The Invention of Nature

The Invention of Nature Plot Summary

Introduction

In June 1802, a slender Prussian aristocrat stood high on the slopes of Ecuador's Mount Chimborazo, then believed to be the world's highest peak. At 19,413 feet, Alexander von Humboldt gasped for air in the thin atmosphere, his lips blue and gums bleeding, yet he continued meticulously recording measurements with his scientific instruments. This moment of physical suffering and scientific dedication perfectly encapsulates the man who would revolutionize how humanity understands the natural world. Born into privilege in 1769, Humboldt rejected a comfortable court life to become the most influential naturalist of his age—a polymath who saw connections where others saw only isolated facts. Humboldt's genius lay in his ability to perceive the world as an interconnected whole—what he called "the unity of nature." While other scientists classified and categorized, Humboldt sought relationships and patterns. He was the first to identify human-induced climate change, pioneered the concept of vegetation zones, and created the foundation for modern ecology. His influence extended far beyond science into art, literature, and politics. Through his writings and extensive correspondence, he created global networks of knowledge that transcended national boundaries. In an age of increasing specialization, Humboldt offers a powerful reminder that understanding our complex world requires both precise observation and the ability to see the connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.

Chapter 1: Early Years: The Making of a Scientific Explorer

Alexander von Humboldt was born into Prussian aristocracy in Berlin on September 14, 1769, a time of intellectual ferment when Enlightenment ideas were reshaping European thought. His childhood at the family estate of Tegel was privileged but emotionally austere. His father died when Alexander was nine, leaving him and his older brother Wilhelm in the care of their strict, emotionally distant mother, Marie Elisabeth. Despite the lack of warmth in his upbringing, young Alexander developed an insatiable curiosity about the natural world, collecting plants, insects, and rocks during solitary rambles through the forests surrounding Tegel. His family nicknamed him "the little apothecary" for his collections, though they didn't take his scientific interests seriously. Unlike his more academically inclined brother Wilhelm, Alexander struggled with formal education, finding little joy in the classical studies and languages that formed the core curriculum of his early tutoring. His mind craved direct experience rather than abstract concepts. This preference for empirical knowledge would become a defining characteristic of his scientific approach. When Humboldt was eighteen, his mother sent him to study at the University of Frankfurt an der Oder, intending him for a career in finance or civil service. But Alexander's interests lay elsewhere, and he soon transferred to the University of Göttingen, where he encountered the ideas of Immanuel Kant and formed a friendship with Georg Forster, a naturalist who had accompanied Captain Cook on his second voyage around the world. This friendship with Forster proved transformative. In 1790, they embarked on a four-month journey across Europe that awakened Humboldt's passion for scientific exploration. Traveling through Germany, the Netherlands, England, and France, Humboldt was exposed to new landscapes, ideas, and scientific communities. In London, he was overwhelmed by the sight of ships bringing exotic specimens from distant lands. He later wrote that he wept when he saw engravings of East India Company ships, feeling what Germans call Fernweh—a longing for distant places. This journey convinced Humboldt that he must see the world firsthand rather than merely study it in books. Following his mother's wishes, Humboldt enrolled at the Freiberg Mining Academy, where he studied geology, mineralogy, and mining techniques. His diligence was remarkable—he completed a three-year program in just eight months. Rising before dawn, he would descend into mine shafts to study rock formations, attend lectures during the day, and study late into the night. This practical education provided him with rigorous scientific training while allowing him to develop his observational skills underground. His resulting publication on subterranean plants demonstrated his ability to connect seemingly disparate scientific fields—a hallmark of his later work. When his mother died in 1796, Humboldt inherited a substantial fortune that finally freed him to pursue his dream of scientific exploration. He resigned his position as a mining inspector for the Prussian government and began planning an ambitious expedition that would test his theories and change our understanding of the natural world. After several failed attempts to join various expeditions during the tumultuous period of the French Revolutionary Wars, Humboldt finally secured permission from King Carlos IV of Spain to explore the Spanish colonies in the Americas—an unprecedented privilege for a foreigner. In June 1799, accompanied by French botanist Aimé Bonpland, he set sail from La Coruña, Spain, carrying forty-two scientific instruments packed in velvet-lined boxes. At age twenty-nine, Alexander von Humboldt was about to embark on the journey that would transform him into the most extraordinary scientist of his age.

