Andrea Wulf

The acclaimed author of "Founding Gardeners "reveals the forgotten life 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. NATIONAL BEST SELLER One of the"New York Times "10Best Books of the Year A""Best Book of the Year: "The Economist," "Publishers Weekly," "Kirkus Reviews" Shortlist -- Costa Biography Award Finalist -- Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist -- Kirkus Reviews Prize for Nonfiction Alexander von Humboldt (1769 1859) was an intrepid explorer and the most famous scientist of his age. In North America, his name still graces four counties, thirteen towns, a river, parks, bays, lakes, and mountains. His restless life was packed with adventure and discovery, whether he was climbing the highest volcanoes in the world or racing through anthrax-infected Siberia or translating his research into bestselling publications that changed science and thinking. Among Humboldt s most revolutionary ideas was a radical vision of nature, that it is a complex and interconnected global force that does not exist for the use of humankind alone. Now Andrea Wulf brings the man and his achievements back into focus: his daring expeditions and investigation of wild environments around the world and his discoveries of similarities between climate and vegetation zones on different continents. She also discusses his prediction of human-induced climate change, his remarkable ability to fashion poetic narrative out of scientific observation, and his relationships with iconic figures such as Simon Bolivar and Thomas Jefferson. Wulf examines how Humboldt s writings inspired other naturalists and poets such as Darwin, Wordsworth, and Goethe, and she makes the compelling case that it was Humboldt s influence that led John Muir to his ideas of natural preservation and that shaped Thoreau s "Walden." With this brilliantly researched and compellingly written book, Andrea Wulf shows the myriad fundamental ways in which Humboldt created our understanding of the natural world, and she champions a renewed interest in this vital and lost player in environmental history and science. "From the Hardcover edition.""

Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) je velký zapomenutý vědec – je po něm pojmenováno více věci, než po komkoli jiném. Existují města, řeky, pohoří, oceánský proud, který se táhne podél pobřeží Jižní Ameriky, pak je tu tučňák, obří chobotnice – dokonce i Humboldtovo moře na Měsíci. Jeho dobrodružství a objevitelské výpravy byly úžasné: Humboldt pronikl hluboko do deštného pralesa, vylezl na nejvyšší sopku na světě a inspiroval šlechtice, prezidenty, vědce i básníky. Žárlil na něj sám Napoleon. Inspiroval i Darwina k plavbě na Beagle. Jules Verne vlastnil mnoho jeho knih. Byl prostě úžasný. Nyní máte příležitost užít si fantastickou cestu po jeho stopách - závody napříč Ruskem nebo mapování tropické řeky plné krokodýlů. Andrea Wulf poukazuje na důležitost jeho myšlenek, a že jsou aktuální i dnes. Humboldt předpověděl změnu klimatu vlivem činnosti člověka již v roce 1800 a jeho objevy a nápady dodnes využívají vědci, ochránci přírody, spisovatelé, politici i umělci. Chtěl znát a rozumět všemu a jeho způsob myšlení překonal dobu.

A 18-19. században élt Alexander von Humboldt, miközben bejárta Dél-Amerikát és Oroszországot, elsőként ismerte fel, hogy a természetben minden mindennel összefügg, hogy az emberi tevékenység veszedelmes éghajlatváltozáshoz, növény- és állatfajok végleges kipusztulásához vezethet. Korának népszerű előadója volt, könyveinek példányszáma a mai sikerkönyvekével vetekedett. Az indiai születésű, Angliában élő Andrea Wulf (1972) történész-író ezt a méltatlanul elfeledett természettudóst és utazót állítja könyve középpontjába: A természet feltalálója 2015-ben a Costa Könyvdíj életrajz kategóriájának győztese lett.

In the 1790s an extraordinary group of friends changed the world. Disappointed by the French Revolution's rapid collapse into tyranny, what they wanted was nothing less than a revolution of the mind. The rulers of Europe had ordered their peoples how to think and act for too long. Based in the small German town of Jena, through poetry, drama, philosophy and science, they transformed the way we think about ourselves and the world around us. They were the first Romantics. Their way of understanding the world still frames our lives and being.We're still empowered by their daring leap into the self. We still think with their minds, see with their imagination and feel with their emotions. We also still walk the same tightrope between meaningful self-fulfilment and destructive narcissism, between the rights of the individual and our role as a member of our community and our responsibilities towards future generations who will inhabit this planet. This extraordinary group of friends changed our world. It is impossible to imagine our lives, thoughts and understanding without the foundation of their ground-breaking ideas.