Stars, Mosquitoes and Crocodiles: The American Travels of Alexander Von Humboldt

by Alexander von Humboldt, Millicent E. Selsam (Editor), Russell Francis Peterson (Illustrator)

Selections From The 1852 English Translation Of Voyage Aux Regions Equinoxales Du Nouveau Continent, Supplemented With Excerpts From Several Of The Author's Other Writings.

170 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Expeditions of German scientist Baron Friedrich Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt to Latin America from 1799 to 1804 and to Siberia in 1829 greatly advanced the fields of ecology, geology, and meteorology.

Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt, a naturalist and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher, and linguist, Wilhelm von Humboldt, explored. Quantitative botanical work of Humboldt founded biogeography.

Humboldt traveled extensively, explored, and described for the first time in a generally considered modern manner and point of view. He wrote up his description of the journey and published an enormous set of volumes over 21 years. He first proposed that forces once joined South America and Africa, the lands, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Later, his five-volume work, Kosmos (1845), attempted to unify the various branches of knowledge. Humboldt supported, included, and worked with Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac, Justus von Liebig, Louis Agassiz, and Matthew Fontaine Maury and most notably conducted much of his exploration with Aimé Bonpland.

Reviews

[Bibliobites Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

There aren’t a lot of books about Humboldt, which I don’t understand, because he was pretty fascinating, but this is a great one. Selsam choose some of the most interesting of Humboldt’s writings, edited them well, and added just enough explanatory material to allow readers to follow the flow of the narrative. Appropriate for middle grades, but interesting enough for adults. Andrea Wulf called Humboldt “the man who invented nature,” and this book gives a glimpse of exactly how he did. Good introductory material, and the whole title was just the right length, coming in under 200 pages all told. Oh, and the multiple maps were much appreciated, and Peterson’s drawings a lovely bonus. Interesting and inspiring.

[lisa_emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

More people should know von Humboldt's name.

[Jeri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read an abridged edition. Good info on important explorer of 1700s

[Lynne Carlton · Rating 5 out of 5]

How have I never heard of this fascinating explorer? Like Nelly Bly he should be a part if every child's discovery of the world.