Chapter 2: South American Expedition: Redefining Nature

When Humboldt and Bonpland arrived in Cumaná, Venezuela in July 1799, they were immediately overwhelmed by the sensory richness of the tropics. "We run around like fools," Humboldt wrote to his brother Wilhelm, as they encountered pink flamingos standing one-legged at the shore, butterflies of extraordinary colors, and palm trees ornamented with magnificent red blossoms. Unlike previous explorers who focused on collecting specimens for European cabinets or mapping territories for colonial exploitation, Humboldt approached the landscape with a revolutionary perspective. He sought to understand nature as an interconnected whole, where climate, geology, plants, and animals formed a complex web of relationships. The expedition took them through diverse landscapes—from the lush valleys of Aragua to the vast plains of the Llanos, and deep into the rainforests along the Orinoco River. For seventy-five days, they paddled through dangerous rapids and dense jungle, battling mosquitoes, hunger, and tropical diseases. Their small boat became a floating laboratory as they collected plants, measured the river's temperature and flow, and observed wildlife. When they finally found the Casiquiare River—the natural waterway connecting the Orinoco and Amazon river systems—Humboldt had proven what European geographers had long doubted: that two major river basins could indeed be connected. This discovery was emblematic of Humboldt's approach: where others saw separation, he found connection. The most famous moment of the expedition came in June 1802, when Humboldt attempted to climb Chimborazo, a volcano in Ecuador believed at the time to be the world's highest mountain. Though they didn't reach the summit, they climbed to 19,413 feet—higher than any European had gone before. Despite suffering from altitude sickness, bleeding gums, and extreme cold, Humboldt continued taking measurements with his instruments, setting them up on precarious ledges to record altitude, gravity, and humidity. More significant than the physical feat was the intellectual breakthrough it inspired. As he ascended, Humboldt meticulously recorded how vegetation changed with altitude, noting that these zones resembled the plant communities he had observed when traveling from the equator toward the poles. Throughout their five-year journey, Humboldt and Bonpland collected over 60,000 plant specimens, including 2,000 new species. They charted rivers, measured mountains, and documented animal species unknown to European science. Humboldt's approach to fieldwork was unprecedented in its intensity and scope. He carried dozens of scientific instruments, measuring everything from atmospheric pressure to the blueness of the sky. At night, after exhausting days of exploration, he would stay up recording data and writing detailed journal entries by candlelight. This relentless pursuit of knowledge took a physical toll—he suffered from fevers, insect bites, and near-drowning—but his enthusiasm never waned. Beyond scientific discovery, the expedition also opened Humboldt's eyes to the social and environmental impacts of colonialism. In Cuba and Mexico, he conducted detailed studies of colonial economies, documenting the environmental destruction caused by plantation agriculture and mining operations. He witnessed the brutal realities of slavery and became a lifelong opponent of the institution. His outspoken criticism of colonial exploitation revealed how his scientific vision was inseparable from his humanitarian values. When he returned to Europe in 1804, after also visiting the United States where he met President Thomas Jefferson, Humboldt had transformed from a curious young aristocrat into the most extraordinary scientist of his age, carrying with him not just specimens and measurements but a fundamentally new way of seeing the natural world.

