The Invention of Nature

Alexander von Humboldt's New World

by Andrea Wulf

paperback, 576 pages

Published Oct. 4, 2016 by Vintage.

ISBN:: 978-0-345-80629-1

(3 reviews)

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A biography of Alexander von Humboldt, the visionary German naturalist whose ideas changed the way we see the natural world—and in the process created modern environmentalism. • From the acclaimed author of Magnificent Rebels.

"Vivid and exciting.... Wulf’s pulsating account brings this dazzling figure back into a dazzling, much-deserved focus.” —The Boston Globe

Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was the most famous scientist of his age, a visionary German naturalist and polymath whose discoveries forever changed the way we understand the natural world. Among his most revolutionary ideas was a radical conception of nature as a complex and interconnected global force that does not exist for the use of humankind alone. In North America, Humboldt’s name still graces towns, counties, parks, bays, lakes, mountains, and a river. And yet the man has been all but forgotten.

In this illuminating biography, Andrea Wulf brings Humboldt’s extraordinary life back into …

"Vivid and exciting.... Wulf’s pulsating account brings this dazzling figure back into a dazzling, much-deserved focus.” —The Boston Globe

In this illuminating biography, Andrea Wulf brings Humboldt’s extraordinary life back into focus: his prediction of human-induced climate change; his daring expeditions to the highest peaks of South America and to the anthrax-infected steppes of Siberia; his relationships with iconic figures, including Simón Bolívar and Thomas Jefferson; and the lasting influence of his writings on Darwin, Wordsworth, Goethe, Muir, Thoreau, and many others. Brilliantly researched and stunningly written, The Invention of Nature reveals the myriad ways in which Humboldt’s ideas form the foundation of modern environmentalism—and reminds us why they are as prescient and vital as ever.

4 editions

[email protected] reviewed The invention of nature by Andrea Wulf

The Invention of Nature

5 stars

One of the minds born of the Age of Enlightenment was Alexander Von Humboldt. I didn't realise before reading this book how central he is to the way we think about nature and the world. Minds such as Darwin, John Muir, Thoreau, George Marsh, Earnest Haeckel (along with the Art Nouveau movement) and so on were directly influenced by his works and worldview. This worldview saw nature and humanity as a global intertwined system which can only be understood through a combination of great leaps of the imagination (the subjective and emotional experience) as well as hard data (the scientific, empirical and objective mind) together, a radical new theory for the time. I feel after reading this book I understand my passion and profession (I am an MSc earth science student) so much more, as well as the origins of my field. I feel university and the education system in general has pushed me away from the arts, suggesting that I could only pursue EITHER science OR beauty when in fact I have a love of both, and wish to see the natural world in an aesthetic as well as a scientific light. After all, what is more poetic than the communication of an entire woodland by fungal networks, or more humbling than a hundred million years in the geology of a cliff face? What underpins every scientist's passion for their subject? The beauty of it of course! This book has been a great inspiration to me. Learning about Humboldt's life and influence on the world (and thus my worldview) has been a way for me to reconnect with my subject after university education had taken some of the romance out of it. In short, I highly recommend this book, I will certainly go on to read Humboldt's "Cosmos" and "Views on nature"!

[email protected] reviewed The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf

Interesting!

4 stars

Although I do recommend the book, I can’t say I enjoyed reading all of it. Perhaps that's because the author’s intent is not to write a standard biography, but to explain how Humboldt’s views greatly influenced thinking in his own time and still today.

I found the first half to be much more interesting and involving as we followed Humboldt on his travels around the world, making scientific observations and developing his unique points of view about nature, ecology, history, and politics. The portions of the book where the author pivots toward other figures, showing how they responded to Humboldt’s ideas, were less intriguing to me.

Still, it’s a good read overall, especially if you enjoy historical non-fiction, as I do.

Marek

rated it

Jan 5

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