems, writing for the masses was not considered a career-expanding opportunity by men of science. Author Andrea Wulf does not say why, but I think it probably had something to do with the presumed loss of reputation for so craven an act as moneymaking. Humboldt changed all that. Sacks and Gould and countless other writers would become beneficiaries of his breakthrough.
But his insight into the unplumbed market for science writing is secondary to his real achievement. Humboldt’s revolutionary act was to view nature as a unified force dependent upon myriad interactions and mutual reciprocities, not reduced to mind-numbing categories as taxonomists and other systematists were then doing. Humboldt saw the full ecological impact of forests; therefore, he was the first to warn about deforestation. He saw how greedy cash crops (monoculture), cleared needed forest, leeched the ground of minerals and emptied aquifers, thus touching the fates of countless animal species, including humans. Moreover, he saw the importance of expressing one’s personal emotional responses to nature and he wrote with a passion that repelled some cold men of science, but enlisted scores of readers from all walks of life.
He had as personal acquaintances Simón Bolívar, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, U.S. presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, and Napoleon Bonaparte, who had him arrested briefly as a German spy. They all read him. His works constituted an epiphany for Charles Darwin, who took Humboldt’s Personal Narrative on board H.M.S. Beagle with him and who later met his hero. Henry David Thoreau could not have written Walden without Humboldt's example. The English Romantic poets William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Lord Byron all read and were influenced by him; as was Edgar Allan Poe, who dedicated his Eureka: A Prose Poem to him.
The major figures succeeding Humboldt and carrying his torch, if you will, include George Perkins Marsh, whose Man and Nature coalesced Humboldt’s environmental warnings, previously scattered throughout many volumes, into a clarion call for the conservation of the natural world; Ernst Haeckel, the prolific marine biologist, who virtually broadcast the Humboldtian sensibility to countless millions through his own popular books and articles; and John Muir, the almost comically ecstatic naturalist largely responsible for creating the U.S. federal parks system.
P.S. Humboldt was almost certainly homosexual. He usually had some slender young man with him in the guise of assistant. He avoided women like the plague, except those who could talk science, and he was said, if we are to believe Wulf (I do), to have disappointed entire cities of women who thought he'd make a fine match. His life was, in part, another bullet to the gizzard of that ridiculous fiction, the celibate bachelor.
October 19, 2018
This was an absolutely phenomenal read!! It’s a non-fiction but rarely do I read fiction books written so well and so well translated. And Alexander …… a most unusual man „since the deluge”. I’m delighted Andrea Wulf decided to write this book, which, in fact, is a homage to the scientist who undertook most extraordinary expeditions, who was interested in how nature works, and whose detailed observations regarding wildlife laid foundations for modern science and environmental studies. I’m not going to repeat what’s in the book, but let me just say that von Humboldt’s life was not monotonous in the least … In a nutshell, great respect and admiration for Herr Alexander. Many thanks to my GR Friend Olaf who recommended this book to me.
May 24, 2016
This is a wonderful biography of a man about whom I knew very little. Today, in the United States, his name is practically unknown, despite being a world-wide celebrity in his day. Humboldt was a great explorer and scientist. He saw nature as a unified whole, an "organism in which parts only worked in relation to each other." His approach was holistic, and was entirely against the reductionist approach to science. Perhaps because of the influence of Goethe, Humboldt strongly advocated merging of art and science. In 1806, his writings were about evolutionary ideas, long before Darwin. In fact, Darwin took Humboldt's seven-volume book Personal Narrative of a Journey to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent along with him during his voyage aboard the Beagle. In his book Views of Nature, Humboldt wrote about how weather and geography influence the moods of people--and this was a revelation. He inspired generations of scientists, writers and poets, including Thoreau, Emerson, Darwin, and Jules Verne. Humboldt was also a strident abolitionist: He equated colonialism with slavery and "European barbarism." He befriended and greatly influenced Simón Bolívar's efforts to free South America from the tyranny of its colonial status. He was the world's foremost expert on Latin America.
When Humboldt was young, he yearned to participate in adventures and exploration. At the age of 27, he went off on an exploration of South America, an adventure that lasted five years. He survived terrible conditions, jungle heat, mountain cold, high-altitude sickness, and the torment of mosquitos. He did not take a large retinue, but only traveled with one scientist friend and a couple of guides. Along the way he took copious notes, a multitude of measurements with his scientific instruments, and lots of specimens of flora and fauna. He sent them back to Europe at regular intervals, in case he never made it back home alive.
Humboldt invented the concept of isotherms, that enabled a global understanding of climate. Back in Europe, he gave many free lectures in Berlin, encouraging people of all classes to attend. Half of the attendees were women. His lectures were unique, connecting "seemingly disparate disciplines and facts." He talked about the complex web of nature with "extraordinary clarity." He organized a remarkable conference of 500 scientists from all across Europe.
When Humboldt was 59 years old, he went on an expedition to Siberia. After analyzing the geology of certain areas in the Ural mountains, he predicted that he would find diamonds, and everyone thought he was crazy. But, he did find them!
He was at heart an environmentalist. He wrote a lot about the destruction of forests and long-term changes to the environment. He described three ways in which humans change the climate; deforestation, ruthless irrigation, and through steam and gas in industrial centers. He proposed a global network of stations to measure the Earth's magnetic field, and when it came about, he collected two million measurements over a three-year period.
Humboldt was a great explorer. He strongly encouraged explorers and artists to travel. He decried people who tried to do arm-chair science. He aided less fortunate scientists and explorers, giving them funds even though his own financial position was precarious. One American travel writer wrote that he "came to Berlin not to see museums and galleries, but 'for the sake of seeing and speaking with the world's greatest living man.'"
In this book, Andrea Wulf does much more that merely narrate the life of Humboldt. She also goes to great lengths to give the biographies of some other amazing people who were strongly influenced by Humboldt. In this way, we get a picture of how important Humboldt was, and still is. Humboldt was one of the first environmentalists and wrote so much about ecology. The book is well-written, well-organized, and fun to read. The descriptions of Humboldt's travels are gripping, as she writes about the dangerous climbs, diseases, and predators all around. I highly recommend it to everyone interested in nature, science, and exploration.
When Humboldt was young, he yearned to participate in adventures and exploration. At the age of 27, he went off on an exploration of South America, an adventure that lasted five years. He survived terrible conditions, jungle heat, mountain cold, high-altitude sickness, and the torment of mosquitos. He did not take a large retinue, but only traveled with one scientist friend and a couple of guides. Along the way he took copious notes, a multitude of measurements with his scientific instruments, and lots of specimens of flora and fauna. He sent them back to Europe at regular intervals, in case he never made it back home alive.
Humboldt invented the concept of isotherms, that enabled a global understanding of climate. Back in Europe, he gave many free lectures in Berlin, encouraging people of all classes to attend. Half of the attendees were women. His lectures were unique, connecting "seemingly disparate disciplines and facts." He talked about the complex web of nature with "extraordinary clarity." He organized a remarkable conference of 500 scientists from all across Europe.
When Humboldt was 59 years old, he went on an expedition to Siberia. After analyzing the geology of certain areas in the Ural mountains, he predicted that he would find diamonds, and everyone thought he was crazy. But, he did find them!
He was at heart an environmentalist. He wrote a lot about the destruction of forests and long-term changes to the environment. He described three ways in which humans change the climate; deforestation, ruthless irrigation, and through steam and gas in industrial centers. He proposed a global network of stations to measure the Earth's magnetic field, and when it came about, he collected two million measurements over a three-year period.
Humboldt was a great explorer. He strongly encouraged explorers and artists to travel. He decried people who tried to do arm-chair science. He aided less fortunate scientists and explorers, giving them funds even though his own financial position was precarious. One American travel writer wrote that he "came to Berlin not to see museums and galleries, but 'for the sake of seeing and speaking with the world's greatest living man.'"
In this book, Andrea Wulf does much more that merely narrate the life of Humboldt. She also goes to great lengths to give the biographies of some other amazing people who were strongly influenced by Humboldt. In this way, we get a picture of how important Humboldt was, and still is. Humboldt was one of the first environmentalists and wrote so much about ecology. The book is well-written, well-organized, and fun to read. The descriptions of Humboldt's travels are gripping, as she writes about the dangerous climbs, diseases, and predators all around. I highly recommend it to everyone interested in nature, science, and exploration.
May 22, 2022
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 world. Probably him being Prussian didn't help in the years after the World Wars, but he was the first scientist to talk about human impact on the climate, based on plantations he observed in Venezuela. Andrea Wulf even states that more places are named after Humboldt than anyone else, something I find hard to believe and even harder to verify.
From becoming a mining inspector at 22, one of the few options to escape his controlling mother and a method to travel widely, the love of Alexander von Humboldt for nature is clear. His brother Wilhelm turned out to be a successful civil servant, becoming education minister for Prussia and ambassador in myriad European postings. Both of the brothers were heavily impacted by their strict upbringing, with both of them not even visiting the funeral of their mother.
Science was an emerging, captivating field, with experiments involving the electrocution of 4.000 animals and Alexander even experimenting on himself to understand electricity (which was seen as being part of muscles).
Johann Wolfgang Goethe meeting Alexander von Humboldt in Jena and Weimar, under the patronage of the relatively enlightened rule by king Carl August of Prussia was a major event for both men.
Goethe, now seen as a writer primarily, was known for having a collection of 18.000 stone samples and being a founder of a botanical garden, hence enjoying the scientific sparring partner Humboldt his company.
Humboldt with his frantic research drive is also theorised to have been inspiration for Faust of Goethe.
South America and personal life, left undiscussed
The unconfirmed, but definitely present (and even in the time of Humboldt speculated upon) potential of gay love is rather firmly ignored in The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World. The below article is quite insightful, and I will touch upon this further in the review, but it seems a rather missed opportunity, also compared to the wide steps Wulf takes in respect to the influence of Humboldt on others later in the book.
https://www.antarcticglaciers.org/ant...
While reading further, I feel that there is definitely potential to have a Brokeback Mountain like movie on Humboldt and his well build travel companion (as noted in one of Humboldt his own letters) Aimé Bonpland travelling in South America.
Somewhat later Wulf even notes: "The irony was that her handsome brother now became a friend of Humboldt" - about a society lady complaining that Humboldt never stuck around to chat with the single ladies attracted to him. So this is not just projection and conjecture from modern times, but things really flowing from observations from Hulmboldt time as well. For instance the below is also an observation from a contemporary: Nor did he ever have intimate relations with women
This lack of genuine love for women was even described shortly after his death as his: "Sexual irregularities"
After my rant on the near erasure of the above topic, I must say that Wulf brings a compelling argument to start seeing Humboldt as the father of environmentalism, including his critique on the overuse of tortoise egg oil for church lighting, which caused a collapse in the species. The South American colonies were closed off to other countries by the Spanish crown, fearful of other countries staking out their possessions, making the expedition of Humboldt (powered by his diplomatic brother's connection) very special.
Poison from indigenous tribes, electric eels and alligators formed dangerous circumstances for flora and fauna collection. Mosquitoes were however the most distracting part of their venture into the rainforest. As was a lack of food, leaving them to resort to eating smoked ants in cassave flowers.
Unity in variety, climate zones being continental, was an insight Humboldt allegedly developed while climbing Chimborazo, the highest mountain of Equador, and comparing the arial view with what he knew from climbing the alps.
Nature as an unified whole and Politics and nature belong together were also concepts minted by Humboldt that still resonate today. Also Alexander von Humboldt his protest against slavery is remarkably progressive. Also already in 1804 he made a suggestion of digging a canal in Panama to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
The concept of an interconnected web of nature stretching all over the world, and the focus on a holistic approach, with research on connections and comparisons between temperature zones to find meaning from observations, definitely make Humboldt an interesting and to be celebrated thinker.
Public recognition
On the return trip Humboldt ended up meeting Thomas Jefferson and making himself very popular through his divulging of statistical data on Mexico, a new neighbour to the US after the acquisition of the Louisiana territory.
Concern for the impact of cash crop production on the soil, for instance indigo and sugar, and the livelihood of the population, were also definitely of interest to the US government, who tried to increase their agricultural output.
Meeting Simon Bolivar in Paris after a 5 year tour through the Americas and seeing the coronation of Napoleon to Emperor when he returned to Europe are other major events. And, just to return to the gay rumours, finding an unmarried 26 year old male chemist to accompany him to Italy, where he witnessed the eruption of the Vesuvius.
Upon returning to Berlin the Prussian king granted him an annual stipend of 2.500 thalers, compared to a yearly salary of an carpenter being around 200 (but still 5 times as little as his brother Wilhelm, who was ambassador of Prussia in Rome) for his scientific achievements.
Prose as important in the publications of Humboldt as the technical, dry scientific content. The first essay was dedicated to Goethe, with his views of nature later inspiring Thoreau, Emerson, Darwin and Verne
On returning to Paris, during a fullblown war between his homeland Prussia and France, he immediately befriended a male 20 year old mathematician when discovering his chemist friend from earlier European travels was now married
Russian endeavours and later live and influence
Going on an expedition to Asian Russia at 59, and discovering the first diamonds in the Ural.
An anthrax epidemic making the route to the Altai mountains hard, ending up as far east as Caracas was west from Berlin.
Traveling over 10.000 miles in 6 months, and visiting the Caspian Sea after the Russian victory over the Ottomans.
Being a strong influence on Darwin, who took books of Humboldt with him on the Beagle. Darwin his sister even criticised him for his "French, Humboldt like" narrative style.
His final book Cosmos having bootleg translations in English and sales of 40.000 editions in the UK in the first year of appearing.
There was even a proposal to rename the Rocky Mountains to the Humboldt Andes in the US.
Humboldt was receiving 4.000 letters a year in his 80’s, and writing 2.000 letters in response, dying at 89, only a few days after publishing the last volume of Cosmos.
After this, there are some chapters on the impact of Humboldt on wider thinking about environmentalism. Some were interesting, like Darwin taking the works of Humboldt with him on the Beagle. Personally I don’t see how the story of Marsh, an ambassador from Vermont send to Constantinople near the end of the book is very relevant, even though his environmentalist thinking might partly be influenced by Humboldt. The links start to get a bit more contentious and start on taking a kind of high Wikipedia article level.
Still this is definitely an interesting book about a fascinating character and original thinker.
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 world. Probably him being Prussian didn't help in the years after the World Wars, but he was the first scientist to talk about human impact on the climate, based on plantations he observed in Venezuela. Andrea Wulf even states that more places are named after Humboldt than anyone else, something I find hard to believe and even harder to verify.
From becoming a mining inspector at 22, one of the few options to escape his controlling mother and a method to travel widely, the love of Alexander von Humboldt for nature is clear. His brother Wilhelm turned out to be a successful civil servant, becoming education minister for Prussia and ambassador in myriad European postings. Both of the brothers were heavily impacted by their strict upbringing, with both of them not even visiting the funeral of their mother.
Science was an emerging, captivating field, with experiments involving the electrocution of 4.000 animals and Alexander even experimenting on himself to understand electricity (which was seen as being part of muscles).
Johann Wolfgang Goethe meeting Alexander von Humboldt in Jena and Weimar, under the patronage of the relatively enlightened rule by king Carl August of Prussia was a major event for both men.
Goethe, now seen as a writer primarily, was known for having a collection of 18.000 stone samples and being a founder of a botanical garden, hence enjoying the scientific sparring partner Humboldt his company.
Humboldt with his frantic research drive is also theorised to have been inspiration for Faust of Goethe.
South America and personal life, left undiscussed
The unconfirmed, but definitely present (and even in the time of Humboldt speculated upon) potential of gay love is rather firmly ignored in The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World. The below article is quite insightful, and I will touch upon this further in the review, but it seems a rather missed opportunity, also compared to the wide steps Wulf takes in respect to the influence of Humboldt on others later in the book.
https://www.antarcticglaciers.org/ant...
While reading further, I feel that there is definitely potential to have a Brokeback Mountain like movie on Humboldt and his well build travel companion (as noted in one of Humboldt his own letters) Aimé Bonpland travelling in South America.
Somewhat later Wulf even notes: "The irony was that her handsome brother now became a friend of Humboldt" - about a society lady complaining that Humboldt never stuck around to chat with the single ladies attracted to him. So this is not just projection and conjecture from modern times, but things really flowing from observations from Hulmboldt time as well. For instance the below is also an observation from a contemporary: Nor did he ever have intimate relations with women
This lack of genuine love for women was even described shortly after his death as his: "Sexual irregularities"
After my rant on the near erasure of the above topic, I must say that Wulf brings a compelling argument to start seeing Humboldt as the father of environmentalism, including his critique on the overuse of tortoise egg oil for church lighting, which caused a collapse in the species. The South American colonies were closed off to other countries by the Spanish crown, fearful of other countries staking out their possessions, making the expedition of Humboldt (powered by his diplomatic brother's connection) very special.