Chapter 3: The Naturgemälde: Inventing Ecological Thinking

Standing on the slopes of Chimborazo in June 1802, Humboldt experienced an epiphany that would transform scientific thought. As he gazed at the mountain's vegetation zones—from tropical palms in the valleys to alpine plants and lichens near the snow line—everything he had ever observed fell into place. Nature, he realized, was not a collection of isolated specimens to be classified, but a living web of interconnections, a global force. After descending from the mountain, Humboldt began sketching his revolutionary concept: the Naturgemälde (nature-painting). This visual representation depicted Chimborazo in cross-section with plants distributed according to their altitudes, precisely where Humboldt had found them. To the left and right of the mountain, columns provided related information about temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, and other measurements at different elevations. This single image illustrated what no scientific work had ever shown before: nature as a unified whole with corresponding climate zones across continents. When published in his Essay on the Geography of Plants in 1807, the Naturgemälde represented a radical departure from previous scientific approaches. For centuries, botany had been dominated by classification systems, most notably Carl Linnaeus's sexual system that grouped plants based on their reproductive organs. Humboldt, however, grouped plants into zones and regions rather than taxonomic units. He showed how vegetation formed "long bands" that were slung across the globe, creating similar ecosystems at similar altitudes and latitudes, regardless of their geographic distance. This was the first ecological visualization, showing for the first time that nature was a global force with corresponding climate zones across continents. Humboldt's ecological vision extended beyond plants to encompass all aspects of the physical world. He recognized that climate, geology, plant distribution, and human activities were all interconnected parts of a single system. "In this great chain of causes and effects," Humboldt said, "no single fact can be considered in isolation." With this insight, he invented the concept of the web of life, the understanding of nature as we know it today. He was the first to recognize that the Earth functioned as a single interconnected organism, where changes in one region could affect distant parts of the system. This holistic perspective anticipated James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis by more than 150 years and laid the groundwork for modern ecology, though the term itself wouldn't be coined until after his death. Perhaps most remarkably, Humboldt recognized that this web of life was vulnerable to human disruption. After observing the devastating environmental effects of colonial plantations around Lake Valencia in Venezuela, he became the first scientist to warn about harmful human-induced climate change. He explained the forest's ability to enrich the atmosphere with moisture, its cooling effect, and its importance for water retention and soil protection. When forests are destroyed, he warned, "the springs are entirely dried up, or become less abundant" and instead of slowly augmenting rivers through progressive filtration, rainwater furrows the hillsides, bearing down loosened soil and causing sudden inundations that devastate the country. He cautioned that human interference in this delicate balance could have "incalculable" consequences for "future generations"—a warning that resonates even more powerfully today. Humboldt's ecological thinking was inseparable from his aesthetic appreciation of nature. Unlike many scientists who strove for cold objectivity, he believed that emotional response to nature's beauty was not opposed to scientific understanding but complementary to it. In his View of Nature, published in 1808, he created a new genre that combined lyrical prose with scientific observation. He wrote of the "glowing womb of the earth" and "bejewelled" riverbanks, of leaves unfolding "to greet the rising sun," and apes filling the jungle with "melancholy howlings." This was science unembarrassed by lyricism, a revolutionary approach that made his work accessible to both scientists and the general public. By integrating objective measurement with subjective experience, Humboldt created a new paradigm for understanding our planet that continues to influence environmental thinking today.

Chapter 4: Global Networks: Science Without Borders

Humboldt was the center of an extraordinary global network of scientific correspondence that spanned continents and disciplines. He exchanged letters with over 2,500 individuals during his lifetime—scientists, artists, politicians, and explorers from Europe to the Americas to Asia. The scale of his correspondence was staggering; he wrote between 30 and 50 letters daily, maintaining connections that transcended national, disciplinary, and social boundaries. "I see myself as an instrument of scientific connection," he once wrote, "a kind of intellectual conductor between different minds and different centuries." Through this vast web of communication, Humboldt not only disseminated his own ideas but created a new model of collaborative, interdisciplinary, and international scientific practice. His Paris apartment became a legendary hub of intellectual exchange where established scientists and promising newcomers could meet and exchange ideas. Visitors described entering rooms so packed with books, specimens, and scientific instruments that they could barely find a place to sit. Here, Humboldt received a constant stream of visitors from around the world—established scientists seeking his insights, young researchers hoping for his endorsement, travelers planning expeditions, and curious members of the public. He maintained an open-door policy, believing that scientific knowledge should be accessible to all, regardless of social status or formal credentials. This commitment to open science was revolutionary in an age when knowledge was often jealously guarded within elite institutions. Perhaps most significant was Humboldt's role as a mentor and patron to younger scientists. He used his influence to secure positions, funding, and recognition for promising researchers who might otherwise have remained obscure. When the young Charles Darwin returned from his voyage on the Beagle, it was Humboldt's enthusiastic endorsement that helped establish his scientific credibility. The chemist Justus von Liebig, the mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss, and the physicist Michael Faraday all benefited from Humboldt's support and connections. For many young scientists, a letter of introduction from Humboldt was more valuable than a university degree. This generosity came at personal cost—Humboldt spent his entire inheritance financing not only his own research but also the work of others, leaving him nearly destitute in his later years. Humboldt was particularly committed to breaking down national barriers in scientific research. At a time when nationalist rivalries were intensifying in Europe, he insisted that "science belongs to no one country" and worked to ensure that scientific findings were shared across borders. During the Napoleonic Wars, he maintained scientific correspondence between French and German scientists despite official hostilities. Later, he helped establish international scientific standards and collaborative research projects, such as his global network of magnetic observatories that collected synchronized measurements of Earth's magnetic field. This project, which involved dozens of stations from Russia to Tasmania, represented one of the first truly global scientific collaborations. His influence extended far beyond Europe. In Latin America, he inspired a generation of scientists and revolutionaries, including Simón Bolívar, who called him "the discoverer of the New World." After meeting Humboldt in Paris, Bolívar was inspired to return to South America and fight for independence from Spain. In the United States, Humboldt's ideas shaped the thinking of transcendentalist writers like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, who adapted his holistic view of nature to their own philosophical framework. Through his extensive correspondence and widely translated publications, Humboldt created what we might now call a global scientific community—a network of knowledge exchange that transcended political boundaries and laid the groundwork for international scientific collaboration that continues today.

