The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf

The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - A biography of Alexander von Humboldt, the visionary German naturalist whose ideas changed the way we see the natural world--and in the process created modern environmentalism. - From the acclaimed author of Magnificent Rebels.

Vivid and exciting.... Wulf's pulsating account brings this dazzling figure back into a dazzling, much-deserved focus. --The Boston Globe

Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was the most famous scientist of his age, a visionary German naturalist and polymath whose discoveries forever changed the way we understand the natural world. Among his most revolutionary ideas was a radical conception of nature as a complex and interconnected global force that does not exist for the use of humankind alone. In North America, Humboldt's name still graces towns, counties, parks, bays, lakes, mountains, and a river. And yet the man has been all but forgotten.

In this illuminating biography, Andrea Wulf brings Humboldt's extraordinary life back into focus: his prediction of human-induced climate change; his daring expeditions to the highest peaks of South America and to the anthrax-infected steppes of Siberia; his relationships with iconic figures, including Sim n Bol var and Thomas Jefferson; and the lasting influence of his writings on Darwin, Wordsworth, Goethe, Muir, Thoreau, and many others. Brilliantly researched and stunningly written, The Invention of Nature reveals the myriad ways in which Humboldt's ideas form the foundation of modern environmentalism--and reminds us why they are as prescient and vital as ever.

Andrea Wulf was born in India and grew up in Germany. She studied design history at the Royal College of Art in London. She is also the coauthor (with Emma Gieben-Gamal) of This Other Eden: Seven Great Gardens and 300 Years of English History, as well as The Invention of Nature: Alexander Von Humboldt's New World and Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Development of the American Country. She has contributed to The Sunday Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Financial Times, as well as reviewing for The Guardian, The Times Literary Supplement, and The Mail on Sunday. She appears on BBC television and radio on a regular basis. In 2008, The Brothers Gardeners was on the longlist for the Samuel Johnson Prize.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780345806291
ISBN 10	0345806298
Title	The Invention of Nature
Author	Andrea Wulf
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Random House USA Inc
Year published	2016-10-04
Number of pages	576
Prizes	Winner of Costa Biography Award 2015, Winner of Los Angeles Times Book Prize 2016, Winner of Royal Society Prize for Science Books 2016, Short-listed for Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction 2016, Short-listed for Kirkus Reviews Editor Choice Award 2015
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.