The invention of nature, by Andrea Wulf
Les Editions Noir Sur Blanc, October 18, 2017 - 635 Pages
Naturalist, geographer, explorer, Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was the great scientist of the Enlightenment. He gave his name to cities, rivers, mountain ranges, a South American ocean current, a penguin, a giant squid - there is even a Mare Humboldtianum on the Moon.
Under the pen of Andrea Wulf, his life reads like an adventure novel: Humboldt organized expeditions into the rainforest, climbed the world's highest volcanoes and met princes and presidents, scientists and poets.
Napoleon was jealous of him; Simón Bolívar imbued himself with his ideas to carry out his revolution; Darwin boarded the Beagle because of him; and Captain Nemo de Jules Verne had all his books in his library.
At a time when all scientific knowledge could be embraced, Humboldt never ceased to scour the world for its secrets and to explain them. As early as 1800, he was already predicting man-made climate change. His ideas revolutionized science, politics, art and the theory of evolution. A great visionary, a lover of the living world, its mysteries and beauties, Humboldt invented nature as we perceive it today.
Andrea Wulf was born in India, grew up in Germany and now lives in England. She is the author of several best-selling books, including The Brother Gardeners (2009) and The Founding Gardeners (2011). Passionate about plants, geography and literature, Andrea Wulf contributes to numerous newspapers, including The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times. The New York Times' award-winning Invention of Nature was named one of the New York Times' Top Ten Books of 2015.