Poison from indigenous tribes, electric eels and alligators formed dangerous circumstances for flora and fauna collection. Mosquitoes were however the most distracting part of their venture into the rainforest. As was a lack of food, leaving them to resort to eating smoked ants in cassave flowers.
Unity in variety, climate zones being continental, was an insight Humboldt allegedly developed while climbing Chimborazo, the highest mountain of Equador, and comparing the arial view with what he knew from climbing the alps.
Nature as an unified whole and Politics and nature belong together were also concepts minted by Humboldt that still resonate today. Also Alexander von Humboldt his protest against slavery is remarkably progressive. Also already in 1804 he made a suggestion of digging a canal in Panama to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
The concept of an interconnected web of nature stretching all over the world, and the focus on a holistic approach, with research on connections and comparisons between temperature zones to find meaning from observations, definitely make Humboldt an interesting and to be celebrated thinker.
Public recognition
On the return trip Humboldt ended up meeting Thomas Jefferson and making himself very popular through his divulging of statistical data on Mexico, a new neighbour to the US after the acquisition of the Louisiana territory.
Concern for the impact of cash crop production on the soil, for instance indigo and sugar, and the livelihood of the population, were also definitely of interest to the US government, who tried to increase their agricultural output.
Meeting Simon Bolivar in Paris after a 5 year tour through the Americas and seeing the coronation of Napoleon to Emperor when he returned to Europe are other major events. And, just to return to the gay rumours, finding an unmarried 26 year old male chemist to accompany him to Italy, where he witnessed the eruption of the Vesuvius.
Upon returning to Berlin the Prussian king granted him an annual stipend of 2.500 thalers, compared to a yearly salary of an carpenter being around 200 (but still 5 times as little as his brother Wilhelm, who was ambassador of Prussia in Rome) for his scientific achievements.
Prose as important in the publications of Humboldt as the technical, dry scientific content. The first essay was dedicated to Goethe, with his views of nature later inspiring Thoreau, Emerson, Darwin and Verne
On returning to Paris, during a fullblown war between his homeland Prussia and France, he immediately befriended a male 20 year old mathematician when discovering his chemist friend from earlier European travels was now married
Russian endeavours and later live and influence
Going on an expedition to Asian Russia at 59, and discovering the first diamonds in the Ural.
An anthrax epidemic making the route to the Altai mountains hard, ending up as far east as Caracas was west from Berlin.
Traveling over 10.000 miles in 6 months, and visiting the Caspian Sea after the Russian victory over the Ottomans.
Being a strong influence on Darwin, who took books of Humboldt with him on the Beagle. Darwin his sister even criticised him for his "French, Humboldt like" narrative style.
His final book Cosmos having bootleg translations in English and sales of 40.000 editions in the UK in the first year of appearing.
There was even a proposal to rename the Rocky Mountains to the Humboldt Andes in the US.
Humboldt was receiving 4.000 letters a year in his 80’s, and writing 2.000 letters in response, dying at 89, only a few days after publishing the last volume of Cosmos.
After this, there are some chapters on the impact of Humboldt on wider thinking about environmentalism. Some were interesting, like Darwin taking the works of Humboldt with him on the Beagle. Personally I don’t see how the story of Marsh, an ambassador from Vermont send to Constantinople near the end of the book is very relevant, even though his environmentalist thinking might partly be influenced by Humboldt. The links start to get a bit more contentious and start on taking a kind of high Wikipedia article level.
Still this is definitely an interesting book about a fascinating character and original thinker.
Read
November 23, 2019Overall a nice book.
If I was giving star ratings then at times this book for me soared into five stars, at others it dredged through three star territory but because of the charm and vivacity and surprisingly upbeat approach to the book's subject I would not begrudge the book four stars and would generally encourage others to read it.
However I feel that Wulf's mind was pregnant with two books and in this one, both are conjoined and stillborn. There is the oddly optimistic and breezy book about Humboldt, then the serious if not dismal book about the development of ecology and ecological thinking branching off into conservation and environmental destruction. The conjuncture of the two pulled the book into three star territory as structurally it meant that the Humboldt story fizzled out damply while the mini chapter length studies of how Thoreau radically rewrote Walden under the influence of his writing followed by chapters each on the influence of Humboldt upon George Perkins Marsh, Ernst Haeckel and John Muir don't rise to the same level.
So Andrea Wulf positions Alexander von Humboldt as a pivotal figure who has been largely forgotten despite or because of having been hugely influential, she argues his insights are so main stream that they no longer stand out as exceptional and that the anti-German trend starting from WWI has tended to cause a conscious effort to forget him.
Her story I found oddly upbeat because his life was a story of frustration - his huge experience was his time in South America in the early years of the nineteenth century, however after this he struggled to get permission from the British east India company to travel in India and apart from a trip through Russia as far as the Altai was not again to have the intense excitements of an explorer but was limited to writing about his experiences while his personal friends died. Loneliness and disappointments are however not the dominant flavours in this lively assertion of Humboldt's importance linking the subjective response to nature to the Romantics, inspiring Lyell and Darwin with his vision of Nature, devising Isotherms (Humboldt had a powerful visual sense), an early popular science writer through his publications Humboldt came to influence the other figures mentioned above and so shaped early ecological thinking. Wulf stresses Humboldt's vision of the devastation caused on the environment by Capitalism changes to the climate caused by the clearing of forests and the introduction of cash crop monocultures and the human damage they caused - slavery, colonialism, later dictatorship, transplantation of human populations even after the end of the slave trade, his vision Wulf shows in a sense did not go far enough because Jefferson's sturdy republic of yeoman farmers itself depended upon cash crop countries not only for colonial goods but also to provide a market place for their own export crops - the ecology of human interdependences was as densely interwoven as that of the plant kingdom. Implicitly Wulf's presentations goes against her argument, Humboldt was a bestseller, suffering from pirated editions while publishers claimed there were fights to obtain early copies of his latest publications, however his critique did not challenge and has not led to a change to an exploitative if not suicidal extractive and agricultural world economic system with concomitant human damage. The curious absence from this book is Potosi which was the exemplar of his vision. Reading was particularly resonant with news from Venezuela and mudslides in Sierra Leone in the background extractive economies and destroyed environments remain ever green I suppose.
science-like bit
At the same time Humboldt was a prophet of Nature as sublime and how it is only through emotional responses to the flight of a condor that we can ,even in science, fully hope to understand it. In this he was encouraged by his friendship with Goethe, who in turn Wulf says wrote him into his portrayal of the eponymous hero of Faust.
Looking at Humboldt's influence upon Lyell, Darwin and so on, I felt first how even evolutionary thinking was not a sudden intellectual breakthrough - half the thinking world appeared to be pregnant with the concept well before Darwin, it just took time to articulate it explicitly, then it struck me that science does not progress one funereal at a time but rather is like desert flowers. The seeds fall but have to wait dormant until rains fall again before they can shoot forth into new life. The influence here Wulf traces back to Goethe's search for an urform from which more complex forms and manifestation of life develop, Darwin we can see was double Humboldted, reading him directly and indirectly via Lyell. Possibly the evolutionary potential of Humboldt's vision had a great and theory making impact upon Darwin because of the influence of the Second Great Awakening upon Anglo-Saxon intellectual life, if as that movement insisted , it was God what had done it all and exactly as it said in the Bible (and the King James version at that) , evolution and interdependence between life form and environment become revolutionary ideas.
All through all one sensed how deeply the author engaged and enjoyed her subject, a passion that she effectively transfers to and shares with the reader.
At the same time I would not describe this as a scientific biography - we don't read a discussion of his scientific influences beyond Goethe nor an evaluation of his collection technique or of the instruments he used. Above all we see how he strived, almost intuitively, to understand each phenomenon and to look and to understand the connections that link all life together in a web of interdependencies. This had implications for his understanding of human societies, economics and politics but also geology so he predicted based on finds of gold and platinum in Russia that diamonds were present in those strata, and shortly after some were discovered.
The relationship between life and environment led Humboldt to become deeply aware of similarities, so he noticed that plants on Latin American mountains were like those he had seen on the Alps, so he could describe the earth in terms of zones of vegetation or indeed temperature zones, drawing attention to the impact on regional climates caused by mountains or the sea. His graphical representations of this are to us familiar but radical in his day.
Politics
Years ago reading the The General in his Labyrinth which was an attempt to present Bolivar as a ancestral figure for the political left in Latin America, that struck me as an interesting but Quixotic exercise. An interesting effect of Wulf's book is that effort becomes in retrospect both natural, necessary and overdue.
Bolivar was heavily influenced by Humboldt - his championing of the majesty and glories of the natural world came as a counterpoint to those scientists who like Buffon who in the eighteenth century had argued that nature was degenerate and inferior in the new world, a position which implicitly justified its subordinate colonial position. Humboldt also directly addressed himself to colonialism praising the capabilities and cultures of indigenous peoples pointing out the destruction caused and in progress due to the unsympathetic imposition of European agricultural practices. The political implication of Humboldt's nature writing was that Latin America was inherently great, but to realise that greatness it needed to liberate itself from European controls and come to terms with its self, both parts of this programme one might observe have proved elusive.
The flip side of this was that Humboldt became a chamberlain of Prussian kings and was dependent on them for his income - as he had burned his way through his inheritance on his South American expedition - in part on porterage for his barometers and other equipment, and so he was a hanger on of kings, encouraging them to construct observatories even as he approved of Republics and hoped for the breaking up of colonial empires.
I came to read this book in the following way
I had noticed this book when it came out in hardback as something I felt I would like to read, but I decided to trust in the tides of fate which in time bring curious books to me. And it came to pass that I was walking up hill away from a hospital appointment and I came across a bookshop that I had never seen before. Naturally overcome by the rational spirit of scientific enquiry I stepped inside. It was a handsome bookshop and after a while flittering about its shelves I settled on buying this book. I praised the bookshop to the cashier and asked how long the bookshop had been here - imagining quickly the romantic story of some city types who had lost their jobs in 2008 and decided to do penance for their financial sins by opening a bookshop and so working for the moral betterment of humanity - the cashier replied dryly seventy years. Deeply wounded in my ability to sense a bookshop at 200 paces since at one time I had worked just round the corner I stumbled into the next bookshop and bought something else.
If I was giving star ratings then at times this book for me soared into five stars, at others it dredged through three star territory but because of the charm and vivacity and surprisingly upbeat approach to the book's subject I would not begrudge the book four stars and would generally encourage others to read it.
However I feel that Wulf's mind was pregnant with two books and in this one, both are conjoined and stillborn. There is the oddly optimistic and breezy book about Humboldt, then the serious if not dismal book about the development of ecology and ecological thinking branching off into conservation and environmental destruction. The conjuncture of the two pulled the book into three star territory as structurally it meant that the Humboldt story fizzled out damply while the mini chapter length studies of how Thoreau radically rewrote Walden under the influence of his writing followed by chapters each on the influence of Humboldt upon George Perkins Marsh, Ernst Haeckel and John Muir don't rise to the same level.
So Andrea Wulf positions Alexander von Humboldt as a pivotal figure who has been largely forgotten despite or because of having been hugely influential, she argues his insights are so main stream that they no longer stand out as exceptional and that the anti-German trend starting from WWI has tended to cause a conscious effort to forget him.
Her story I found oddly upbeat because his life was a story of frustration - his huge experience was his time in South America in the early years of the nineteenth century, however after this he struggled to get permission from the British east India company to travel in India and apart from a trip through Russia as far as the Altai was not again to have the intense excitements of an explorer but was limited to writing about his experiences while his personal friends died. Loneliness and disappointments are however not the dominant flavours in this lively assertion of Humboldt's importance linking the subjective response to nature to the Romantics, inspiring Lyell and Darwin with his vision of Nature, devising Isotherms (Humboldt had a powerful visual sense), an early popular science writer through his publications Humboldt came to influence the other figures mentioned above and so shaped early ecological thinking. Wulf stresses Humboldt's vision of the devastation caused on the environment by Capitalism changes to the climate caused by the clearing of forests and the introduction of cash crop monocultures and the human damage they caused - slavery, colonialism, later dictatorship, transplantation of human populations even after the end of the slave trade, his vision Wulf shows in a sense did not go far enough because Jefferson's sturdy republic of yeoman farmers itself depended upon cash crop countries not only for colonial goods but also to provide a market place for their own export crops - the ecology of human interdependences was as densely interwoven as that of the plant kingdom. Implicitly Wulf's presentations goes against her argument, Humboldt was a bestseller, suffering from pirated editions while publishers claimed there were fights to obtain early copies of his latest publications, however his critique did not challenge and has not led to a change to an exploitative if not suicidal extractive and agricultural world economic system with concomitant human damage. The curious absence from this book is Potosi which was the exemplar of his vision. Reading was particularly resonant with news from Venezuela and mudslides in Sierra Leone in the background extractive economies and destroyed environments remain ever green I suppose.
science-like bit
At the same time Humboldt was a prophet of Nature as sublime and how it is only through emotional responses to the flight of a condor that we can ,even in science, fully hope to understand it. In this he was encouraged by his friendship with Goethe, who in turn Wulf says wrote him into his portrayal of the eponymous hero of Faust.
Looking at Humboldt's influence upon Lyell, Darwin and so on, I felt first how even evolutionary thinking was not a sudden intellectual breakthrough - half the thinking world appeared to be pregnant with the concept well before Darwin, it just took time to articulate it explicitly, then it struck me that science does not progress one funereal at a time but rather is like desert flowers. The seeds fall but have to wait dormant until rains fall again before they can shoot forth into new life. The influence here Wulf traces back to Goethe's search for an urform from which more complex forms and manifestation of life develop, Darwin we can see was double Humboldted, reading him directly and indirectly via Lyell. Possibly the evolutionary potential of Humboldt's vision had a great and theory making impact upon Darwin because of the influence of the Second Great Awakening upon Anglo-Saxon intellectual life, if as that movement insisted , it was God what had done it all and exactly as it said in the Bible (and the King James version at that) , evolution and interdependence between life form and environment become revolutionary ideas.
All through all one sensed how deeply the author engaged and enjoyed her subject, a passion that she effectively transfers to and shares with the reader.
At the same time I would not describe this as a scientific biography - we don't read a discussion of his scientific influences beyond Goethe nor an evaluation of his collection technique or of the instruments he used. Above all we see how he strived, almost intuitively, to understand each phenomenon and to look and to understand the connections that link all life together in a web of interdependencies. This had implications for his understanding of human societies, economics and politics but also geology so he predicted based on finds of gold and platinum in Russia that diamonds were present in those strata, and shortly after some were discovered.
The relationship between life and environment led Humboldt to become deeply aware of similarities, so he noticed that plants on Latin American mountains were like those he had seen on the Alps, so he could describe the earth in terms of zones of vegetation or indeed temperature zones, drawing attention to the impact on regional climates caused by mountains or the sea. His graphical representations of this are to us familiar but radical in his day.
Politics
Years ago reading the The General in his Labyrinth which was an attempt to present Bolivar as a ancestral figure for the political left in Latin America, that struck me as an interesting but Quixotic exercise. An interesting effect of Wulf's book is that effort becomes in retrospect both natural, necessary and overdue.
Bolivar was heavily influenced by Humboldt - his championing of the majesty and glories of the natural world came as a counterpoint to those scientists who like Buffon who in the eighteenth century had argued that nature was degenerate and inferior in the new world, a position which implicitly justified its subordinate colonial position. Humboldt also directly addressed himself to colonialism praising the capabilities and cultures of indigenous peoples pointing out the destruction caused and in progress due to the unsympathetic imposition of European agricultural practices. The political implication of Humboldt's nature writing was that Latin America was inherently great, but to realise that greatness it needed to liberate itself from European controls and come to terms with its self, both parts of this programme one might observe have proved elusive.
The flip side of this was that Humboldt became a chamberlain of Prussian kings and was dependent on them for his income - as he had burned his way through his inheritance on his South American expedition - in part on porterage for his barometers and other equipment, and so he was a hanger on of kings, encouraging them to construct observatories even as he approved of Republics and hoped for the breaking up of colonial empires.