Chapter 5: Cosmos: Unifying Knowledge Through Observation

In 1834, at the age of sixty-five, when most men would have been content to rest on their laurels, Humboldt embarked on what would become his magnum opus: "Cosmos: A Sketch of the Physical Description of the Universe." This ambitious work attempted nothing less than a comprehensive physical description of the entire universe, from distant nebulae to microscopic organisms, from ancient civilizations to contemporary science. The title itself was significant—the Greek word "kosmos" meant both "order" and "beauty," reflecting Humboldt's belief that nature was not only rationally comprehensible but aesthetically inspiring. Published in five volumes between 1845 and 1862, with the final volume appearing posthumously, "Cosmos" represented the culmination of Humboldt's life's work and intellectual vision. "Cosmos" was not merely a compendium of facts but an argument for a new way of seeing the world. Humboldt's central thesis was that nature must be experienced and understood as a unified whole, where physical, biological, and even human elements interact in a complex web of relationships. "The most important result of physical research," he wrote, "is to recognize unity in variety, to grasp all the single aspects as revealed by the discoveries of recent ages, to judge single phenomena not in isolation but in relation to the whole." This perspective challenged the increasing specialization of science in the 19th century, offering instead an integrated vision that connected astronomy to geology, meteorology to botany, human history to natural history. What made "Cosmos" truly revolutionary was Humboldt's insistence that scientific understanding and aesthetic appreciation were not opposed but complementary approaches to nature. Unlike many scientists who dismissed emotional responses to nature as subjective and therefore irrelevant, Humboldt argued that wonder and awe were essential components of true understanding. "Nature," he wrote, "must be experienced through feeling." This integration of the objective and subjective represented a powerful challenge to the increasing mechanization of science in the 19th century. Humboldt believed that the scientist who could not appreciate the beauty of a landscape or feel moved by a starry sky was as limited as the poet who knew nothing of geology or astronomy. The public response to "Cosmos" was unprecedented. The first volume sold out on its publication day in Germany and was quickly translated into nearly all European languages. In the United States, where Humboldt had become a cultural hero, bookstores were mobbed by eager readers. The work's accessibility was intentional—Humboldt wanted to democratize scientific knowledge, writing that "the most important truths of natural knowledge should be presented clearly and forcibly to all classes of society." From Queen Victoria to factory workers, from university professors to self-educated farmers, "Cosmos" found an enthusiastic audience, demonstrating the public's hunger for a unified understanding of nature at a time when industrialization was transforming humanity's relationship with the natural world. "Cosmos" influenced not only scientists but artists, writers, and philosophers. Ralph Waldo Emerson called Humboldt "one of those wonders of the world" after reading it. Walt Whitman, whose poem "Kosmos" directly referenced Humboldt's work, adopted its vision of cosmic unity. Edgar Allan Poe dedicated his final work, "Eureka," to Humboldt, calling him "the most noble of men." Landscape painters like Frederic Edwin Church undertook expeditions to South America specifically to capture the interconnected vision of nature that Humboldt had described. Through "Cosmos," Humboldt's holistic vision reached a global audience, inspiring generations of thinkers to see the world as a unified whole rather than a collection of isolated parts. In his final years, Humboldt worked tirelessly on "Cosmos" despite declining health and financial difficulties. His apartment in Berlin overflowed with books, manuscripts, and scientific specimens from around the world. He corresponded daily with scientists across Europe and the Americas, incorporating their latest findings into his work. Even as his eyesight failed and his strength diminished, his intellectual energy remained undiminished. When he died in 1859 at age 89, he had completed most but not all of his cosmic vision. Yet even unfinished, "Cosmos" represented an unprecedented achievement—a work that sought to unify not only all branches of scientific knowledge but also to reconcile science with art, feeling with thought, and human history with natural history.

