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cutcamera's review against another edition
3.0
What do the Humboldt Current along the western coast of South America, Humboldt Park in Chicago, Illinois, the Pico Humboldt in the Sierra Nevada de Merida, Venezuela and hundreds of other locations around the globe have in common? They’re all named after Alexander von Humboldt, naturalist, adventurer and historical hero.
In this long-winded telling of Alexander von Humboldt’s story, we’re taken through his life and adventures – both the exciting and the mundane. Humboldt traveled on four continents, wrote more than 36 books and was the first to promote an interconnectedness of nature, seeing it as one whole. He theorized the spreading of the continental landmasses through plate tectonics, mapped the distribution of plants on three continents, charted the way air and water move to create bands of climate at different latitudes and altitudes, observed how deforestation changed local climate, alluded to evolution and so much more. His works and theories influenced some of the brightest minds and most well-known thinkers of the era, including Darwin.
The book ends with a brief explanation of why we should care about him today, which is good because, despite how exciting Humboldt’s life was and how important his influence still is, you might wonder why you dedicated so much time to hearing his story when a lengthy article could have done the job just as well. With that said, I’m glad I took the time to find out who he was, and how important his impact and views were – I just wish I had learned about him in school.
In this long-winded telling of Alexander von Humboldt’s story, we’re taken through his life and adventures – both the exciting and the mundane. Humboldt traveled on four continents, wrote more than 36 books and was the first to promote an interconnectedness of nature, seeing it as one whole. He theorized the spreading of the continental landmasses through plate tectonics, mapped the distribution of plants on three continents, charted the way air and water move to create bands of climate at different latitudes and altitudes, observed how deforestation changed local climate, alluded to evolution and so much more. His works and theories influenced some of the brightest minds and most well-known thinkers of the era, including Darwin.
The book ends with a brief explanation of why we should care about him today, which is good because, despite how exciting Humboldt’s life was and how important his influence still is, you might wonder why you dedicated so much time to hearing his story when a lengthy article could have done the job just as well. With that said, I’m glad I took the time to find out who he was, and how important his impact and views were – I just wish I had learned about him in school.
treesf's review against another edition
4.0
Interessant boek met ontdekking van deze Alexander hoe de kolonisten al de natuur verwoestten
daninithepanini's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
very interesting but also pretty repetitive
sam12213's review against another edition
3.5
(spoilers for a real person's life)
One of the hardest books to rate because fundamentally, I like it, but it is simultaneously two books in one and also not entirely what I expected.
This is more of a straightforward biography rather than a (semi-)philosophical exploration of the concept of nature. That latter bit is present in the handful of chapters that describe Humboldt's influences on other famous people of his time and after - but the presence of those chapters is also what makes the book feel disjointed. I also feel the book isn't really sufficiently critical enough; obviously Humboldt was hugely influential in the way we conceptualise nature, but the fact that this conceptualisation can itself be kind of toxic isn't touched upon at all - even though that is exactly what I would've liked to explore a bit further.
Lastly, while Humboldt himself is by and large a very charming protagonist, I found his life story kind of sad? He spent most of his life chasing the high of the one big trip he was able to take, and his second big trip - to Russia - is treated as a consolation prize even within the book. He was an activist LGBTQ legend, but remained alone all his life, watched most of his friends and family pass away, and died before the slavery which he detested was properly abolished. The book doesn't really touch upon those tragic aspects at all, which left me with a bit of a sour taste.
Anyway, good book, very well-written, but please go into it expecting a biography rather than some sort of philosophical exploration, and you'll have a ball
One of the hardest books to rate because fundamentally, I like it, but it is simultaneously two books in one and also not entirely what I expected.
This is more of a straightforward biography rather than a (semi-)philosophical exploration of the concept of nature. That latter bit is present in the handful of chapters that describe Humboldt's influences on other famous people of his time and after - but the presence of those chapters is also what makes the book feel disjointed. I also feel the book isn't really sufficiently critical enough; obviously Humboldt was hugely influential in the way we conceptualise nature, but the fact that this conceptualisation can itself be kind of toxic isn't touched upon at all - even though that is exactly what I would've liked to explore a bit further.
Lastly, while Humboldt himself is by and large a very charming protagonist, I found his life story kind of sad? He spent most of his life chasing the high of the one big trip he was able to take, and his second big trip - to Russia - is treated as a consolation prize even within the book. He was an activist LGBTQ legend, but remained alone all his life, watched most of his friends and family pass away, and died before the slavery which he detested was properly abolished. The book doesn't really touch upon those tragic aspects at all, which left me with a bit of a sour taste.
Anyway, good book, very well-written, but please go into it expecting a biography rather than some sort of philosophical exploration, and you'll have a ball
goblue22's review against another edition
5.0
Alexander Von Humboldt directly influenced Charles Darwin, Simón Bolívar, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Henry David Thoreau, and John Muir. He discovered the concept of keystone species, the web of life—that all species are connected—climate zones, air currents and highlighted the damaging effects of deforestation and colonization on the environment. Besides from Napoleon, he was the most famous person of his time. And yet today he is largely forgotten. At least I did not know much about him.
This book brings Humboldt’s adventures and influential discoveries to life. It is detailed, yet accessible and all together a great read.
This book brings Humboldt’s adventures and influential discoveries to life. It is detailed, yet accessible and all together a great read.