I came to read this book in the following way
I had noticed this book when it came out in hardback as something I felt I would like to read, but I decided to trust in the tides of fate which in time bring curious books to me. And it came to pass that I was walking up hill away from a hospital appointment and I came across a bookshop that I had never seen before. Naturally overcome by the rational spirit of scientific enquiry I stepped inside. It was a handsome bookshop and after a while flittering about its shelves I settled on buying this book. I praised the bookshop to the cashier and asked how long the bookshop had been here - imagining quickly the romantic story of some city types who had lost their jobs in 2008 and decided to do penance for their financial sins by opening a bookshop and so working for the moral betterment of humanity - the cashier replied dryly seventy years. Deeply wounded in my ability to sense a bookshop at 200 paces since at one time I had worked just round the corner I stumbled into the next bookshop and bought something else.
September 24, 2025
An outstanding character in terms of his culture, achievements, and physical resistance, the German Humboldt marked the 19th century and the history of science. However, his name is particularly known for being associated with a penguin species and an ocean current in the Pacific Ocean. In that case, his contributions and influence on contemporary science seem to have been forgotten by the general public today. I must specify that I was no exception to the rule and found this book by chance on the shelves of the library of my commune. It was, in many ways, a great discovery. This book by Andrea Wulf aims to retrace the thousand adventures of Humboldt's life, but also, and above all, in my opinion, to show the influence that Humboldt had on the scholars of his time (he never hesitated to share his knowledge and discoveries with his peers). Thus, Darwin places himself directly in the intellectual lineage of Humboldt to undertake his voyage aboard the Beagle and, after that, to conceive, refine, and present the Theory of Evolution to the world. Humboldt was Goethe's friend and considerably influenced Emerson to name only these great writers and poets. What is most striking in this work is that from the beginning of the 19th century, Humboldt highlighted the influence of human activity on the balance of ecosystems and, consequently, the climate. He conceives Nature as a whole, where all the components constantly interact. In this sense, the scientists who attempt to inform the world rationally about the reality and consequences of climate change that affect us today are the children of this giant.
February 21, 2019
Alexander von Humboldt was a remarkable man. Simultaneously a savant and an explorer, he knew everyone, studied everything, and did his best to travel everywhere. Andrea Wulf brings together the many seemingly divergent worlds that he bridged: the worlds of Thomas Jefferson, Simón Bolívar, Napoleon, Goethe, Charles Darwin, and even Isambard Kingdom Brunel. He left his fingerprints on the worlds of science, literature, art, and even politics. Yet today he is (or was, before Wulf) a fairly obscure figure in the English-speaking world.
Thus this book is not simply a biography, but an attempt at rehabilitation. Wulf wishes to restore Humboldt to his place of honor; and she does this by arguing that his influence has been fundamental and pervasive. But before she can deal with Humboldt’s reputation, she must first narrate the scientist’s own coming of age. Humboldt was one of these figures with seemingly boundless energy, who threw himself into his work with complete abandon. We watch the young Humboldt as he struggles with, and finally throws off, the expectations of his upbringing, and then dashes away to South America. Once he embarks on his voyage, it does not take a strong writer—which Wulf is—to make his story exciting. Humboldt’s own travelogues were bestsellers.
Humboldt emerges from his travels with a concept of nature which, Wulf argues, was revolutionary and which became extremely influential. Wulf identifies three new elements of Humboldt’s approach to nature: First, that nature cannot be understood without both the scientific and the poetic eye; analysis and sentiment are necessary to do justice to the natural world. Second, that the living world must be understood as a gestalt, with organisms depending on one another in an intimate set of relationships that boggles the intellect. And third, that scientists must think on a global scale if they wish to understand the complex interactions between plants, animals, and climates.
This is the meat of the book. Yet it is here that I began to shift from enchantment to disappointment. For Wulf does not do nearly enough work to convince the skeptical reader that Humboldt’s view of nature was so entirely new. I would have appreciated far more background on previous conceptualizations of the natural world. Without this, it is hard to tell where Humboldt was innovative. Further, Wulf is always rather vague with Humboldt’s actual scientific contributions. She elects to keep the narrative pace driving forward, which doubtless helped her sales; yet I would have appreciated an explanation of Humboldt’s thought in more detail, with a good deal more quoting of the man.
Conversely, Wulf could have greatly reduced the space devoted to the men Humboldt influenced. She has individual chapters for John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, Charles Darwin, George Perkins Marsh, and Ernst Haeckel—space that she uses as opportunities to prove her thesis that Humboldt’s writings were fundamental to their success. But I found the level of biographical detail excessive, and her point overstated. She makes it seem as if these men owed their accomplishments—if not wholly, at least in large part—to Humboldt’s influence. But you cannot measure influence, and you cannot prove a counterfactual (what would they have done without Humboldt?). In any case, the point is entirely abstract without a more careful discussion of Humboldt’s ideas; lacking that, it is not possible to say where his influence begins or ends.
By now I am convinced that Humboldt was an important and compelling figure in the history of science. But I am far from convinced that his late obscurity was a mere result of anti-German sentiment caused by the two World Wars, as Wulf claims in the Epilogue. Too many other German scientists and philosophers remained famous. Rather, I think Humboldt may have fallen into obscurity because it is difficult to do justice to the nature of his contribution. Unlike Darwin, he did not originate any major scientific theory that could unify a great many phenomena under a simple explanation. Humboldt’s major contributions seems to be perspectival: seeing nature as complex yet whole, as godless yet beautiful, as vast and inhuman yet spiritually refreshing. And it is difficult to work that into a textbook.
Thus this book is not simply a biography, but an attempt at rehabilitation. Wulf wishes to restore Humboldt to his place of honor; and she does this by arguing that his influence has been fundamental and pervasive. But before she can deal with Humboldt’s reputation, she must first narrate the scientist’s own coming of age. Humboldt was one of these figures with seemingly boundless energy, who threw himself into his work with complete abandon. We watch the young Humboldt as he struggles with, and finally throws off, the expectations of his upbringing, and then dashes away to South America. Once he embarks on his voyage, it does not take a strong writer—which Wulf is—to make his story exciting. Humboldt’s own travelogues were bestsellers.
Humboldt emerges from his travels with a concept of nature which, Wulf argues, was revolutionary and which became extremely influential. Wulf identifies three new elements of Humboldt’s approach to nature: First, that nature cannot be understood without both the scientific and the poetic eye; analysis and sentiment are necessary to do justice to the natural world. Second, that the living world must be understood as a gestalt, with organisms depending on one another in an intimate set of relationships that boggles the intellect. And third, that scientists must think on a global scale if they wish to understand the complex interactions between plants, animals, and climates.
This is the meat of the book. Yet it is here that I began to shift from enchantment to disappointment. For Wulf does not do nearly enough work to convince the skeptical reader that Humboldt’s view of nature was so entirely new. I would have appreciated far more background on previous conceptualizations of the natural world. Without this, it is hard to tell where Humboldt was innovative. Further, Wulf is always rather vague with Humboldt’s actual scientific contributions. She elects to keep the narrative pace driving forward, which doubtless helped her sales; yet I would have appreciated an explanation of Humboldt’s thought in more detail, with a good deal more quoting of the man.
Conversely, Wulf could have greatly reduced the space devoted to the men Humboldt influenced. She has individual chapters for John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, Charles Darwin, George Perkins Marsh, and Ernst Haeckel—space that she uses as opportunities to prove her thesis that Humboldt’s writings were fundamental to their success. But I found the level of biographical detail excessive, and her point overstated. She makes it seem as if these men owed their accomplishments—if not wholly, at least in large part—to Humboldt’s influence. But you cannot measure influence, and you cannot prove a counterfactual (what would they have done without Humboldt?). In any case, the point is entirely abstract without a more careful discussion of Humboldt’s ideas; lacking that, it is not possible to say where his influence begins or ends.
By now I am convinced that Humboldt was an important and compelling figure in the history of science. But I am far from convinced that his late obscurity was a mere result of anti-German sentiment caused by the two World Wars, as Wulf claims in the Epilogue. Too many other German scientists and philosophers remained famous. Rather, I think Humboldt may have fallen into obscurity because it is difficult to do justice to the nature of his contribution. Unlike Darwin, he did not originate any major scientific theory that could unify a great many phenomena under a simple explanation. Humboldt’s major contributions seems to be perspectival: seeing nature as complex yet whole, as godless yet beautiful, as vast and inhuman yet spiritually refreshing. And it is difficult to work that into a textbook.
May 4, 2024
The older I get the more I discover gaps in my education and sorrow at discovering whole areas and fields about which I am completely ignorant. What mitigates these episodes is at the same time reading a book that will rectify such a gap comprehensively. Such is Wulf's book. In her biography of the Prussian naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, she calculates there are more places (and things) named for him across the world than any other person. (And, gnashing of teeth, I vaguely knew his name and nothing else.) He was a legend in his own time, and this wasn't a 15 minutes of fame flash, but someone whose decades of intellectual, physical, political and social engagement put him in the forefront of multiple endeavors that ripple through time into the present. His research, his ideas, his scholarship, correspondence, his intellectual confidence, broke open new fields of study while at the same time insisting on the connectedness of all things. He inspired and encouraged and championed contemporaries and younger generations whose work helped revolutionize sciences, social studies, literature, art and design. He combined the rigor of science and research with the aesthetics and appreciation of artistry and beauty.
Von Humboldt lived a long life, worked hard throughout and accomplished much. The ideas of climate change, ecology, the impact of man on the environment, the destructiveness of monoculture agriculture and resource extraction imposed by colonialism are particularly of note. His belief in cause and effect required that no fact could be considered in isolation, and his concept of this "web of life" led to systematic constructions and models that combined nature, art, facts and imagination. For example, his "Naturgemäld" was a 2x3 foot drawing of Chimborazo, the volcano in Ecuador that he had climbed, with several columns of information he had gathered, at any elevation showed, the temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, plants and animals he found there. This type of visual display was unprecedented. It fired the public imagination and inspired people across disciplines. Instead of dry categories and taxonomies of placing study subjects in "boxes" of information, concepts of ecology and ecosystems radically reshaped how we looked at the world.
Who did he impact? Wulf convincingly argues that the list includes the following. Goethe and the creation of Faust; Darwin and his decision to join the Beagle, and how to pull his ideas of evolution together; Bolivar and his pride in the beauty of South America and its need for protection and liberty from its destruction by the Spanish; Art forms in nature and the rise of Art Nouveau, and the artistic design of Spain's Sagrada Familia basilica; Thoreau and his years of watching nature closeup in the woods; John Muir and preservation and conservation of nature; Gallatin and the founding of American ethnology and the study of its indigenous people -- and many others and so much else.
There is a lot to cover, and Wulf does it really well. She's a good writer and has done enormous amounts of research across disciplines but presents it clearly and thoroughly. Sometimes she's too hyperbolic and has very little criticism to offer. This makes me question some of her credibility, only because no one human could be so good or so great. In the epilogue, for instance, she wonders why he's been forgotten, and among the possible reasons theorizes that after the two world wars, he was a victim of backlash against anything or anyone German (no mention, for instance, of von Braun or Busemann). More importantly, it’s that his ideas became part of our generally accepted ideas, that we've forgotten someone had to imagine them first. Wulf gives us a great reminder and appreciation for a giant who we should know and remember. 4.5 Stars.
Von Humboldt lived a long life, worked hard throughout and accomplished much. The ideas of climate change, ecology, the impact of man on the environment, the destructiveness of monoculture agriculture and resource extraction imposed by colonialism are particularly of note. His belief in cause and effect required that no fact could be considered in isolation, and his concept of this "web of life" led to systematic constructions and models that combined nature, art, facts and imagination. For example, his "Naturgemäld" was a 2x3 foot drawing of Chimborazo, the volcano in Ecuador that he had climbed, with several columns of information he had gathered, at any elevation showed, the temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, plants and animals he found there. This type of visual display was unprecedented. It fired the public imagination and inspired people across disciplines. Instead of dry categories and taxonomies of placing study subjects in "boxes" of information, concepts of ecology and ecosystems radically reshaped how we looked at the world.
Who did he impact? Wulf convincingly argues that the list includes the following. Goethe and the creation of Faust; Darwin and his decision to join the Beagle, and how to pull his ideas of evolution together; Bolivar and his pride in the beauty of South America and its need for protection and liberty from its destruction by the Spanish; Art forms in nature and the rise of Art Nouveau, and the artistic design of Spain's Sagrada Familia basilica; Thoreau and his years of watching nature closeup in the woods; John Muir and preservation and conservation of nature; Gallatin and the founding of American ethnology and the study of its indigenous people -- and many others and so much else.
There is a lot to cover, and Wulf does it really well. She's a good writer and has done enormous amounts of research across disciplines but presents it clearly and thoroughly. Sometimes she's too hyperbolic and has very little criticism to offer. This makes me question some of her credibility, only because no one human could be so good or so great. In the epilogue, for instance, she wonders why he's been forgotten, and among the possible reasons theorizes that after the two world wars, he was a victim of backlash against anything or anyone German (no mention, for instance, of von Braun or Busemann). More importantly, it’s that his ideas became part of our generally accepted ideas, that we've forgotten someone had to imagine them first. Wulf gives us a great reminder and appreciation for a giant who we should know and remember. 4.5 Stars.
December 7, 2025
3.5/5 Estrellas
Si atendemos a este pequeño párrafo que escribió Alexander von Humboldt allá por la primera mitad del siglo XIX, entenderemos su importancia para el concepto que hoy tenemos de Naturaleza y el impacto que el ser humano ejerce sobre los ecosistemas terrestres:
"Al enumerar (Humboldt) los 3 aspectos en los que la especie humana estaba afectando al clima, mencionó la deforestación, la irrigación descontrolada y, quizá lo más importante, las grandes masas de gas y vapor producidas en los centros industriales." No pudo definir mejor lo que hoy conocemos como algunas de las principales causas del cambio climático. ¿Qué opinaría si pudiera viajar en el tiempo y viera el estado de nuestro pobre planeta en la actualidad.?
Pues este libro trata sobre la vida de Humboldt y sobre la enorme herencia que dejó en casi todos los campos científicos, pero sobre todo en: astronomía, ciencias de la atmósfera, geociencias —geología, geografía, orografía, vulcanología, mineralogía, oceanografía— y botánica. Porque este hombre tocaba todos los palos, era el todocientífico, el hombre humanista por excelencia, todo le interesaba y de todo sabía. Pero quizá su mayor aportación fue su visión global de la Naturaleza en la que todo está relacionado e interconectado. Cualquier cambio, interferencia o intervención afectará de una u otra manera a los componentes de este delicado equilibrio. No se hablaba todavía de "ecosistema", pero ya lo intuyó muchos años antes de que se estableciera el concepto, como muchas otras cosas.
Humboldt era prusiano de nacimiento. Nació en 1769 y vivió todas las revoluciones: la norteamericana, la francesa, la emancipación de las colonias españolas de Sudamérica. Enemigo acérrimo del colonialismo y de la esclavitud, sufrió enormemente con la involución posterior que experimentó el mundo tras el periodo revolucionario: el esclavismo imperante en las colonias de Norteamérica, la dictadura militar que instauró Napoleón en Francia y las guerras que se extendieron por Europa, la vuelta al antiguo régimen absolutista en el viejo continente, la creación de repúblicas en los antiguos territorios del Imperio Español, en las que los militares (el propio Simón Bolivar, amigo de Humboldt, se convirtió en dictador) o una élite criolla acomodada y blanca, seguían dominando el país y discriminando a la población indígena, negra o mestiza.
Humboldt creía en la inmersión en la Naturaleza, a la que había que medir con instrumentos cient��ficos y también sentir. En sus libros, inmensamente populares en su época, transmitía ingentes cantidades de datos, con descripciones intensamente vívidas y literarias de lo que la Naturaleza le inspiraba. Y con ello consiguió que millones de personas empezaran mirar a su alrededor con otros ojos, con otra visión.
Su vida no empezó hasta que pudo empezar a viajar. Su primer gran viaje lo llevó a cabo por los territorios americanos del imperio Español, los últimos años del siglo XVIII y primeros del XIX. Lo que allí vio lo convirtió de por vida en enemigo del colonialismo como paradigma de la explotación de los recursos naturales y de la población. No salimos muy bien parados, los españoles, de este viaje. Humboldt no dejó en toda su vida de animar a los territorios colonizados de Sudamérica a independizarse, siendo amigo personal del propio Simón Bolívar, del que se expone someramente su vida y las campañas que le llevaron a la independencia de la Gran Colombia. Raro parece que en el gobierno de Carlos IV se autorizara esta expedición, nos salió cara, aunque los beneficios para la humanidad fueron ingentes. Los ingleses aprendieron de la experiencia y nunca permitieron a Humboldt viajar por sus colonias.
El prusiano fue enormemente conocido y admirado en su época y no dejó de trabajar, de escribir y de publicar hasta casi el día de su muerte en 1859, con casi 90 años. Estos escritos: "Narraciones Personales", "Cuadros de la Naturaleza", "Ensayo político sobre el reino de la Nueva España" y su obra maestra, la ingente "Cosmos" y muchas otras que impactaron en su época a todos los niveles, a científicos y a la gente del común que empezó a interesarse por temas que antes no pasaban ni por su mente.
