By
Leon (NHBS Catalogue Editor)
11 Feb 2025
Written for Paperback
There are many famous scholars that I only know by name, so, lately, I have been developing a taste for science biographies. With the publication last month of
Alexander von Humboldt: A Concise Biography, he was the next scholar to come onto my radar. However, I felt I could not do this subject justice without also considering Andrea Wulf's highly-regarded 2015 biography
The Invention of Nature, which won a slew of prizes and nominations.
Born in Prussia (today's Germany did not yet exist), Alexander von Humboldt (1769—1859) was born to a wealthy family as the younger of two sons. Age 9 his father died, age 27 his mother. Liberated from their vision of a conventional career (he had trained as a mining inspector), and now in possession of a large inheritance, he pursued what he is best remembered for: a five-year exploration of the Americas (1799–1804). In true polymath fashion, he ranged across disciplines, collecting observations on, amongst others, zoology, botany, geography, history, agriculture, and politics. He spent two decades in Paris, turned his journey into influential books, and became an intellectual rock star. All the while he was supported by the Prussian king Wilhelm Friedrich III on a generous chamberlain's pension, no strings attached; until of course there were and he was recalled to Berlin in 1827. Though his plans to explore the Himalayas never came to fruition, he remained ever-restless and, age 59, convinced tsar Nicholas I to finance a journey across Russia. Returning to Berlin with yet more ideas and observations, he continued writing and lecturing and, age 65, hit on the madcap idea to write a book, Kosmos, that would represent the whole material world. Taking a decade to complete, it became a bestseller. Realising he had yet more to say, it spawned four follow-up volumes that consumed the remainder of his life until his death age 89.
Above facts are remarkable enough, and Wulf follows a strategy of taking notable episodes from his life and elaborating on them in lively detail in this chunky, 473-page book. But, given that I just wrote that biographies are more than statements of facts, I want to highlight three noticeable aspects.
First is Humboldt's character. Wulf does not have to psychoanalyse him as his contemporaries already did some of that. Correspondence between his brother Wilhelm and his brother's wife Caroline explains Alexander's unhappy childhood. He was forever possessed of wanderlust, desiring strongly to travel and explore. His journey through Russia in old age was a revitalizing experience, especially once he defied the authorities by going off-piste in a well-told episode that had me pealing with laughter at his audacity. He was notoriously restless and talked at "race-horse speed" (p. 19, quoting Caroline), jumping from subject to subject. Both Goethe and Jefferson wrote they learned more from talking to Humboldt for several hours than from reading books for several years. He generously supported other scholars, explorers, and artists but was hopeless with money—Caroline feared some took advantage of him. He never married, nor had romantic affairs with women, though he had plenty of suitors. Instead, he developed intense friendships with other men in serial fashion, declaring passionate feelings for them in his letters.
The second noteworthy facet is Humboldt's prescience. Wulf repeatedly argues he was visionary and far ahead of his time. This showed in his political views: he spoke out against slavery his whole life and was supportive of revolutions against oppressive regimes, though he ultimately tired of politics as many revolutions came to nought. It especially showed in his scientific ideas. His ascent of Mount Chimborazo in today's Ecuador is credited with giving him the insight that everything in nature is connected, "conceiving a bold new vision [...] that still influences the way that we understand the natural world" (p. 2). At a time when botany was all about taxonomy, he saw connections with climate and geography and grouped plants into vegetation zones. Observing Spanish colonial practices, he warned that deforestation and irrigation could affect the climate. Seeing the impacts of other forms of resource extraction, he connected the dots and warned that: "The action of humankind across the globe [...] could affect future generations" (p. 58). And with that, Wulf concludes, "he unwittingly became the father of the environmental movement" (p. 58). As will become apparent in the next review, not everyone agrees with sweeping statements of this sort.
The third noteworthy facet is Humboldt's influence. Eight out of the book's 23 chapters discuss famous people he influenced. This encompasses both close friends to the young Humboldt (Goethe, Bolívar, and Jefferson), and these chapters are as much about them as about Humboldt. Fair enough, but I struggled more with the second group. These people were younger than Humboldt and (except Darwin) never met him, making these chapters mini-biographies of other people. Using a show-don't-tell approach, Wulf does not merely tell us Humboldt was influential, she shows us how their diaries, letters, and books explicitly mentioned him. It is easily the most divisive aspect of the book. On the one hand, I felt it reiterated the theme of connectedness: Humboldt himself was deeply interconnected with others, influencing and being influenced by them. On the other hand, the end of the book started to feel like too many tangents. Humboldt's death in chapter 20 is surrounded by five chapters on Darwin, Thoreau, George Perkins Marsh, Haeckel, and Muir. I had to remind myself I was reading a biography of Humboldt.
I furthermore want to give Wulf props for the endnotes. She opens with four pages of abbreviations to all the sources she has consulted: correspondence, letters, notebooks, and diaries held in library collections, plus Humboldt's numerous books. This in turn allows her to then give you 82 pages of *condensed* endnotes. These meticulously document everything, often providing 5–10 endnotes per page of text. It evidences an impressive amount of background research and you would be hard-pressed to accuse her of making unsubstantiated claims.
Overall, despite its digressions, I found
The Invention of Nature a hugely enjoyable book that gives a multifaceted portrait of Humboldt's character, his ideas, and his impact. Wulf presents her in-depth research in a captivating narrative, and it is easy to see why the book received so many accolades. As the next review shows, some cast doubt on the claim that Humboldt was the inventor of nature, but Wulf convinces that this ever-restless polymath certainly was a force of nature.
![Alexander von Humboldt und die Erfindung der Natur [The Invention of Nature: The Adventures of Alexander Von Humboldt, the Lost Hero of Science]](http://mediacdn.nhbs.com/jackets/jackets_resizer/23/233616.jpg "Alexander von Humboldt und die Erfindung der Natur [The Invention of Nature: The Adventures of Alexander Von Humboldt, the Lost Hero of Science]")
![A Invenção da Natureza: A Vida e as Descobertas de Alexander Von Humboldt [The Invention of Nature: The Adventures of Alexander Von Humboldt, the Lost Hero of Science]](http://mediacdn.nhbs.com/jackets/jackets_resizer/23/234102.jpg "A Invenção da Natureza: A Vida e as Descobertas de Alexander Von Humboldt [The Invention of Nature: The Adventures of Alexander Von Humboldt, the Lost Hero of Science]")
