Now reading: The Invention of Nature – Alexander von Humboldt’s New World by Andrea Wulf.
I grew up knowing Humboldt’s name; there is an avenue named after him in my hometown. Back then I knew he was what one may call a Natural Philosopher and avid explorer. What I did not know was that he is behind many of the ideas that permeate our thinking about ecology, environmental science and—in one word— nature.