Pero el impacto más importante del legado de Humboldt fue la influencia que ejerció en científicos, pensadores, escritores de su época y de años posteriores. Personajes que han marcado la historia, la ciencia y nuestro pensamiento hasta nuestros días: Darwin, Ernst Haeckel (el padre del concepto de ecología), George Marsh (con su obra Man and the Nature, previó la importancia de lo bosques y su conservación), Thoreau (que dejó el inmenso legado de Walden) o John Muir (el padre del movimiento preservacionista y del Sistema de Parques Nacionales estadounidense)...y podríamos seguir eternamente.
Y con todo este panorama tan denso, no hay que ser un lince para intuir que desde el punto de vista literario este libro no es la alegría de la huerta. Con mas de 2000 citas y referencias a la obra de Humboldt y otros autores, que intentan abarcar la integridad de su pensamiento y escritos, es fácil inferir que leer este libro tiene partes bastante densas y complejas de digerir.
Pero si te interesa el tema, la dimensión del personaje y su grandioso legado, lo disfrutarás igualmente. Pero no para darle las 5 estrellas.
Si atendemos a este pequeño párrafo que escribió Alexander von Humboldt allá por la primera mitad del siglo XIX, entenderemos su importancia para el concepto que hoy tenemos de Naturaleza y el impacto que el ser humano ejerce sobre los ecosistemas terrestres:
"Al enumerar (Humboldt) los 3 aspectos en los que la especie humana estaba afectando al clima, mencionó la deforestación, la irrigación descontrolada y, quizá lo más importante, las grandes masas de gas y vapor producidas en los centros industriales." No pudo definir mejor lo que hoy conocemos como algunas de las principales causas del cambio climático. ¿Qué opinaría si pudiera viajar en el tiempo y viera el estado de nuestro pobre planeta en la actualidad.?
Pues este libro trata sobre la vida de Humboldt y sobre la enorme herencia que dejó en casi todos los campos científicos, pero sobre todo en: astronomía, ciencias de la atmósfera, geociencias —geología, geografía, orografía, vulcanología, mineralogía, oceanografía— y botánica. Porque este hombre tocaba todos los palos, era el todocientífico, el hombre humanista por excelencia, todo le interesaba y de todo sabía. Pero quizá su mayor aportación fue su visión global de la Naturaleza en la que todo está relacionado e interconectado. Cualquier cambio, interferencia o intervención afectará de una u otra manera a los componentes de este delicado equilibrio. No se hablaba todavía de "ecosistema", pero ya lo intuyó muchos años antes de que se estableciera el concepto, como muchas otras cosas.
Humboldt era prusiano de nacimiento. Nació en 1769 y vivió todas las revoluciones: la norteamericana, la francesa, la emancipación de las colonias españolas de Sudamérica. Enemigo acérrimo del colonialismo y de la esclavitud, sufrió enormemente con la involución posterior que experimentó el mundo tras el periodo revolucionario: el esclavismo imperante en las colonias de Norteamérica, la dictadura militar que instauró Napoleón en Francia y las guerras que se extendieron por Europa, la vuelta al antiguo régimen absolutista en el viejo continente, la creación de repúblicas en los antiguos territorios del Imperio Español, en las que los militares (el propio Simón Bolivar, amigo de Humboldt, se convirtió en dictador) o una élite criolla acomodada y blanca, seguían dominando el país y discriminando a la población indígena, negra o mestiza.
Humboldt creía en la inmersión en la Naturaleza, a la que había que medir con instrumentos cient��ficos y también sentir. En sus libros, inmensamente populares en su época, transmitía ingentes cantidades de datos, con descripciones intensamente vívidas y literarias de lo que la Naturaleza le inspiraba. Y con ello consiguió que millones de personas empezaran mirar a su alrededor con otros ojos, con otra visión.
Su vida no empezó hasta que pudo empezar a viajar. Su primer gran viaje lo llevó a cabo por los territorios americanos del imperio Español, los últimos años del siglo XVIII y primeros del XIX. Lo que allí vio lo convirtió de por vida en enemigo del colonialismo como paradigma de la explotación de los recursos naturales y de la población. No salimos muy bien parados, los españoles, de este viaje. Humboldt no dejó en toda su vida de animar a los territorios colonizados de Sudamérica a independizarse, siendo amigo personal del propio Simón Bolívar, del que se expone someramente su vida y las campañas que le llevaron a la independencia de la Gran Colombia. Raro parece que en el gobierno de Carlos IV se autorizara esta expedición, nos salió cara, aunque los beneficios para la humanidad fueron ingentes. Los ingleses aprendieron de la experiencia y nunca permitieron a Humboldt viajar por sus colonias.
El prusiano fue enormemente conocido y admirado en su época y no dejó de trabajar, de escribir y de publicar hasta casi el día de su muerte en 1859, con casi 90 años. Estos escritos: "Narraciones Personales", "Cuadros de la Naturaleza", "Ensayo político sobre el reino de la Nueva España" y su obra maestra, la ingente "Cosmos" y muchas otras que impactaron en su época a todos los niveles, a científicos y a la gente del común que empezó a interesarse por temas que antes no pasaban ni por su mente.
Pero el impacto más importante del legado de Humboldt fue la influencia que ejerció en científicos, pensadores, escritores de su época y de años posteriores. Personajes que han marcado la historia, la ciencia y nuestro pensamiento hasta nuestros días: Darwin, Ernst Haeckel (el padre del concepto de ecología), George Marsh (con su obra Man and the Nature, previó la importancia de lo bosques y su conservación), Thoreau (que dejó el inmenso legado de Walden) o John Muir (el padre del movimiento preservacionista y del Sistema de Parques Nacionales estadounidense)...y podríamos seguir eternamente.
Y con todo este panorama tan denso, no hay que ser un lince para intuir que desde el punto de vista literario este libro no es la alegría de la huerta. Con mas de 2000 citas y referencias a la obra de Humboldt y otros autores, que intentan abarcar la integridad de su pensamiento y escritos, es fácil inferir que leer este libro tiene partes bastante densas y complejas de digerir.
Pero si te interesa el tema, la dimensión del personaje y su grandioso legado, lo disfrutarás igualmente. Pero no para darle las 5 estrellas.
February 13, 2020
He saw the earth as one great living organism where everything was connected, conceiving a bold new vision of nature that still influences the way that we understand the natural world.
I immensely appreciated reading this narrative. The Invention of Nature portrays polymath Alexander von Humboldt in the wider scheme of things, linking his expeditions and research to the times of swift and radical economical transformations, of lasting and growing social unrest, of wars and revolutions he lived in. The set of maps, drawings, landscape paintings, portraits, and all manner of print spread throughout the book provide a rich and revelant illustration of what the eventful, fast-paced text is about.
To me, Andrea Wulf manages aptly to put the very spirit of universal interconnectedness advocated by her hero in this compelling presentation of Humboldt's life and legacy.
- Detail from Alexander von Humboldt's portrait by painter Karl Joseph Stieler, 1843.
Other portrayals feature in this book, outlining Charles Darwin, George Perkins Marsh (representing the Conservation Movement), Ernst Haeckel (who coined the word 'ecology'), John Muir (founder of the Sierra Club, part of the Preservation Movements).
Recommended Soundtrack :
Le Carnaval des Animaux - Claude Debussy
I immensely appreciated reading this narrative. The Invention of Nature portrays polymath Alexander von Humboldt in the wider scheme of things, linking his expeditions and research to the times of swift and radical economical transformations, of lasting and growing social unrest, of wars and revolutions he lived in. The set of maps, drawings, landscape paintings, portraits, and all manner of print spread throughout the book provide a rich and revelant illustration of what the eventful, fast-paced text is about.
To me, Andrea Wulf manages aptly to put the very spirit of universal interconnectedness advocated by her hero in this compelling presentation of Humboldt's life and legacy.
- Detail from Alexander von Humboldt's portrait by painter Karl Joseph Stieler, 1843.
Other portrayals feature in this book, outlining Charles Darwin, George Perkins Marsh (representing the Conservation Movement), Ernst Haeckel (who coined the word 'ecology'), John Muir (founder of the Sierra Club, part of the Preservation Movements).
Recommended Soundtrack :
Le Carnaval des Animaux - Claude Debussy
January 25, 2019
I had heard of Alexander von Humboldt prior to starting this – just about – though like most people I knew almost nothing about him. With this book, author Andrea Wulf has gone a long way towards rescuing her subject from undeserved obscurity.
The central event of Humboldt’s life was an almost unbelievably demanding 4-year journey through South America at the beginning of the 19th century, and it was this experience that most shaped his world view. The story of that journey is vividly told, as is that of a later journey through Russia to Central Asia. I found some other parts of the book to be a slower read.
It’s the author’s contention that Humboldt was the first person to explain the interconnectedness of the natural world - the concept of the “web of life” - as well as to recognise the risks of over-exploitation of the environment by humans. She argues therefore, that he can be considered the originator of the modern-day environmental movement. She goes on to show that he directly influenced prominent 19th century figures such as Simón Bolivar, Charles Darwin, Henry David Thoreau, George Perkins Marsh, Ernst Haeckel, and John Muir.
Wulf makes a persuasive case, but I always have reservations about accepting an argument from reading a single book. It didn’t help that I’ve not read any of the numerous original sources the author cites, whether from Humboldt or the others featured. To be honest, I’d never heard of either George Perkins Marsh or Ernst Haeckel, though I quite enjoyed the chapters featuring these and other later figures. I take my hat off to John Muir for what he achieved, but based on the description in this book I wouldn’t like to have met him. The same can be said of Humboldt himself.
As a biographer, Andrea Wulf is mostly generous to her subject. She praises Humboldt not just for his work as a naturalist, but also for being anti-slavery, for defending the rights of indigenous peoples, and for being generally liberal in outlook. All well and good, but at the same time he apparently had the ridiculous notion that the world economy should be based on subsistence farming, and the author doesn’t challenge that. She does concede that he compromised his liberal principles by accepting court appointments from the autocratic kings of Prussia, (for financial reasons) and it seems that on a personal level he was often unpleasant. I felt the author downplayed the less attractive aspects of Humboldt’s character. She also rather danced around the issue of his sexuality. Throughout his life Humboldt avoided women and formed intensely emotional “friendships” with young men, with whom he would share a room, a tent or even a bed. Wulf suggests in her book that “Humboldt never explicitly explained the nature of these male friendships, but it’s likely they remained platonic…”, a remark that caused me to raise a sceptical eyebrow. I appreciate though, that the author could argue her book was about assessing Humboldt as a scientist, and his sexuality was irrelevant to that.
In fairness, she conclusively demonstrates that Humboldt was immensely famous and well-respected in his own lifetime. It’s remarkable how his fame has diminished. Wulf argues that Humboldt’s “vision of nature has passed into our consciousness as if by osmosis. It is almost as if his ideas have become so manifest that the man behind them has disappeared.”
I found this a slightly uneven book, but I did enjoy it, and I’ve certainly learned plenty from it. A thank you to my GR Friend Beata, whose review first alerted me to it.
The central event of Humboldt’s life was an almost unbelievably demanding 4-year journey through South America at the beginning of the 19th century, and it was this experience that most shaped his world view. The story of that journey is vividly told, as is that of a later journey through Russia to Central Asia. I found some other parts of the book to be a slower read.
It’s the author’s contention that Humboldt was the first person to explain the interconnectedness of the natural world - the concept of the “web of life” - as well as to recognise the risks of over-exploitation of the environment by humans. She argues therefore, that he can be considered the originator of the modern-day environmental movement. She goes on to show that he directly influenced prominent 19th century figures such as Simón Bolivar, Charles Darwin, Henry David Thoreau, George Perkins Marsh, Ernst Haeckel, and John Muir.
Wulf makes a persuasive case, but I always have reservations about accepting an argument from reading a single book. It didn’t help that I’ve not read any of the numerous original sources the author cites, whether from Humboldt or the others featured. To be honest, I’d never heard of either George Perkins Marsh or Ernst Haeckel, though I quite enjoyed the chapters featuring these and other later figures. I take my hat off to John Muir for what he achieved, but based on the description in this book I wouldn’t like to have met him. The same can be said of Humboldt himself.
As a biographer, Andrea Wulf is mostly generous to her subject. She praises Humboldt not just for his work as a naturalist, but also for being anti-slavery, for defending the rights of indigenous peoples, and for being generally liberal in outlook. All well and good, but at the same time he apparently had the ridiculous notion that the world economy should be based on subsistence farming, and the author doesn’t challenge that. She does concede that he compromised his liberal principles by accepting court appointments from the autocratic kings of Prussia, (for financial reasons) and it seems that on a personal level he was often unpleasant. I felt the author downplayed the less attractive aspects of Humboldt’s character. She also rather danced around the issue of his sexuality. Throughout his life Humboldt avoided women and formed intensely emotional “friendships” with young men, with whom he would share a room, a tent or even a bed. Wulf suggests in her book that “Humboldt never explicitly explained the nature of these male friendships, but it’s likely they remained platonic…”, a remark that caused me to raise a sceptical eyebrow. I appreciate though, that the author could argue her book was about assessing Humboldt as a scientist, and his sexuality was irrelevant to that.
In fairness, she conclusively demonstrates that Humboldt was immensely famous and well-respected in his own lifetime. It’s remarkable how his fame has diminished. Wulf argues that Humboldt’s “vision of nature has passed into our consciousness as if by osmosis. It is almost as if his ideas have become so manifest that the man behind them has disappeared.”
I found this a slightly uneven book, but I did enjoy it, and I’ve certainly learned plenty from it. A thank you to my GR Friend Beata, whose review first alerted me to it.
July 27, 2020
A Goodreads friend of mine gave a very favorable review of this book, so I made a note to try and obtain it, which I did from my local library. At around that same time, by coincidence I also got the book, Measuring the World, by Daniel Kehlmann. Both deal with Alexander von Humboldt. I was not enamored with Kehlmann’s book although I was in the minority both with Goodreads reviewers and other reviewers. So on my table of books after I was done reading Measuring the World was this tome (473 pages) staring me in the face and I hemmed and hawed whether I should tackle it or not. Well I did and it was certainly worth it.
Sometimes I think I have lived under a rock all my life. After reading this book, and learning of this fellow’s life, and everything that he did in his life, how could I NOT have heard of him? Well better late than never. And as the author of this book said in her epilogue, “Alexander von Humboldt has been largely forgotten in the English-speaking world”. So now I don’t feel so bad. 😊
Wow, does Andrea Wulf know how to write! The chapters are just the right length, about 20 pages. Packed with information but the prose is so engaging and lively. Not a mere recitation of facts. This book has won a ton of awards, and I can see why. I am now interested in reading other books by this most talented author.
Alexander von Humboldt appears to me to have had a major impact on a number of sciences, and also to some degree the arts and philosophy. He was well known to kings and government ministers, to other scientists, to religious leaders and to the common man. His major stomping grounds (where he resided) appeared to be Germany (Prussia) and France, but he was known by many movers and shakers in the fledgling United States in the late 1700s and early 1800s. He was an ardent abolitionist of slavery, both here and elsewhere.
A major chunk of the book is Wulf detailing his explorations of South America and Russia…which were just incredible. It’s amazing what he went through in his desire to explore and to record his explorations and to conduct scientific experiments.
I was very interested in his prescient concerns about the destruction of the environment that he encountered in South America (deforestation, irrigation) and how he observed that such actions contributed to a change in the atmosphere/climate. After reading this book it has made me less likely to point fingers at poachers and people who are destroying rain forests and other habitats…we in America did such things on a large scale in the 1800s. I’m still willing to point fingers at poachers and people who are destroying habitats but less with a sense of outrageousness and more with asking what incentives can be used to encourage people to stop doing these things (the very things my ancestors have done).
One minor point about this book that I was not jazzed about were the last three chapters of the book, involving men who were informed by Humboldt’s books and observations so that they made major contributions to different disciplines: George Perkins Marsh, Ernst Haeckel, and John Muir. Maybe because this was the last part of the long book my attention span was flagging but it also seemed that at this point Wulf started doing something she had studiously avoided in the prior 20 chapters of the book — including footnotes within the text. I appreciated that she placed the footnotes at the back of the book, but in the last 3 chapters there just seemed to be an excessive number that slowed down my reading (because I felt I had to read each of the footnotes, even though I did not want to. And at least to me the exploits of these men although heavily influenced by Humboldt, were less interesting (to me).