Chapter 6: Environmental Prophet: Warning of Human Impact

In an age of industrial revolution and colonial expansion, when most Europeans viewed nature primarily as a resource to be exploited, Humboldt developed a remarkably prescient understanding of environmental fragility. During his Latin American expedition, he documented how human activities had already transformed landscapes and disrupted natural systems. At Lake Valencia in Venezuela, Humboldt made one of his most significant observations. The lake's water levels were falling rapidly, and locals believed this was due to an underground outlet. Humboldt, however, measured, examined, and questioned until he concluded that the clearing of surrounding forests and diversion of water for irrigation were the true causes. The forests had previously shielded the soil from the sun, diminishing evaporation and holding moisture. Here, Humboldt developed his groundbreaking idea of human-induced climate change, becoming the first scientist to warn about the environmental consequences of deforestation and agricultural practices. Humboldt was among the first to identify specific mechanisms of human-induced environmental change. He explained how forests regulate water cycles and how their removal could lead to flooding and drought. He documented how mining operations released toxins into water systems, poisoning both aquatic life and human communities. Perhaps most significantly, he recognized that these environmental impacts were not merely local but could have far-reaching consequences through what we now call ecological connections. "In this great chain of causes and effects," he wrote, "no single fact can be considered in isolation." This understanding of cascading environmental impacts anticipated modern systems thinking by more than a century. Unlike many of his contemporaries who saw European colonization as bringing "civilization" to "savage" lands, Humboldt was sharply critical of colonial exploitation. He recognized that indigenous peoples often possessed sophisticated knowledge of local environments and sustainable practices that Europeans ignored to their detriment. During his time in Venezuela, he documented how indigenous agricultural methods preserved soil fertility, while European plantations quickly exhausted the land. This respect for indigenous knowledge was radical for its time and anticipated modern approaches to traditional ecological wisdom. Humboldt wrote that the idea that certain races were created to serve others was "one that I shall combat," connecting environmental destruction with the social injustice of colonialism and slavery. Humboldt's environmental concerns were inseparable from his humanitarian values. He was a lifelong opponent of slavery, not only on moral grounds but because he recognized how slave-based economies encouraged environmental destruction. Plantation systems treated both human beings and natural resources as expendable commodities, creating cycles of exploitation that damaged societies and landscapes alike. Humboldt believed that sustainable relationships with nature required just social arrangements—an insight that anticipates modern concepts of environmental justice. His Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain (Mexico) combined scientific observations with scathing criticism of Spanish colonial rule, documenting how the colonies were exploited for raw materials while their environments and indigenous populations suffered. Though Humboldt's warnings went largely unheeded in his lifetime, as industrialization and colonization accelerated, his ideas became increasingly influential in the emerging conservation movements of the late 19th century. George Perkins Marsh's "Man and Nature" (1864), often considered the first systematic analysis of human environmental impact, drew heavily on Humboldt's observations. John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club, explicitly modeled his approach to nature on Humboldt's. When President Theodore Roosevelt dramatically expanded America's protected lands in the early 20th century, he was implementing a vision that traced directly back to Humboldt's writings. Today, as humanity grapples with climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation on a global scale, Humboldt's integrated understanding of natural systems and human impacts seems more relevant than ever, earning him recognition as the forgotten father of environmentalism.

