Reviews

I found parts of the book hard to follow and get into. The beginning of the book was rather slow and there would be long tangents on other historical figures that sometimes I would be confuse by and leave wondering how does this relate to the topic. For instance, there was a chapter on Thomas Jefferson that felt like it was out of a different biography. Perhaps my confusion at times was the result of listening to the audiobook. Regardless, there were long stretches that left be bored or not knowing what the point was.
After reading, I still don't feel I know what Von Humboldt did or contribute other than his massive Cosmos book that seems quite popular amongst contemporaries. Maybe he was the Bill Nye or Brian Greene of his time, but I'm not sure I could explain to someone why this person was significant. Also, after his death in the book, three following chapters followed each focusing on a different individual inspired by Von Humboldt, which was an odd structure for a biography, especially considering each of these chapters' lengths.

Content Warnings

georgina_bawden's review against another edition

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DNF - I read about half of this and I have to admit it zipped along, but it's been a while since I've tried to read a straightforward biography and I found it quite boring. Humboldt did this thing! Then he did this thing! Then he did something else! An interesting figure somewhat lost to modern English speaking history but I don't think I'm a biography sort of person.

herfst's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

bramboomen's review against another edition

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4.0

There are a lot of reasons to like this book. It tells a part of the history of science which is not often explored. Wulf does this with an enthousiasm that is infectious. Her writing is clear, not overly poetic and you can really notice her fascination with Humboldt. Also, it can't be that easy to write an easily accessible, historical biography about a scientist, however interesting he might be.

I would have liked to read more about Humboldt's travels in South America and Russia. Instinctively, I expected the bulk of the book to be about these adventures. However these chapters flew by while Humboldt travelled from Cuba to Peru in a matter of paragraphs.

If there was one annoyance in reading this book, it was the repetition that started to occur halfway through. I did not need to be told every page that Humboldt loved nature, that he talked very fast, that he understood things in a profoundly unique way, that he loved nature, that nobody had ever done what he had done and that he loved nature very much. As I started to notice this pattern I also started to glaze over some parts, especially the last few chapters.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed the book and I share Wulf's confusion as to why Humboldt is not more prominent in our history books.

statman's review against another edition

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3.0

I really didn't know much about Humboldt before reading this book. But he seems like a really cool guy who had a huge influence on other scientists, writers, politicians and artists. He was one of the last people who really knew a lot about many subjects before it became more difficult to do that, as it is today.

ekoster's review against another edition

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adventurous informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

valentipeter's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

5.0

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