I was going to give this book 4 stars rather than 5 because of my last comments, but I just feel this is a 5-star book in pretty much every way, shape, and form. While we should be grateful for a person liked Alexander von Humboldt to have done what he did in his lifetime and to record what he did for his peers and for personkind, I am grateful for the writer, Andrea Wulf, who did a stellar job in describing his remarkable feats. 😊
Oh one more thing — the cover art (front and back) captivated me too!
Sometimes I think I have lived under a rock all my life. After reading this book, and learning of this fellow’s life, and everything that he did in his life, how could I NOT have heard of him? Well better late than never. And as the author of this book said in her epilogue, “Alexander von Humboldt has been largely forgotten in the English-speaking world”. So now I don’t feel so bad. 😊
Wow, does Andrea Wulf know how to write! The chapters are just the right length, about 20 pages. Packed with information but the prose is so engaging and lively. Not a mere recitation of facts. This book has won a ton of awards, and I can see why. I am now interested in reading other books by this most talented author.
Alexander von Humboldt appears to me to have had a major impact on a number of sciences, and also to some degree the arts and philosophy. He was well known to kings and government ministers, to other scientists, to religious leaders and to the common man. His major stomping grounds (where he resided) appeared to be Germany (Prussia) and France, but he was known by many movers and shakers in the fledgling United States in the late 1700s and early 1800s. He was an ardent abolitionist of slavery, both here and elsewhere.
A major chunk of the book is Wulf detailing his explorations of South America and Russia…which were just incredible. It’s amazing what he went through in his desire to explore and to record his explorations and to conduct scientific experiments.
I was very interested in his prescient concerns about the destruction of the environment that he encountered in South America (deforestation, irrigation) and how he observed that such actions contributed to a change in the atmosphere/climate. After reading this book it has made me less likely to point fingers at poachers and people who are destroying rain forests and other habitats…we in America did such things on a large scale in the 1800s. I’m still willing to point fingers at poachers and people who are destroying habitats but less with a sense of outrageousness and more with asking what incentives can be used to encourage people to stop doing these things (the very things my ancestors have done).
One minor point about this book that I was not jazzed about were the last three chapters of the book, involving men who were informed by Humboldt’s books and observations so that they made major contributions to different disciplines: George Perkins Marsh, Ernst Haeckel, and John Muir. Maybe because this was the last part of the long book my attention span was flagging but it also seemed that at this point Wulf started doing something she had studiously avoided in the prior 20 chapters of the book — including footnotes within the text. I appreciated that she placed the footnotes at the back of the book, but in the last 3 chapters there just seemed to be an excessive number that slowed down my reading (because I felt I had to read each of the footnotes, even though I did not want to. And at least to me the exploits of these men although heavily influenced by Humboldt, were less interesting (to me).
I was going to give this book 4 stars rather than 5 because of my last comments, but I just feel this is a 5-star book in pretty much every way, shape, and form. While we should be grateful for a person liked Alexander von Humboldt to have done what he did in his lifetime and to record what he did for his peers and for personkind, I am grateful for the writer, Andrea Wulf, who did a stellar job in describing his remarkable feats. 😊
Oh one more thing — the cover art (front and back) captivated me too!
March 6, 2016
This biography of Alexander von Humboldt was a revelation and a fun ride for me. This German scientist is credited with developing core concepts of ecology and documenting impacts of human development on the environment in early part of the 19th century. Wulf, who studied history of design and has written previously on the history of horticulture, aims with this accessible and well-illustrated account to rectify the near absence of recognition of Humboldt’s accomplishments in U.S. science education. Indeed, he didn’t come up in my studies of biology, and I only became aware of him through a recent read of Holme’s popular history of 18th and early 19th century science, “The Age of Wonder.” Through Wulf’s book I came to learn how he justifiably become the most well-known and respected scientist of his age and inspired so many other scientific developments and cultural movements more readily recognized today.
The book delves into Humboldt’s childhood in Prussia at the end of the 18th century. Though bookish and eager to study the natural sciences, he was pushed by his father toward more practical education and career in as a mining engineer while his older brother, Wilhelm, was supported in taking a more academic track. At least the work he subsequently engaged in for a mining company allowed him to dig into the fields of geology, chemistry, and metallurgy and fulfilled some of his interests in travel and exploration. Great minds attracted him like a magnet, and through a visit to his brother in Jena he soon immersed himself in the great ferment of culture and science there that led to the birth of German Romanticism. He formed a seminal friendship with Goethe, who lived nearby, and together they worked on experiments in ‘animal electricity’, theories of botany and geology, and digested the powerful ideas of Kant. The latter’s “Critique of Pure Reason” pointed a way for them for the subjective self to create knowledge and not just to passively mirror and reflect on external reality through the senses. The creative force of the mind and emotions became for them a key to knowledge and making a valid model of reality knowledge. This form of systems thinking was a foundation for his revelations on nature as an interconnected whole and man’s integral part within it.
After his father died, he inherited enough money to fund his keen desire to explore great unknowns in the world. The teeming life of equatorial jungles especially hungered him. However, a proper expedition required more money than he had and the colonial empires were proprietary about their new possessions. After getting shut out of a chance at French territories he eventually wangled permissions and financial support for an expedition to Venezuela. In his five years away, he supplemented his studies of botany and zoology in the rainforest with systematic approaches to climate and biogeography through study of progression from the lowlands to high altitudes of volcanic peaks. He consolidated his theories with further explorations in the Andes, Central America, and Cuba. Through ethnographic observations he came to appreciate the integrity and wisdom of indigenous peoples and become disturbed with the common vision of them as savages suitable for slavery and exploitation in colonial enterprise. He saw clearly the connection of colonialism, with its deforestation, focus on cash crops, and destructive mining practices, to degradation of the environment and prospects for extinction of species and native cultures. On his way back to Europe, he found a good ear for his discoveries in a stop in America with President Jefferson, who also favored progressive agrarian approaches and responsible stewardship for vast new territories acquired from France and just explored by Lewis and Clark.
Humboldt’s great skills in public speaking and marshalling his ideas into accessible writing made him an instant worldwide star in both intellectual circles and the populace at large. His non-stop talking and flitting from soiree to soiree in Paris inspired many significant thinkers and scientists who came into his path (others found him to be a egocentric bore). His work over decades in writing many volumes based on his field work was subsidized by King Friedrich Wilhelm III, who allowed him to set up shop in Paris, despite France being a frequent enemy in conflicts over these years. His successor forced him to work in Berlin, where he was led to found a university to make up for a gap in centers of learning. Eventually he was able to talk Wilhelm IV into subsidizing a scientific expedition to Russia, ostensibly to review mining practices but which Humboldt used as a platform for a jaunt of his own interest into remote regions of Siberia.
His magnum opus, Cosmos, written over a long swath of his later years, harnessed the work of many other scientists in a synthesis of many fields of science with their political, economic, and philosophical implications. Wulf works to bring his personality and personal life alive, but his choice to never marry or forge serious romantic relationships leaves the question of his sexuality or general deficiencies in sustaining intimate relationships a mystery. Wulf spends the last third of the book making a story of how his inspiration and seminal influences contributed to Darwin’s theory of evolution and Lyell’s formulation of geological principles. Direct links to Thoreau’s concepts of man’s integral part of nature and contribution to Transcendentalism are documented. The work of George Marsh in his book “Man and Nature” follows Humboldt’s footsteps in its revelations of environmental degradations from exploitive agricultural practices and overfishing in Egypt and the Mideast. The German biologist Hoeckel was inspired by Humboldt’s thinking about ecology and comparative anatomy to advance marine and developmental biology and use the esthetics of his experience of natural form to add ferment to the Art Nouveau movement. Finally. Humboldt’s personal enthusiasm with exploring wilderness and advocacy of conservation of such regions was a foundation for John Muir’s life and accomplishments with respect to establishments of preserves and national parks. Though the absence of a single clear theory on the order of Darwin’s contributed to Humboldt not sustaining a lasting place in the scientific edifice we all are privy to in school, he does deserve the respect Wulf accords him in the history of ideas.
The book delves into Humboldt’s childhood in Prussia at the end of the 18th century. Though bookish and eager to study the natural sciences, he was pushed by his father toward more practical education and career in as a mining engineer while his older brother, Wilhelm, was supported in taking a more academic track. At least the work he subsequently engaged in for a mining company allowed him to dig into the fields of geology, chemistry, and metallurgy and fulfilled some of his interests in travel and exploration. Great minds attracted him like a magnet, and through a visit to his brother in Jena he soon immersed himself in the great ferment of culture and science there that led to the birth of German Romanticism. He formed a seminal friendship with Goethe, who lived nearby, and together they worked on experiments in ‘animal electricity’, theories of botany and geology, and digested the powerful ideas of Kant. The latter’s “Critique of Pure Reason” pointed a way for them for the subjective self to create knowledge and not just to passively mirror and reflect on external reality through the senses. The creative force of the mind and emotions became for them a key to knowledge and making a valid model of reality knowledge. This form of systems thinking was a foundation for his revelations on nature as an interconnected whole and man’s integral part within it.
After his father died, he inherited enough money to fund his keen desire to explore great unknowns in the world. The teeming life of equatorial jungles especially hungered him. However, a proper expedition required more money than he had and the colonial empires were proprietary about their new possessions. After getting shut out of a chance at French territories he eventually wangled permissions and financial support for an expedition to Venezuela. In his five years away, he supplemented his studies of botany and zoology in the rainforest with systematic approaches to climate and biogeography through study of progression from the lowlands to high altitudes of volcanic peaks. He consolidated his theories with further explorations in the Andes, Central America, and Cuba. Through ethnographic observations he came to appreciate the integrity and wisdom of indigenous peoples and become disturbed with the common vision of them as savages suitable for slavery and exploitation in colonial enterprise. He saw clearly the connection of colonialism, with its deforestation, focus on cash crops, and destructive mining practices, to degradation of the environment and prospects for extinction of species and native cultures. On his way back to Europe, he found a good ear for his discoveries in a stop in America with President Jefferson, who also favored progressive agrarian approaches and responsible stewardship for vast new territories acquired from France and just explored by Lewis and Clark.
Humboldt’s great skills in public speaking and marshalling his ideas into accessible writing made him an instant worldwide star in both intellectual circles and the populace at large. His non-stop talking and flitting from soiree to soiree in Paris inspired many significant thinkers and scientists who came into his path (others found him to be a egocentric bore). His work over decades in writing many volumes based on his field work was subsidized by King Friedrich Wilhelm III, who allowed him to set up shop in Paris, despite France being a frequent enemy in conflicts over these years. His successor forced him to work in Berlin, where he was led to found a university to make up for a gap in centers of learning. Eventually he was able to talk Wilhelm IV into subsidizing a scientific expedition to Russia, ostensibly to review mining practices but which Humboldt used as a platform for a jaunt of his own interest into remote regions of Siberia.
His magnum opus, Cosmos, written over a long swath of his later years, harnessed the work of many other scientists in a synthesis of many fields of science with their political, economic, and philosophical implications. Wulf works to bring his personality and personal life alive, but his choice to never marry or forge serious romantic relationships leaves the question of his sexuality or general deficiencies in sustaining intimate relationships a mystery. Wulf spends the last third of the book making a story of how his inspiration and seminal influences contributed to Darwin’s theory of evolution and Lyell’s formulation of geological principles. Direct links to Thoreau’s concepts of man’s integral part of nature and contribution to Transcendentalism are documented. The work of George Marsh in his book “Man and Nature” follows Humboldt’s footsteps in its revelations of environmental degradations from exploitive agricultural practices and overfishing in Egypt and the Mideast. The German biologist Hoeckel was inspired by Humboldt’s thinking about ecology and comparative anatomy to advance marine and developmental biology and use the esthetics of his experience of natural form to add ferment to the Art Nouveau movement. Finally. Humboldt’s personal enthusiasm with exploring wilderness and advocacy of conservation of such regions was a foundation for John Muir’s life and accomplishments with respect to establishments of preserves and national parks. Though the absence of a single clear theory on the order of Darwin’s contributed to Humboldt not sustaining a lasting place in the scientific edifice we all are privy to in school, he does deserve the respect Wulf accords him in the history of ideas.
March 7, 2019
I was never taught a thing about this man in any of my courses, whether HS or college. Odd, right? Especially since he was a man so unambiguously RIGHT about so many things, had universal acclaim in his lifetime and for a long time afterward, but has, since WWI and WWII, been relegated to the dustbin of history because he HAPPENS to have grown up Prussian. That's Germany for you young whippersnappers not hip to what they called themselves back in Mozart's time.
So, WTF?
Here are some really cool bits, yo. He almost single-handedly spawned the travelogue industry... I mean, the Naturalist movement, those wandering scientist/athletes who cataloged and drew and took umpteen samples all around the world and did the job of classification, theorizing, and understanding the world we live in.
This polymath of a man was also of a mind that all sciences should interact, that inclusiveness and interconnectedness in all branches of thought, processes, and nature ought to be the top goal. Details are important, but the big picture is even MORE important. He was good friends with Goethe and many poets and influential writers. Thoreau. He heavily influenced Darwin.
Humboldt was known around the world as one of the most well-loved scientists of all time. He was a walking encyclopedia. When he died, he was mourned around the world.
A little more interesting to us, in this modern day, he was also warning everyone, in a serious manner, about the dangers of an oncoming ecological disaster. He saw how, by our greed and demands, we destroy nature and the systems within it.
How we cause the extinction of species.
He was one of the first environmentalists. That's enough to love... but for me, I personally love the fact he was one of the most hardcore proponents of interconnectedness and systems theory. :)
Yes, science and poetry get along VERY well. :)
So, WTF?
Here are some really cool bits, yo. He almost single-handedly spawned the travelogue industry... I mean, the Naturalist movement, those wandering scientist/athletes who cataloged and drew and took umpteen samples all around the world and did the job of classification, theorizing, and understanding the world we live in.
This polymath of a man was also of a mind that all sciences should interact, that inclusiveness and interconnectedness in all branches of thought, processes, and nature ought to be the top goal. Details are important, but the big picture is even MORE important. He was good friends with Goethe and many poets and influential writers. Thoreau. He heavily influenced Darwin.
Humboldt was known around the world as one of the most well-loved scientists of all time. He was a walking encyclopedia. When he died, he was mourned around the world.
A little more interesting to us, in this modern day, he was also warning everyone, in a serious manner, about the dangers of an oncoming ecological disaster. He saw how, by our greed and demands, we destroy nature and the systems within it.
How we cause the extinction of species.
He was one of the first environmentalists. That's enough to love... but for me, I personally love the fact he was one of the most hardcore proponents of interconnectedness and systems theory. :)
Yes, science and poetry get along VERY well. :)
February 3, 2025
Andrea Wulf’s well-known work Magnificent Rebels: The First Romantics and the Invention of the Self about the early German romantics, late 18th century, several times referred to the brothers Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt. Alexander’s exotic interests and travels were particularly intriguing, and so I ventured into this biography, the first work with which Wulf became very well-known. Again, it is a narrative biography (documented fiction, as evidenced by the more than 100 pages of footnotes!). Wulf portrays von Humboldt as a giant, and rightly so: just like Goethe at the time, you cannot help but be impressed by the enormous versatility and intensity with which he inventoried, analyzed and subsequently translated so many aspects of the natural world in an extensive series of publications. Alexander von Humboldt seemed to be well-versed in all aspects of nature. Wulf emphasizes his merit in making an infinite number of connections in an intuitive way (of course, after meticulous collection and description), and ultimately positing the connection of everything with everything; it seems as if she is portraying him as a holist avant-la-lettre. And there are more anachronistic propositions like that: Wulf also sees von Humboldt as the first climate scientist, a convinced anti-colonial and anti-monarchist. I am of course not well-versed enough in his work, but Wulf again and again stresses that Alexander was far ahead of his time. She almost makes him a saint. Wulf also takes quite a few side paths, such as Simon Bolivar's struggle for Latin American independence, the young Darwin's Beagle voyage, Thoreau's Walden experience and at the end also a whole series of 'grand naturalists' from the 19th century. All fascinating and of course clearly related to von Humboldt: it must support her thesis that he really ‘invented’ nature, as we know it. I don’t know. Perhaps I am doing von Humboldt an injustice, but in my opinion Wulf is going a bit too far here – just as in her work on the ‘Jena set’. But, of course, this book is a fascinating read!
September 27, 2016
Alexander von Humboldt was the first to demonstrate the global unity and co-dependence of plants, animals, land, sea and atmosphere. In this way, he first posed the idea of what we come to view as "nature".