Chapter 7: Legacy: The Man Who Inspired Modern Science

On September 14, 1869, the centennial of Alexander von Humboldt's birth was celebrated across the world with a fervor that seems almost unimaginable today. From Melbourne to Moscow, from San Francisco to Berlin, people gathered to honor a man whose name had become synonymous with scientific exploration and a new understanding of nature. In New York City, 25,000 people assembled in Central Park for the unveiling of a bronze bust, while a torchlight procession of 15,000 marched through the streets. In Berlin, despite torrential rain, 80,000 people attended celebrations, and government offices were closed for the day. This global reverence reflected Humboldt's extraordinary impact on how humanity understood the natural world. Humboldt's scientific legacy spans so many fields that it is difficult to enumerate them all. He revolutionized multiple scientific disciplines, from botany and geography to meteorology and oceanography. He pioneered the concept of isotherms—the lines of temperature and pressure we see on today's weather maps—and discovered the magnetic equator. His detailed studies of the Gulf Stream improved navigation and enhanced understanding of ocean currents. In geology, he recognized the volcanic origin of certain rock formations, challenging prevailing theories. Most significantly, he introduced the concept of nature as an interconnected web of life, where climate, vegetation, and human activity all influence each other in a delicate balance. This ecological vision, radical in his time, has become the foundation of our modern environmental understanding. Humboldt's influence extended far beyond science into art, literature, and politics. His integration of scientific observation with aesthetic appreciation influenced generations of landscape painters, particularly the Hudson River School in America. Frederic Edwin Church, one of America's greatest landscape painters, followed Humboldt's footsteps through South America, creating monumental canvases that combined scientific accuracy with sublime beauty. In literature, Humboldt's writings inspired authors from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe to Henry David Thoreau to Edgar Allan Poe. Walt Whitman's cosmic vision in "Leaves of Grass" owes much to Humboldt's unified view of nature. Politically, Humboldt's criticism of colonialism and slavery helped shape the independence movements in Latin America, while his insistence on the free exchange of knowledge across national boundaries established a model for international scientific collaboration. Though largely forgotten in the English-speaking world by the mid-twentieth century, Humboldt's name remains inscribed across the globe. More places bear his name than that of any other historical figure: counties, towns, rivers, bays, and mountains across the Americas; the Humboldt Current along the coast of Chile and Peru; and the Humboldt Redwoods State Park in California. Nearly 300 plants and more than 100 animals carry his name, including the Humboldt penguin and the fierce predatory Humboldt squid. Even on the moon, there is an area called "Mare Humboldtianum." These geographical tributes reflect the global impact of a man who saw the world as an interconnected whole. Perhaps Humboldt's most enduring legacy is his approach to knowledge itself. In an age of increasing specialization, he insisted on the unity of knowledge and the importance of seeing connections across disciplines. "The most dangerous worldview," he wrote, "is the worldview of those who have not viewed the world." This belief in the value of direct experience, of climbing the mountain rather than merely studying it from afar, remains his most enduring lesson. His integration of precise measurement with aesthetic appreciation, of scientific rigor with humanitarian values, provides a model for addressing the complex challenges of our own time. As we face unprecedented environmental and social crises in the twenty-first century, Humboldt's vision of nature as a complex web of life becomes ever more relevant. In rediscovering Humboldt, we recover not just a remarkable historical figure but a way of seeing the world that combines scientific rigor with moral purpose and aesthetic sensitivity—a vision that may be essential for our shared future on this planet.

Summary

Alexander von Humboldt transformed our understanding of the natural world by revealing its fundamental interconnectedness. Where others saw isolated phenomena to be classified and cataloged, Humboldt perceived a living web where everything affects everything else—what he called "the unity of nature." This revolutionary perspective not only created the foundations for modern ecology, biogeography, and climate science, but also challenged the exploitative relationship between humans and the environment that dominated his era. His warnings about deforestation, climate change, and environmental degradation were prophetic, anticipating our current environmental crises by more than two centuries. Humboldt's legacy offers a powerful antidote to the fragmentation of knowledge that characterizes much of modern life. His ability to move fluidly between scientific disciplines, to combine precise measurement with aesthetic appreciation, and to connect environmental concerns with social justice provides a model for addressing the complex challenges we face today. In an age of climate change and ecological crisis, Humboldt's integrated vision reminds us that understanding our world requires both specialized expertise and the ability to see the bigger picture. For scientists, his work demonstrates the value of communicating complex ideas in accessible language; for environmentalists, he shows how scientific understanding can inform ethical action; and for everyone, he offers the insight that true knowledge comes not just from books and laboratories but from direct, personal engagement with the wonders of the natural world.

About Author

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Andrea Wulf

Andrea Wulf is a biographer. She is the author of The Brother Gardeners, published in April 2008. It was longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize and received a CBHL Annual Literature Award in 2010. She was born in India, moved to Germany as a child, and now resides in Britain.

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