The Invention of Nature

The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt, the Lost Hero of Science: Costa & Royal Society Prize Winner

By: Andrea Wulf

Narrated by: David Drummond

WINNER OF THE 2015 COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARD

WINNER OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY PRIZE 2016


'Dazzling' Literary Review

'Brilliant' Sunday Express

'Extraordinary and gripping' New Scientist

'A superb biography' The Economist

'An exhilarating armchair voyage' GILES MILTON, Mail on Sunday

Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) is the great lost scientist - more things are named after him than anyone else. There are towns, rivers, mountain ranges, the ocean current that runs along the South American coast, there's a penguin, a giant squid - even the Mare Humboldtianum on the moon.

His colourful adventures read like something out of a Boy's Own story: Humboldt explored deep into the rainforest, climbed the world's highest volcanoes and inspired princes and presidents, scientists and poets alike. Napoleon was jealous of him; Simon Bolívar's revolution was fuelled by his ideas; Darwin set sail on the Beagle because of Humboldt; and Jules Verne's Captain Nemo owned all his many books. He simply was, as one contemporary put it, 'the greatest man since the Deluge'.

Taking us on a fantastic voyage in his footsteps - racing across anthrax-infected Russia or mapping tropical rivers alive with crocodiles - Andrea Wulf shows why his life and ideas remain so important today. Humboldt predicted human-induced climate change as early as 1800, and The Invention of Nature traces his ideas as they go on to revolutionize and shape science, conservation, nature writing, politics, art and the theory of evolution. He wanted to know and understand everything and his way of thinking was so far ahead of his time that it's only coming into its own now. Alexander von Humboldt really did invent the way we see nature.

Recorded by arrangement with Doubleday, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC; (P)2015 Highbridge, a division of Recorded Books©2015 Andrea Wulf

Critic reviews

A big, magnificent, adventurous book - so vividly written and daringly researched - a geographical pilgrimage and an intellectual epic! Brilliant, surprising, and thought-provoking . . . a major achievement

A truly wonderful book . . . Andrea Wulf has told the tale with such brio, such understanding, such depth. The physical journeyings, all around South America when it was virtually terra incognita, are as exciting as the journeys of Humboldt's mind into astronomy, literature, philosophy and every known branch of science. This is one of the most exciting intellectual biographies I have ever read, up there with Lewes's Goethe and Ray Monk's Wittgenstein

Andrea Wulf's marvellous book should put this captivating eighteenth century German scientist, traveller and opinion-shaper back at the heart of the way we look at the world . . . irresistible and consistently absorbing life of a man whose discoveries have shaped the way we see

Andrea Wulf is a writer of rare sensibilities and passionate fascinations. I always trust her to take me on unforgettable journeys through amazing histories of botanical exploration and scientific unfolding. Her work is wonderful, her language sublime, her intelligence unflagging

Engrossing . . . Wulf successfully combines biography with an intoxicating history of his times

Extraordinary, and often still sadly relevant too

The phrase 'lost hero of science' in the subtitle of [Wulf's] book is no exaggeration . . . A big book about a big subject, written with scholarship and enthusiasm

In her coruscating account, historian Andrea Wulf reveals an indefatigable adept of close observation with a gift for the long view

[A] gripping study . . . No one who reads this brilliant book is likely to forget Humboldt

This book sets out to restore Humboldt to his rightful place in the pantheon of natural scientists. In the process Wulf does a great deal more. This meticulously researched work - part biography, part cabinet of curiosity - takes us on an exhilarating armchair voyage through some of the world's least hospitable regions (Giles Milton)

Thrilling . . . It is impossible to read The Invention of Nature without contracting Humboldt fever. Wulf makes Humboldtians of us all . . . At times The Invention of Nature reads like pulp explorer fiction . . . She has gone to near-Humboldtian lengths to research her book

Engrossing . . . Andrea Wulf magnificently recreates Humboldt's dazzling, complex personality and the scope of his writing

Amazing

Amazing story, hard to believe one human was capable of so much. The author paints a clear picture and takes you on an unforgettable adventure.

An engaging, interesting read on a fascinating man

A very enjoyable read about a fastinating man who's life was well lived and who has had far reaching influence during his lifetime and to present day. A vital part of anyone's reading collection who is interested in science writing and the environment. Michael Hall -Environmental photographer

A riveting read about a such a fascinating man

The life, literature and legacy of Professor Alexander von Humbolt is beautifully written by Andrea Wulf. A must read for anyone who would like to hear about the man who opened the worlds eyes to the wonders of nature, science and the growing impact of humankind.

Top Science History

This book is a small masterpiece and a must for anyone interested in the history of science, ecology, romanticism, and environmentalism. There is never a dull moment in Wulf's book, which follows Humboldt from the University of Jenna, Goethe, to revolutionary France, the Amazons, the new republic of America, and back to Germany. The chapters on Darwin, Thoreau, and Haeckel are also fascinating. The style of writing is vivid and this audio reading is captivating. One criticism. I think the amount of emphasis placed on Humboldt influence on the modern idea of nature is a little overblown. The argument is very much a "great man in history" argument. Having said this, this is a great book.