His beginnings may have been usual for the German upper classes of the time. His wealthy but absent parents saw to an education that prepared him for a gentleman’s career. His eventual inheritance financed his expedition to South America. Wulf shows the difficulty of planning the trip, getting clearances as well as actually traveling, documenting, measuring, recording and observing an untamed environment. His charmed life could have ended by crocodiles, volcanoes (he explored two while active) or knife edge hikes in thin air and punishing weather.
The books that resulted were used by scientists, businessmen and governments and they opened the imagination of the general public. Humboldt was meticulous about these books, sparing no expense for the artisans who made the eventual volumes. They inspired generations of scientists and those who have become known as environmentalists.
He developed lifelong associations with colleagues and staff. His brother was his best friend and supporter. He met and knew on varying levels the notables of his time, such as Simon Bolivar (before either were famous); Thomas Jefferson (Humboldt’s respect was mitigated by Jefferson’s slave ownership), Johann Wolfgang Goethe (a friend of his brother’s), Freiderich Willhelm II (King of Prussia who supported Humboldt, despite his republican ideals) and many more.
Because Humboldt was frank about the conditions of colonialism, despite years of efforts, the British crown would not issue him a passport to India to document the Himalayas. It took 30 years for another expedition, this one to Russia, a great adventure at age 60 showing not only his physical fortitude, but also his determination. He ignored the edits of the ruler of all Russia by going where his studies took him including a trip into anthrax infested areas.
Part V, the last part of the book, describes Humboldt’s lasting influence. He is a hero to Charles Darwin, George Perkin Marsh (an early advocate for preservation), Ernst Haeckel (who carried on his work and aggressively supported Darwin) and John Muir. All cite him in their work. A copy of Muir's notes to his copy of a Humboldt work is reproduced on p. 325.
Like Humboldt, Wulf integrates many disciplines in her writing. Unlike some biographers, whom I suspect have read sufficient paragraphs and chapters from items listed in their notes, you get the idea that Wulf has read and absorbed all original historical and literary material (as well as Humboldt’s work) she cites. This is a very comprehensive work. While not a page turner, it is highly readable and keeps your attention.
His beginnings may have been usual for the German upper classes of the time. His wealthy but absent parents saw to an education that prepared him for a gentleman’s career. His eventual inheritance financed his expedition to South America. Wulf shows the difficulty of planning the trip, getting clearances as well as actually traveling, documenting, measuring, recording and observing an untamed environment. His charmed life could have ended by crocodiles, volcanoes (he explored two while active) or knife edge hikes in thin air and punishing weather.
The books that resulted were used by scientists, businessmen and governments and they opened the imagination of the general public. Humboldt was meticulous about these books, sparing no expense for the artisans who made the eventual volumes. They inspired generations of scientists and those who have become known as environmentalists.
He developed lifelong associations with colleagues and staff. His brother was his best friend and supporter. He met and knew on varying levels the notables of his time, such as Simon Bolivar (before either were famous); Thomas Jefferson (Humboldt’s respect was mitigated by Jefferson’s slave ownership), Johann Wolfgang Goethe (a friend of his brother’s), Freiderich Willhelm II (King of Prussia who supported Humboldt, despite his republican ideals) and many more.
Because Humboldt was frank about the conditions of colonialism, despite years of efforts, the British crown would not issue him a passport to India to document the Himalayas. It took 30 years for another expedition, this one to Russia, a great adventure at age 60 showing not only his physical fortitude, but also his determination. He ignored the edits of the ruler of all Russia by going where his studies took him including a trip into anthrax infested areas.
Part V, the last part of the book, describes Humboldt’s lasting influence. He is a hero to Charles Darwin, George Perkin Marsh (an early advocate for preservation), Ernst Haeckel (who carried on his work and aggressively supported Darwin) and John Muir. All cite him in their work. A copy of Muir's notes to his copy of a Humboldt work is reproduced on p. 325.
Like Humboldt, Wulf integrates many disciplines in her writing. Unlike some biographers, whom I suspect have read sufficient paragraphs and chapters from items listed in their notes, you get the idea that Wulf has read and absorbed all original historical and literary material (as well as Humboldt’s work) she cites. This is a very comprehensive work. While not a page turner, it is highly readable and keeps your attention.
March 30, 2016
This book is now #1 on my list of favorite books of all time.
When I was 16 I was an unwavering atheist and became incredibly obsessed with my own personal holy trinity: Charles Darwin, Henry David Thoreau, and Edgar Allen Poe. I loved Darwin's writing style and how he used facts over belief to understand the world. Thoreau's depiction of the world was depressing and heartbreakingly beautiful, just the RX my confused teenage brain needed at that time. It was a fantastic mindgasm to come to understand how Thoreau felt himself outside of the world to a certain extent, while still being in it, so much so, that he saw its beauty so keenly and felt it on a visceral level. Thoreau, to me, was almost a real life Zarathustra (though I am not sure I would agree with my younger self about that anymore). Poe simply excited me to my core. Funny enough, I can only enjoy Darwin in my adulthood. Both Thoreau and Poe lost their hold on me long ago. But for so long, I tried to live my life through their eyes, imagining I was them; the scientist, the transcendental lover of Earth, and the creative writer. I had no idea, until reading this book, that all three of my idols held von Humboldt as their idol and had inspired each of Darwin and Thoreau's major works and inspired Poe's Eureka. To a certain degree, since I consumed those works with such intensity, I feel as if I had been idolizing von Humboldt for so long without ever knowing it.
Until reading this book, my knowledge of von Humboldt had come from reading about other scientists, especially Darwin. Everyone knows who Darwin is, what he studied, and what came of that study. He is credited for effecting one of the most major paradigm shifts in the history of science. Yet, how many people have heard of von Humboldt? How many of those who have heard of him were able to retain what they knew of him? How was he depicted? As a side character? As an influence? How many people really know all that he accomplished? Why is his name not as well known as Darwin's? This author brought von Humboldt out of the shadows to place him front and center, demonstrating he was as an important scientific figure as Darwin, if not more so.
During his lifetime, von Humboldt set the stage for the theory of evolution, the theory of plate tectonics, the theory of the web of life and ecosystems (which also means he set the stage for the very new study of networks/systems science), and the study of human precipitated climate change. He did all of this hundreds of years before scientists came to understand the depth to which he was trying to describe the earth and larger universe, and how it is connected. Humboldt was extremely passionate about writing for the masses. He wanted to make science relatable to the nonscientist. He believed jargon should be kept in the margins and relatable text should fill every page of a science book, to help the reader connect to the true beauty of the natural world. For Humboldt, there was no need of a god. Understanding the facts of it all *was* religion; it *was* a spiritual experience. Despite his plain writing and ability to convey science on this level, his ideas were still not mainstream because he was on the cutting edge to an extreme degree. Plate tectonics, which he came to understand in the late 1700s- early 1800s would not be understood to any reasonable degree for another 100 years. Ecology would only be mildly understood until now! We are just beginning to understand ecosystems as networks, understanding how life itself emerges, how species emerge, how species are not only connected to smaller ecosystems but how each ecosystem is connected on a global level and ecosystems affect the climate of the earth itself. Two hundred years later, humans are still debating if human hastened climate change is real. With such a tiny amount of information available to him, Humboldt could already recognize the negative effects of human actions on the global health of the planet.
Despite being right on the mark about so many phenomena, Humboldt's contributions are largely understated. I understand that this is more the case in America than in various other countries, but considering his significant contribution to almost every aspect of natural science, it should not be the case in any country. Being a German scientists, anti-German sentiments played a role in wiping his name from the many streets and other places that were named for him. Many prewar German scientist's books were burned. It's time to revisit his contribution and pay him the proper recognition. It is quite clear von Humboldt, who believed no race was superior to any other race, would not have agreed with the treatment of the Jewish people in his country and in neighboring countries.
Humboldt's inner drive to understand and convey the dynamic nature of the world was unstoppable. As you will learn in this book, he was kept from exploring for much longer than he could bear. The moment he was allowed to go free into the wider world, he did. He spent every penny he had on that exploration as in the aid of others who were also exploring the natural world. He paid for his own printing, his supplies, his travel, etc. He ate almost nothing so that he could fund other scientists to carry out this important work. In this, he very much reminds me of the beautiful Michelangelo. And in a way, von Humboldt was the Michelangelo of the natural world. He studied its beauty in great detail, just as Michelangelo stole a corpse and studied its every muscle and organ. Von Humboldt sculpted that beauty for all to see, but instead of using Carrara marble, he used words in books to create a shape, a vision, that everyone could see. Like Darwin, von Humboldt, at least in his early years, cared more about the science than fame. After he earned his stripes, it appears he was fairly domineering in presence and conversation, sometimes obnoxiously so. However, it seems it might have been a product of aging? I am not sure what to make of that. What I do know is that his work in uncovering the natural laws was every bit as significant as Copernicus', Newton's, Darwin's, and Einsteins, and his name should always appear whenever these familiar examples are given.
If you have not read a book focused entirely on von Humboldt, then you have not completed your education of the history of science. It's that cut and dry. And, if you are going to read a book about von Humboldt, make it this one. A+
When I was 16 I was an unwavering atheist and became incredibly obsessed with my own personal holy trinity: Charles Darwin, Henry David Thoreau, and Edgar Allen Poe. I loved Darwin's writing style and how he used facts over belief to understand the world. Thoreau's depiction of the world was depressing and heartbreakingly beautiful, just the RX my confused teenage brain needed at that time. It was a fantastic mindgasm to come to understand how Thoreau felt himself outside of the world to a certain extent, while still being in it, so much so, that he saw its beauty so keenly and felt it on a visceral level. Thoreau, to me, was almost a real life Zarathustra (though I am not sure I would agree with my younger self about that anymore). Poe simply excited me to my core. Funny enough, I can only enjoy Darwin in my adulthood. Both Thoreau and Poe lost their hold on me long ago. But for so long, I tried to live my life through their eyes, imagining I was them; the scientist, the transcendental lover of Earth, and the creative writer. I had no idea, until reading this book, that all three of my idols held von Humboldt as their idol and had inspired each of Darwin and Thoreau's major works and inspired Poe's Eureka. To a certain degree, since I consumed those works with such intensity, I feel as if I had been idolizing von Humboldt for so long without ever knowing it.
Until reading this book, my knowledge of von Humboldt had come from reading about other scientists, especially Darwin. Everyone knows who Darwin is, what he studied, and what came of that study. He is credited for effecting one of the most major paradigm shifts in the history of science. Yet, how many people have heard of von Humboldt? How many of those who have heard of him were able to retain what they knew of him? How was he depicted? As a side character? As an influence? How many people really know all that he accomplished? Why is his name not as well known as Darwin's? This author brought von Humboldt out of the shadows to place him front and center, demonstrating he was as an important scientific figure as Darwin, if not more so.
During his lifetime, von Humboldt set the stage for the theory of evolution, the theory of plate tectonics, the theory of the web of life and ecosystems (which also means he set the stage for the very new study of networks/systems science), and the study of human precipitated climate change. He did all of this hundreds of years before scientists came to understand the depth to which he was trying to describe the earth and larger universe, and how it is connected. Humboldt was extremely passionate about writing for the masses. He wanted to make science relatable to the nonscientist. He believed jargon should be kept in the margins and relatable text should fill every page of a science book, to help the reader connect to the true beauty of the natural world. For Humboldt, there was no need of a god. Understanding the facts of it all *was* religion; it *was* a spiritual experience. Despite his plain writing and ability to convey science on this level, his ideas were still not mainstream because he was on the cutting edge to an extreme degree. Plate tectonics, which he came to understand in the late 1700s- early 1800s would not be understood to any reasonable degree for another 100 years. Ecology would only be mildly understood until now! We are just beginning to understand ecosystems as networks, understanding how life itself emerges, how species emerge, how species are not only connected to smaller ecosystems but how each ecosystem is connected on a global level and ecosystems affect the climate of the earth itself. Two hundred years later, humans are still debating if human hastened climate change is real. With such a tiny amount of information available to him, Humboldt could already recognize the negative effects of human actions on the global health of the planet.
Despite being right on the mark about so many phenomena, Humboldt's contributions are largely understated. I understand that this is more the case in America than in various other countries, but considering his significant contribution to almost every aspect of natural science, it should not be the case in any country. Being a German scientists, anti-German sentiments played a role in wiping his name from the many streets and other places that were named for him. Many prewar German scientist's books were burned. It's time to revisit his contribution and pay him the proper recognition. It is quite clear von Humboldt, who believed no race was superior to any other race, would not have agreed with the treatment of the Jewish people in his country and in neighboring countries.
Humboldt's inner drive to understand and convey the dynamic nature of the world was unstoppable. As you will learn in this book, he was kept from exploring for much longer than he could bear. The moment he was allowed to go free into the wider world, he did. He spent every penny he had on that exploration as in the aid of others who were also exploring the natural world. He paid for his own printing, his supplies, his travel, etc. He ate almost nothing so that he could fund other scientists to carry out this important work. In this, he very much reminds me of the beautiful Michelangelo. And in a way, von Humboldt was the Michelangelo of the natural world. He studied its beauty in great detail, just as Michelangelo stole a corpse and studied its every muscle and organ. Von Humboldt sculpted that beauty for all to see, but instead of using Carrara marble, he used words in books to create a shape, a vision, that everyone could see. Like Darwin, von Humboldt, at least in his early years, cared more about the science than fame. After he earned his stripes, it appears he was fairly domineering in presence and conversation, sometimes obnoxiously so. However, it seems it might have been a product of aging? I am not sure what to make of that. What I do know is that his work in uncovering the natural laws was every bit as significant as Copernicus', Newton's, Darwin's, and Einsteins, and his name should always appear whenever these familiar examples are given.
If you have not read a book focused entirely on von Humboldt, then you have not completed your education of the history of science. It's that cut and dry. And, if you are going to read a book about von Humboldt, make it this one. A+
February 4, 2017
Wirklich eine hervorragende Biografie, von der Autorin sehr gut recherchiert, Humboldt warnte schon seit 1799 bis zu seinem Lebensende vor der Zerstörung der Natur durch den Menschen. Heute tragen wir die Konsequenzen: Schmelzen der Pole durch Erderwärmung und extreme Wetterkapriolen.
July 30, 2016
Wulf’s award winning book is a bit different from the average biography in that it is about a history of Alexander von Humboldt’s (1769-1859) ideas as much as it is about the man. Humboldt was a naturalist, geographer, polymath, explorer and the first environmentalist who at one time was the most famous man in Europe.
Wulf reveals Humboldt’s discoveries of similarities between climate and vegetation zone on different continents (climate zones). The author discusses Humboldt’s prediction of human induced climate change. Humboldt wrote his scientific observations in the poetic narrative of the times as did Darwin. Wulf discusses Humboldt’s friendship with Thomas Jefferson, Simon Bolivar and Goethe.
Wulf is a lucid and intellectual writer. The book is a work of scholarship. Wulf allows the complex personality of Humboldt and his wide scope of interests to come through in the writing. Wulf did meticulous research of Humboldt’s diaries, letters and writings. The author quoted from some of the letters which added to the work. Wulf was born in India, raised in German and now lives in London where she writes.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. David Drummond does an excellent job narrating the book. Drummond is an actor and winner of numerous Audiofile Earphone Awards for audiobook narration.
I enjoyed reading this book and learned much about Alexander von Humboldt. Years ago when I was in school I was fascinated by Humboldt. I wish I had this book to read at that time with its wide range of knowledge of Humboldt. If you are interested in biographies, science or nature you will enjoy this book.
Wulf reveals Humboldt’s discoveries of similarities between climate and vegetation zone on different continents (climate zones). The author discusses Humboldt’s prediction of human induced climate change. Humboldt wrote his scientific observations in the poetic narrative of the times as did Darwin. Wulf discusses Humboldt’s friendship with Thomas Jefferson, Simon Bolivar and Goethe.
Wulf is a lucid and intellectual writer. The book is a work of scholarship. Wulf allows the complex personality of Humboldt and his wide scope of interests to come through in the writing. Wulf did meticulous research of Humboldt’s diaries, letters and writings. The author quoted from some of the letters which added to the work. Wulf was born in India, raised in German and now lives in London where she writes.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. David Drummond does an excellent job narrating the book. Drummond is an actor and winner of numerous Audiofile Earphone Awards for audiobook narration.
I enjoyed reading this book and learned much about Alexander von Humboldt. Years ago when I was in school I was fascinated by Humboldt. I wish I had this book to read at that time with its wide range of knowledge of Humboldt. If you are interested in biographies, science or nature you will enjoy this book.
August 1, 2017
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, it's a pity.
Here's to the energizer bunny of naturalists!
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, it's a pity.
Here's to the energizer bunny of naturalists!
