the invention of nature alexander von humboldt's new world

the invention of nature alexander von humboldt

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 forgotten player in environmental history and natural science. 3. Wulf examines how Humboldt’s writings inspired other naturalists and poets such as Darwin, Goethe, and Muir. She discusses his prediction of human-induced climate change, and his ability to fashion poetic narrative out of scientific observation. 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 worldand in the process created modern environmentalism. 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.Īndrea Wulf’s National Best Seller brings his achievements back into focus: his daring expeditions and investigation of wild environments around the world. His 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. In North America, his name still graces counties, towns, parks, bays, lakes, and mountains, yet few remember who he was.

Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was an intrepid explorer and the most famous scientist of his age.

The invention of nature alexander von humboldt's new world