Synopses & Reviews
The acclaimed author of Founding Gardeners reveals the forgotten
life 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.
NATIONAL BEST SELLER
One of the New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year
A Best Book of the Year: The Economist, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews
Shortlist — Costa Biography Award
Finalist — Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction
Finalist — Kirkus Reviews Prize for Nonfiction
Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) was an intrepid explorer and the
most famous scientist of his age. In North America, his name still
graces four counties, thirteen towns, a river, parks, bays, lakes, and
mountains. His restless life was packed with adventure and discovery,
whether he was climbing the highest volcanoes in the world or racing
through anthrax-infected Siberia or translating his research into
bestselling publications that changed science and thinking. Among
Humboldt’s most revolutionary ideas was a radical vision of nature, that
it is a complex and interconnected global force that does not exist for
the use of humankind alone.
Now Andrea Wulf brings the man and
his achievements back into focus: his daring expeditions and
investigation of wild environments around the world and his discoveries
of similarities between climate and vegetation zones on different
continents. She also discusses his prediction of human-induced climate
change, his remarkable ability to fashion poetic narrative out of
scientific observation, and his relationships with iconic figures such
as Simón Bolívar and Thomas Jefferson. Wulf examines how Humboldt’s
writings inspired other naturalists and poets such as Darwin,
Wordsworth, and Goethe, and she makes the compelling case that it was
Humboldt’s influence that led John Muir to his ideas of natural
preservation and that shaped Thoreau’s Walden.
With this
brilliantly researched and compellingly written book, Andrea Wulf shows
the myriad fundamental ways in which Humboldt created our understanding
of the natural world, and she champions a renewed interest in this vital
and lost player in environmental history and science.
Review
“Engrossing. . . . Humboldt was the Einstein of the 19th century but far
more widely read, and Wulf successfully combines a biography with an
intoxicating history of his times.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Review
“Andrea Wulf reclaims Humboldt from the obscurity that has enveloped
him. . . . [She] is as enthusiastic as her subject. . . . Vivid and
exciting. . . . Wulf’s pulsating account brings this dazzling figure
back into a dazzling, much-deserved focus.” Matthew Price, The Boston Globe
Review
“Alexander von Humboldt may have been the preeminent scientist of his
era, second in fame only to Napoleon, but outside his native Germany his
reputation has faded. Wulf does much to revive our appreciation of this
ecological visionary through her lively, impressively researched
account of his travels and exploits, reminding us of the lasting
influence of his primary insight: that the Earth is a single,
interconnected organism, one that can be catastrophically damaged by our
own destructive actions.” The New York Times Book Review, Top 10 Books of the Year
About the Author
ANDREA WULF was born in India and moved to Germany as a child.
She lives in London, where she trained as a design historian at the
Royal College of Art. She is the author of Chasing Venus, Founding Gardeners, and The Brother Gardeners,
which was long-listed for the Samuel Johnson Prize and awarded the
American Horticultural Society Book Award. She has written for The New York Times, theFinancial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times. She appears regularly on radio and TV, and in 2014 copresented British Gardens in Time, a four-part series on BBC television.