September 11, 2015
A scientific expedition had long been Alexander von Humboldt’s dream, so when he stepped onto the shores of Latin America in 1799 he was beyond excited, and soon began exploring, measuring, comparing, questioning, and chronicling everything: the distribution of indigenous plants, barometric pressure at different altitudes, the relative blueness of the sky, the cultures and customs of local people, rates of river evaporation, the environmental effects of farming, examples of native language, the charge in electric eels, and--maybe most significantly--his thoughts and feelings about it all, because Humboldt believed people learned by their connection to nature so he used comparison and poetic analogies to advance his discoveries and expand his understanding. Humboldt has to be one of the most interesting people I’d almost never heard of. (I checked the index of one of my all time favorite books about the era, Richard Holmes’s The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science, and Humboldt does receive a few scant mentions there.)
Humboldt’s many visionary achievements have had a lasting impact. He began talking about man-made climate change in 1800, he invented isotherms--lines of temperature and pressure--that we still see on today’s weather maps, he initiated the idea of vegetation and climate zones, he denounced slavery and colonialism when both still had a strong hold, he inspired many great thinkers and leaders of his day and beyond, and he revolutionized how we think about nature by describing it as an interconnected web in which what happens to one part affects everything else.
Though colonial powers weren’t crazy about some of his revolutionary political ideas, Humboldt had an energetic charisma that drew people to him and he was widely celebrated in his life. His death was mourned around the globe, and huge world-wide celebrations were held on the hundredth anniversary of his birth. So why isn’t he better known today? One reason Wulf gives is that unlike Newton or Columbus, Humboldt isn’t recognized for a one great discovery--his methods were holistic, combining the hard data of science with art, poetry, history and politics, and his biggest successes involved making science both popular and accessible through his ingeniously imagined graphics and widely read books. The other reason Humboldt fell off radar in the English speaking world is the anti-German sentiment that developed during WWI.
Andrea Wulf’s enthusiasm about her subject is contagious, so this book she’s written about Humboldt and his legacy is fascinating, even gripping, and highly readable. Beautiful illustrations from some of Humboldt’s own books are included. Because Humboldt spent time in many places and knew well or influenced a lot of notable people, Wulf has included in-depth, idea-rich portraits of a wide variety of people, including members of the Prussian royal family, Goethe, Kant, Thomas Jefferson, Simón Bolívar, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Charles Darwin, John Muir, Ernst Haeckel, George Perkins Marsh, and Henry David Thoreau. I especially enjoyed reading about Humboldt’s enthusiastic explorations of the world around him, Napoleonic era Paris, the revolutionary history of South America, and Humboldt’s wild ride across Russia.
Is Humboldt better remembered in non-English speaking parts of the world? I'd love to have a comment from anyone who knows.
I read an advanced review copy of this book supplied by the publisher. If the finished version has color plates instead of black and white it will be even more spectacular.
Humboldt’s many visionary achievements have had a lasting impact. He began talking about man-made climate change in 1800, he invented isotherms--lines of temperature and pressure--that we still see on today’s weather maps, he initiated the idea of vegetation and climate zones, he denounced slavery and colonialism when both still had a strong hold, he inspired many great thinkers and leaders of his day and beyond, and he revolutionized how we think about nature by describing it as an interconnected web in which what happens to one part affects everything else.
Though colonial powers weren’t crazy about some of his revolutionary political ideas, Humboldt had an energetic charisma that drew people to him and he was widely celebrated in his life. His death was mourned around the globe, and huge world-wide celebrations were held on the hundredth anniversary of his birth. So why isn’t he better known today? One reason Wulf gives is that unlike Newton or Columbus, Humboldt isn’t recognized for a one great discovery--his methods were holistic, combining the hard data of science with art, poetry, history and politics, and his biggest successes involved making science both popular and accessible through his ingeniously imagined graphics and widely read books. The other reason Humboldt fell off radar in the English speaking world is the anti-German sentiment that developed during WWI.
Andrea Wulf’s enthusiasm about her subject is contagious, so this book she’s written about Humboldt and his legacy is fascinating, even gripping, and highly readable. Beautiful illustrations from some of Humboldt’s own books are included. Because Humboldt spent time in many places and knew well or influenced a lot of notable people, Wulf has included in-depth, idea-rich portraits of a wide variety of people, including members of the Prussian royal family, Goethe, Kant, Thomas Jefferson, Simón Bolívar, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Charles Darwin, John Muir, Ernst Haeckel, George Perkins Marsh, and Henry David Thoreau. I especially enjoyed reading about Humboldt’s enthusiastic explorations of the world around him, Napoleonic era Paris, the revolutionary history of South America, and Humboldt’s wild ride across Russia.
Is Humboldt better remembered in non-English speaking parts of the world? I'd love to have a comment from anyone who knows.
I read an advanced review copy of this book supplied by the publisher. If the finished version has color plates instead of black and white it will be even more spectacular.
July 28, 2020
Interesting and well written. Filled with pertinent information, yet a bit long-winded at times.
The book is not merely a biography covering the life of one man, Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859). It starts with a description of the world he was born into - Prussia, Pre-Romanticism and the eminent philosophers, poets and writers of the time, i.e. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Immanuel Kant and Friedrich von Schiller, to name but a few. Humboldt came to spend long hours with Goethe. These prominent thinkers influenced who he was to become. Their lives and the lives of others Humboldt associated with are discussed. Another two such men are Simón Bolívar and Thomas Jefferson. Humboldt’s theories, experiments, books, travels and companions are covered. The book does not conclude with his death. It continues, showing how he directly influenced others, in particular Charles Darwin, George Perkins Marsh, Ernst Haeckel and John Muir. It is through these men that ecology, conservation and preservation has become what it is today. Others are mentioned too. The book ends with the hope that we reclaim Humboldt as our hero or at least re-acknowledge the importance he has played in how we view nature. Humboldt's thoughts and writings lie at the beginning of a chain of men who have brought us to where we are today in the field of environmentalism.
How much do we learn about Humboldt’s personality? Well he never kept his mouth shut, and he was indefatigable. In a conversation you couldn't get a word in edgewise. Being with him must have been quite a strain. Whether he was homosexual or not is unclear. How he could have possibly had time for anything other than his artistic, philosophical and scientific pursuits is the prime question. He seems to have had neither the time nor the interest for a lover. He was a fervent abolitionist.
The audiobook narration is by David Drummond. I found it too fast, particularly in the beginning. There is just too much information to absorb. Later it gets easier. Some words are unclear. Narration does not influence my rating.
Rivers, minerals, lakes, parks and many, many places are named after this Prussian. I didn't even know who he was! It is stated that more places have been named after this man than anyone else. His views have shaped our very concept of how we see nature. He realized back in 1800 the interrelationship between all aspects of nature. He understood that nature is one unified whole, and that an interdisciplinary approach is essential to solving problems, one such being climate control.
The book is not merely a biography covering the life of one man, Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859). It starts with a description of the world he was born into - Prussia, Pre-Romanticism and the eminent philosophers, poets and writers of the time, i.e. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Immanuel Kant and Friedrich von Schiller, to name but a few. Humboldt came to spend long hours with Goethe. These prominent thinkers influenced who he was to become. Their lives and the lives of others Humboldt associated with are discussed. Another two such men are Simón Bolívar and Thomas Jefferson. Humboldt’s theories, experiments, books, travels and companions are covered. The book does not conclude with his death. It continues, showing how he directly influenced others, in particular Charles Darwin, George Perkins Marsh, Ernst Haeckel and John Muir. It is through these men that ecology, conservation and preservation has become what it is today. Others are mentioned too. The book ends with the hope that we reclaim Humboldt as our hero or at least re-acknowledge the importance he has played in how we view nature. Humboldt's thoughts and writings lie at the beginning of a chain of men who have brought us to where we are today in the field of environmentalism.
How much do we learn about Humboldt’s personality? Well he never kept his mouth shut, and he was indefatigable. In a conversation you couldn't get a word in edgewise. Being with him must have been quite a strain. Whether he was homosexual or not is unclear. How he could have possibly had time for anything other than his artistic, philosophical and scientific pursuits is the prime question. He seems to have had neither the time nor the interest for a lover. He was a fervent abolitionist.
The audiobook narration is by David Drummond. I found it too fast, particularly in the beginning. There is just too much information to absorb. Later it gets easier. Some words are unclear. Narration does not influence my rating.
Rivers, minerals, lakes, parks and many, many places are named after this Prussian. I didn't even know who he was! It is stated that more places have been named after this man than anyone else. His views have shaped our very concept of how we see nature. He realized back in 1800 the interrelationship between all aspects of nature. He understood that nature is one unified whole, and that an interdisciplinary approach is essential to solving problems, one such being climate control.
July 27, 2020
A wonderful biography on Alexander von Humboldt, the world’s first environmentalist. It is hard to overstate his lasting significance and his direct impact on 19th century scientists like Darwin and naturalists like Muir.
It said in this bio that the uber productive Alexander read three thousand letters a year and wrote two thousand a year, that is when he wasn’t away on field expeditions.
4.5 stars. The writing in this lengthy bio is 4 stars while the content is 5 stars. The depth of the chapters were excellent for a lay person like myself.
It said in this bio that the uber productive Alexander read three thousand letters a year and wrote two thousand a year, that is when he wasn’t away on field expeditions.
4.5 stars. The writing in this lengthy bio is 4 stars while the content is 5 stars. The depth of the chapters were excellent for a lay person like myself.
June 27, 2018
I am really happy that I took the time to savour this book. Wulf does an incredible job painting a portrait of a relatively unknown figure, through her evocative and well-researched biography. Throughout this book, I could not believe that I had never heard of Alexander von Humboldt. He was a polymath, explorer, naturalist and writer who had a life full of adventure, discoveries and influence.
Humboldt devoted his whole life to traveling and studying in attempts to understand the natural world as an interconnected web, everything from volcanoes, earthquakes, plants, species, and climate. He had a major influence on prominent figures of the day including Charles Darwin, Thomas Jefferson, Simón Bolívar, Henry David Thoreau and John Muir. My favourite part was following Humboldt’s travels into South America. The adventure and passion he brought to his extensive observations was endlessly enthralling!
Humboldt devoted his whole life to traveling and studying in attempts to understand the natural world as an interconnected web, everything from volcanoes, earthquakes, plants, species, and climate. He had a major influence on prominent figures of the day including Charles Darwin, Thomas Jefferson, Simón Bolívar, Henry David Thoreau and John Muir. My favourite part was following Humboldt’s travels into South America. The adventure and passion he brought to his extensive observations was endlessly enthralling!
November 8, 2017
We are indebted to Wulf for bringing this remarkable individual back to life for us in the 21st century. She is clearly enamored with her subject and not without reason. He was determined, adventurous, meticulous, methodical, original, influential, visionary and inspirational. With his presence, command of language and fact, new ideas and incredible explorations he was able to capture the imagination of those around him even though he could also be emotionally distant, tactless and self-centered. He eschewed interest in the opposite sex and always had close male companions. But his lifestyle and personality quirks did not impede his social acceptance and the far ranging impact of his ideas.
Wulf credits Humboldt as being the first to see nature as a global connected whole. She details how he and his writings influenced many, including Goethe, Thomas Jefferson, Charles Lyell, Darwin, Emerson, Thoreau, John Muir and even the Romantic poets Wordsworth and Coleridge. His books were immensely popular and read by scientists, artists and poets. He used the flowery language of the period to express his feelings about nature, but he also was a biologist carefully collecting extensive collections of specimens from remote environments and a geographer measuring position, elevation, magnetism, temperature and pressure on his expeditions. A science generalist and poetic writer, his fame receded quickly as the nineteenth century wore on and scientific language became more disciplined and science itself more compartmentalized. Anti-German sentiment stemming from two world wars pushed him further into obscurity.
Wulf begins with Humboldt’s childhood and young adulthood. We learn about the death of his father as a young boy and the distant mother that left him lonely. But his mother was well off and paid for the best tutors and education. As a young man his position and brilliance enabled him to hobnob with the likes of Goethe and Shiller, to explore science in his own hands in his own way. When his mother died he was free to pursue his dreams of adventure and nature. And despite many delays due to the tumultuous times in late 1790’s Europe, he found his passage through the King of Spain to the New World.
In South America he immerses himself in every aspect of nature. He develops his awareness of the interconnectedness of all of nature. At Lake Valencia in Venezuela he realizes how agriculture has changed the ecosystem, lowering water levels, disrupting native flora and fauna. Already a naturalist, he becomes an early environmentalist. He even sees the impact on the area’s weather. He eschews danger, traveling in the untamed jungle and barren plains, and climbing to dizzying heights without modern equipment in the Andes. All the while collecting plant, animal and mineral specimens; meticulously recording temperature, humidity, air pressure, position and elevation.
Humboldt visited what are present day Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Cuba and lastly the United States where he met Jefferson in Washington. He saw the ravages of cash crops on the environment and how they made profitable the servitude of Africans and indigenous peoples. Wulf says, Humboldt “was the first to relate colonialism to the devastation of the environment.” He had witnessed the destruction of forests for growing sugar, indigo and other crops grown for export. But perhaps his most profound insight was to link vegetation to climate showing similarities around the globe. He identified plants at high elevations near the equator that were very similar to those in northern latitudes. This idea that life around the world was related was new and begged the question of a shared lineage.
Upon his return to Europe, he became a celebrity sought out by scientists, artists, and the social elite. He set about organizing his collections and notes and writing about his work and exploits. He was able to provide a wealth of new species and unique rock collections. His measurements provided the basis for new and refined maps and understanding of climate. His books were immensely popular as he mixed his science with adventure, artistic illustrations and poetic descriptions. Some of his books went beyond naturalism and included social and political commentary about the evils of colonialism and the subjugation of native peoples and slavery. His outlook and writings were an inspiration to his friend Simon Bolivar. Humboldt died in 1859 four months short of his 90th birthday and six months before Darwin published On the Origin of Species.
Wulf devotes many chapters to people Humboldt inspired. Humboldt became friends with Simon Bolivar in Paris in 1804. Wulf details Bolivar’s revolution that freed large parts of South America from Spanish rule and encouraged others in South America to start their own revolts. She says the revolution “was also a fight that was invigorated by Humboldt’s writings.” Wulf gives us another chapter showing us how Darwin was inspired by Humboldt’s writing to take his voyage on the Beagle. Darwin had plenty of time to read and reread his copies of Humboldt’s books. The voyage lasted five years from 1831 to 1836. Wulf equates Humboldt’s idea of a web of life with Darwin’s notes, “that all plants and animals ‘are bound together by a web of complex relations.’” She concludes that, “Darwin was standing on Humboldt’s shoulders.” And she gives us a chapter on Thoreau, an avid Humboldt reader, claiming that when he wrote in Walden published in 1854 that he began, “to look at nature with new eyes” that they were in her words “eyes that Humboldt had given him”.
Wulf highlights Humboldt’s continuing impact after his death with chapters on George Perkins Marsh, Ernst Haeckel, and John Muir. Marsh an American wrote Man and Nature published in 1864 which embodied and extended Humboldt’s ideas. Marsh described the adverse environmental impact of deforestation and agricultural practices that depleted the soil and spoiled lakes and rivers. His book was widely influential spurring on a budding conservation movement. Haeckel a German was a prominent biologist whose book General Morphology of Organisms published in 1866 was a widely read reinforcement of Darwin’s theory of evolution. Darwin called it the “most magnificent eulogium.” Haeckel coined many words we still use such as phylum, stem cell, Protista and encapsulated Humboldt’s vision creating the word ecology which he defined as the “science of the relationships of an organism with its environment.”
John Muir was a Scottish born American who loved the forest spending years in the Sierra Nevada where he met many visiting scientists and naturalists including Ralph Waldo Emerson who offered him a position at Harvard. But Muir, another avid reader of Humboldt’s books, stayed in the forest. He used his increasing fame and influence to fight for Yosemite National Park which was created in 1890. In 1892 he helped form the Sierra Club becoming its first president, a position he held until his death 22 years later. He spent three days camping with President Theodore Roosevelt in the park in 1903 which led to the federal government taking over the more loosely managed state controlled sections in 1906. Muir picked up on Humboldt’s and Marsh’s ideas concerning deforestation. But where Marsh proposed conservation, Muir proposed preservation. Marsh wanted to safeguard natural resources, but Muir wanted to completely protect the forest from human development.
More than anything else, standing out is Humboldt’s influence on these other great scientists and naturalists. Through them he gave impetus to the conservation and preservation movements and helped shape biological science from the study of evolution to ecology. Wulf shows us how one man’s love of nature expressed in heartfelt yet still scientifically accurate prose made a difference, a difference that is still felt today. Wulf takes her book from interesting to important by showing us what others did with Humboldt’s ideas. Their work makes Humboldt’s life so meaningful. A great read about a fascinating man whose legacy Wulf illuminates for the modern reader.
Wulf credits Humboldt as being the first to see nature as a global connected whole. She details how he and his writings influenced many, including Goethe, Thomas Jefferson, Charles Lyell, Darwin, Emerson, Thoreau, John Muir and even the Romantic poets Wordsworth and Coleridge. His books were immensely popular and read by scientists, artists and poets. He used the flowery language of the period to express his feelings about nature, but he also was a biologist carefully collecting extensive collections of specimens from remote environments and a geographer measuring position, elevation, magnetism, temperature and pressure on his expeditions. A science generalist and poetic writer, his fame receded quickly as the nineteenth century wore on and scientific language became more disciplined and science itself more compartmentalized. Anti-German sentiment stemming from two world wars pushed him further into obscurity.
Wulf begins with Humboldt’s childhood and young adulthood. We learn about the death of his father as a young boy and the distant mother that left him lonely. But his mother was well off and paid for the best tutors and education. As a young man his position and brilliance enabled him to hobnob with the likes of Goethe and Shiller, to explore science in his own hands in his own way. When his mother died he was free to pursue his dreams of adventure and nature. And despite many delays due to the tumultuous times in late 1790’s Europe, he found his passage through the King of Spain to the New World.
In South America he immerses himself in every aspect of nature. He develops his awareness of the interconnectedness of all of nature. At Lake Valencia in Venezuela he realizes how agriculture has changed the ecosystem, lowering water levels, disrupting native flora and fauna. Already a naturalist, he becomes an early environmentalist. He even sees the impact on the area’s weather. He eschews danger, traveling in the untamed jungle and barren plains, and climbing to dizzying heights without modern equipment in the Andes. All the while collecting plant, animal and mineral specimens; meticulously recording temperature, humidity, air pressure, position and elevation.
Humboldt visited what are present day Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Cuba and lastly the United States where he met Jefferson in Washington. He saw the ravages of cash crops on the environment and how they made profitable the servitude of Africans and indigenous peoples. Wulf says, Humboldt “was the first to relate colonialism to the devastation of the environment.” He had witnessed the destruction of forests for growing sugar, indigo and other crops grown for export. But perhaps his most profound insight was to link vegetation to climate showing similarities around the globe. He identified plants at high elevations near the equator that were very similar to those in northern latitudes. This idea that life around the world was related was new and begged the question of a shared lineage.
Upon his return to Europe, he became a celebrity sought out by scientists, artists, and the social elite. He set about organizing his collections and notes and writing about his work and exploits. He was able to provide a wealth of new species and unique rock collections. His measurements provided the basis for new and refined maps and understanding of climate. His books were immensely popular as he mixed his science with adventure, artistic illustrations and poetic descriptions. Some of his books went beyond naturalism and included social and political commentary about the evils of colonialism and the subjugation of native peoples and slavery. His outlook and writings were an inspiration to his friend Simon Bolivar. Humboldt died in 1859 four months short of his 90th birthday and six months before Darwin published On the Origin of Species.
Wulf devotes many chapters to people Humboldt inspired. Humboldt became friends with Simon Bolivar in Paris in 1804. Wulf details Bolivar’s revolution that freed large parts of South America from Spanish rule and encouraged others in South America to start their own revolts. She says the revolution “was also a fight that was invigorated by Humboldt’s writings.” Wulf gives us another chapter showing us how Darwin was inspired by Humboldt’s writing to take his voyage on the Beagle. Darwin had plenty of time to read and reread his copies of Humboldt’s books. The voyage lasted five years from 1831 to 1836. Wulf equates Humboldt’s idea of a web of life with Darwin’s notes, “that all plants and animals ‘are bound together by a web of complex relations.’” She concludes that, “Darwin was standing on Humboldt’s shoulders.” And she gives us a chapter on Thoreau, an avid Humboldt reader, claiming that when he wrote in Walden published in 1854 that he began, “to look at nature with new eyes” that they were in her words “eyes that Humboldt had given him”.
Wulf highlights Humboldt’s continuing impact after his death with chapters on George Perkins Marsh, Ernst Haeckel, and John Muir. Marsh an American wrote Man and Nature published in 1864 which embodied and extended Humboldt’s ideas. Marsh described the adverse environmental impact of deforestation and agricultural practices that depleted the soil and spoiled lakes and rivers. His book was widely influential spurring on a budding conservation movement. Haeckel a German was a prominent biologist whose book General Morphology of Organisms published in 1866 was a widely read reinforcement of Darwin’s theory of evolution. Darwin called it the “most magnificent eulogium.” Haeckel coined many words we still use such as phylum, stem cell, Protista and encapsulated Humboldt’s vision creating the word ecology which he defined as the “science of the relationships of an organism with its environment.”
John Muir was a Scottish born American who loved the forest spending years in the Sierra Nevada where he met many visiting scientists and naturalists including Ralph Waldo Emerson who offered him a position at Harvard. But Muir, another avid reader of Humboldt’s books, stayed in the forest. He used his increasing fame and influence to fight for Yosemite National Park which was created in 1890. In 1892 he helped form the Sierra Club becoming its first president, a position he held until his death 22 years later. He spent three days camping with President Theodore Roosevelt in the park in 1903 which led to the federal government taking over the more loosely managed state controlled sections in 1906. Muir picked up on Humboldt’s and Marsh’s ideas concerning deforestation. But where Marsh proposed conservation, Muir proposed preservation. Marsh wanted to safeguard natural resources, but Muir wanted to completely protect the forest from human development.
More than anything else, standing out is Humboldt’s influence on these other great scientists and naturalists. Through them he gave impetus to the conservation and preservation movements and helped shape biological science from the study of evolution to ecology. Wulf shows us how one man’s love of nature expressed in heartfelt yet still scientifically accurate prose made a difference, a difference that is still felt today. Wulf takes her book from interesting to important by showing us what others did with Humboldt’s ideas. Their work makes Humboldt’s life so meaningful. A great read about a fascinating man whose legacy Wulf illuminates for the modern reader.
April 1, 2024
Humboldt ‘read’ plants as others did books – and to him they revealed a global force behind nature, the movements of civilizations as well as of landmass.
Perhaps a younger Jon would think my unlikely reading of this means something transcendent? Many people believe they encounter books for a certain reason, some unknown catalyst which presents life in a new, distinct form. I can’t accept that explanation. When given the book last Christmas I didn’t expect to ever read it, there’s a possibility I briefly entertained the notion of giving it away, especially after I wasn’t terribly impressed with the first chapter of Wulf’s book on Jena. But here I am, a bit dazed by this assemblage. My appetite for the polymath Humboldt has been whetted as has a more general interest in science and nature writing.
Wulf provides a dazzling account of Humboldt, balanced between synopses of his books and the impression he left on all those in his wake. The dialogues with Goethe and the electric charge given to the Lake Poets are amazing intellectual history. The book concludes with chapters detailing the specific impact he had on successors: Darwin, Thoreau and Muir amongst others.
My highest recommendation!
Perhaps a younger Jon would think my unlikely reading of this means something transcendent? Many people believe they encounter books for a certain reason, some unknown catalyst which presents life in a new, distinct form. I can’t accept that explanation. When given the book last Christmas I didn’t expect to ever read it, there’s a possibility I briefly entertained the notion of giving it away, especially after I wasn’t terribly impressed with the first chapter of Wulf’s book on Jena. But here I am, a bit dazed by this assemblage. My appetite for the polymath Humboldt has been whetted as has a more general interest in science and nature writing.
Wulf provides a dazzling account of Humboldt, balanced between synopses of his books and the impression he left on all those in his wake. The dialogues with Goethe and the electric charge given to the Lake Poets are amazing intellectual history. The book concludes with chapters detailing the specific impact he had on successors: Darwin, Thoreau and Muir amongst others.
My highest recommendation!
August 23, 2016
When you think of scientists that have formed the way that we think about world around us, the names that tend to come to mind are Newton, Darwin, Wallace, Davy and Einstein. In the mid-19th Century though the most famous scientist in the world was a man called Alexander von Humboldt, a man very few people have ever heard of these days.
von Humboldt had a fascination of everything around him; he studied plants, geology, volcanos, animal and the stars the weather and the movement of the planets. Everything fascinated him and he went on major expeditions to South America and across the Russian steppe to China, and bought back detailed notebooks and trunks stuffed full of specimens and samples. He was one of the first scientists to consider the interconnectedness of all natural things, noticing that climate zones were similar on completely different continents, something that didn’t really gain traction until Lovelock’s Gaia theory and his observations led him to predict our effects on the climate decades before anyone else.
He was the author of around thirty volumes that became best sellers and were translated into multiple languages. His lyrical writing not only inspired countless other scientists to further their studies, but they stimulated artists and poets to explore their own natural world. He wrote and recived thousands of letters a year, corresponding with American presidents, like Thomas Jefferson and iconic figures Simón Bolívar. Even though he was from Prussia and was a member of King Frederick William III court, he felt his spiritual home was in the intellectual melting pot of Paris, even though he was sometimes considered an enemy by Napoleon. The King insisted he return home, much to his disappointment, but he still spent some of the year there, meeting and talking with fellow scientists.
Wulf’s book is a captivating account of the life and achievements of von Humboldt. Just a glance at the comprehensive notes you can see it has taken an immense amount of research to write this book, but it is still very readable without being dry and academic. She has successfully managed to bring to life a scientist whose influence on our understanding of the natural world can still be seen today.
von Humboldt had a fascination of everything around him; he studied plants, geology, volcanos, animal and the stars the weather and the movement of the planets. Everything fascinated him and he went on major expeditions to South America and across the Russian steppe to China, and bought back detailed notebooks and trunks stuffed full of specimens and samples. He was one of the first scientists to consider the interconnectedness of all natural things, noticing that climate zones were similar on completely different continents, something that didn’t really gain traction until Lovelock’s Gaia theory and his observations led him to predict our effects on the climate decades before anyone else.
He was the author of around thirty volumes that became best sellers and were translated into multiple languages. His lyrical writing not only inspired countless other scientists to further their studies, but they stimulated artists and poets to explore their own natural world. He wrote and recived thousands of letters a year, corresponding with American presidents, like Thomas Jefferson and iconic figures Simón Bolívar. Even though he was from Prussia and was a member of King Frederick William III court, he felt his spiritual home was in the intellectual melting pot of Paris, even though he was sometimes considered an enemy by Napoleon. The King insisted he return home, much to his disappointment, but he still spent some of the year there, meeting and talking with fellow scientists.
Wulf’s book is a captivating account of the life and achievements of von Humboldt. Just a glance at the comprehensive notes you can see it has taken an immense amount of research to write this book, but it is still very readable without being dry and academic. She has successfully managed to bring to life a scientist whose influence on our understanding of the natural world can still be seen today.
May 27, 2023
Começo por dizer que se conhecia o nome Humboldt era apenas porque ao longo da minha vida o tenho encontrado um pouco por todo o lado — de cidades a rios, serras, baías, cascatas, uma região na Lua, mais de 300 plantas e mais de 100 animais carregam ainda hoje o seu nome. Mas não fazia grande ideia sobre quem era ou o porquê dessa sua quase omnipresença, em sintonia com a grande maioria da sociedade no século XXI, apesar de em 14 de setembro 1869, na marca dos 100 anos do nascimento de Alexander von Humboldt, se terem realizado festejos por toda a Europa, Américas, África e Austrália. Houve discursos, paradas e procissões em seu nome de Melbourne a Buenos Aires, de Moscovo a Alexandria, com milhares de pessoas nas ruas de São Francisco a Nova Iorque a acenar bandeiras e cartazes com a cara de Humboldt.
Já tinha procurado no passado algo mais sobre a pessoa, mas o facto de ter tido uma vida imensamente rica — dormia muito pouco e enquanto estava acordado estava sempre focado na descoberta de novas e mais coisas — o que fez com que não deixasse um legado específico, facilmente comunicável e identificável. Se pensarmos noutros génios polimatas — por exemplo Da Vinci deixou as suas pinturas que o tornaram sempre presente, enquanto Goethe deixou a sua poesia. Humboldt deixou dezenas de livros sobre uma panóplia de questões e deixou mais de 50,000 cartas que registam não só o seu pensamento como o pensamento do mundo científico do seu tempo. Todos lhe escreviam, e a todos respondia, era um cientista-comunicador nato.
Andrea Wulf procura, em "The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World" (2015), recuperar e sintetizar o legado de Humboldt, centrando-o nas ciências naturais, nomeadamente no modo como este revolucionou "a forma como vemos o mundo natural. Encontrou ligações em todo o lado. Nada, nem mesmo o mais pequeno organismo, era visto isoladamente. 'Nesta grande cadeia de causas e efeitos', disse Humboldt, 'nenhum facto pode ser considerado isoladamente'. Com esta visão, inventou a teia da vida, o conceito de natureza tal como o conhecemos hoje.".
Darwin não teria embarcado no Beagle se não tivesse lido Humboldt.
Text completo: https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.com...
Já tinha procurado no passado algo mais sobre a pessoa, mas o facto de ter tido uma vida imensamente rica — dormia muito pouco e enquanto estava acordado estava sempre focado na descoberta de novas e mais coisas — o que fez com que não deixasse um legado específico, facilmente comunicável e identificável. Se pensarmos noutros génios polimatas — por exemplo Da Vinci deixou as suas pinturas que o tornaram sempre presente, enquanto Goethe deixou a sua poesia. Humboldt deixou dezenas de livros sobre uma panóplia de questões e deixou mais de 50,000 cartas que registam não só o seu pensamento como o pensamento do mundo científico do seu tempo. Todos lhe escreviam, e a todos respondia, era um cientista-comunicador nato.
Andrea Wulf procura, em "The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World" (2015), recuperar e sintetizar o legado de Humboldt, centrando-o nas ciências naturais, nomeadamente no modo como este revolucionou "a forma como vemos o mundo natural. Encontrou ligações em todo o lado. Nada, nem mesmo o mais pequeno organismo, era visto isoladamente. 'Nesta grande cadeia de causas e efeitos', disse Humboldt, 'nenhum facto pode ser considerado isoladamente'. Com esta visão, inventou a teia da vida, o conceito de natureza tal como o conhecemos hoje.".
Darwin não teria embarcado no Beagle se não tivesse lido Humboldt.
Text completo: https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.com...
April 14, 2020
This book follows the life of Alexander Von Humboldt and takes us on a rapturous journey with him through South America and Siberia, with detours with Darwin, Thoreau, Emerson and strangely enough with Bolivar during his own revolution. I have criticized other books for this same reason, but Andrea Wolf was both chronological with these detours and stuck with the theme of Humboldt and naturalism. And thus we learn about this great man and our current view of nature.
Alexander Von Humboldt was the first ecologist, environmentalist, a great champion of science and nature popularization and a intellectual godfather to entire generations of scientists. So how in hell have I not heard of him until now?
To me this was incredibly weird considering that Humboldt has also in his latter life written a book titled Cosmos that has thrived to show connections of all of sciences at the time and put on display the glory and beauty of our world and universe. Sound familiar, it should because Carl Sagan did the same in the 70s. Surely he had made some acknowledgements to Humboldt, so I pulled my copy of Cosmos off the shelf and reread the introduction. Nothing. Ok, Sagan started every chapter with a few quotes by notable people, maybe there is some mention there. Still nothing. Oh well ,lets look at the index. Page 89, in a footnote acknowledgement of Humboldts views on comets with the source listed as his book Cosmos volume 5... Oh the Irony! And I know that this was definitely added by one of many editors and research librarians, still something I guess...
This book came at the right time, this mans legacy has to be resurrected and this time remembered for good.
Alexander Von Humboldt was the first ecologist, environmentalist, a great champion of science and nature popularization and a intellectual godfather to entire generations of scientists. So how in hell have I not heard of him until now?
To me this was incredibly weird considering that Humboldt has also in his latter life written a book titled Cosmos that has thrived to show connections of all of sciences at the time and put on display the glory and beauty of our world and universe. Sound familiar, it should because Carl Sagan did the same in the 70s. Surely he had made some acknowledgements to Humboldt, so I pulled my copy of Cosmos off the shelf and reread the introduction. Nothing. Ok, Sagan started every chapter with a few quotes by notable people, maybe there is some mention there. Still nothing. Oh well ,lets look at the index. Page 89, in a footnote acknowledgement of Humboldts views on comets with the source listed as his book Cosmos volume 5... Oh the Irony! And I know that this was definitely added by one of many editors and research librarians, still something I guess...
This book came at the right time, this mans legacy has to be resurrected and this time remembered for good.
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