Welcome to Litsy!

I‘ve developed a strong appreciation for Alexander von Humboldt and his work after reading this book. His writings were incredibly prophetic in terms on environmental concerns. Extremely well written; not something to skim through. I learned so much about so many things, which was Humboldt‘s polymath style. Well worth reading.

The hurricane didn‘t impact us too much, but it did upend our regular schedule. It was really nice to take a coffee and books break this morning.

Well this is my #WickedWords pick to get this one off my TBR! I picked this one up a few years ago in an Audible 2-for-1 credit sale and so it was nice to finally give it a listen! Humboldt is not as much of a household name as he once was- he inspired Darwin, Haeckel and more, has countless species and places named after him & was among the first to record the negative impact humanity has made on the natural wonders of the earth. #New @AsYouWish

Hubby loved this, and since finishing The Founding Gardeners by the same author, I‘ve been anxious to read it. Starting it today.

This is a great biography of Alexander Humboldt, the most influential scientist you probably never heard of. It details his life, his travels, his philosophy and those of others that were influenced by him.

Starting this biography of Alexander Humboldt. The intro makes him look very interesting alre already 🤩

I had never heard of Humboldt. It was fascinating to see what an influence he had on science and the idea of how humans are interconnected with, and part of, nature.

Read for #MuseumPlaceBookGroup in 2020.

#History #Biography

We had “First Christmas” today, because our grandson will be with his dad from tomorrow night until after New Years. So he wasn‘t the only one opening gifts, @Alisnazzy , hubby and I each opened one gift. This is what @Alisnazzy gave her dad. I plan to read it once he‘s finished 😄

1. Stay up late! And then suffer the next morning 😂
2. Invisible Cities
3. By topic!

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

#AcrossApril @Eggs my post for 21st and 22nd!
Also #BloomingBibliophiles my post for 19 and 21 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620

BINGO! #Biography #jennyis30

4 ⭐

"The letterhead stated ‘Squirrelville, Sequoia Co, Nut time‘ – and on he goes: ‘The King tree & me have sworn eternal love.‘"

@squirrelbrain ???

#weeklyforecast 2/2/20 @Cinfhen

Finish:
The Dogs of Riga

Make progress on/Finish:
The Invention of Nature

Start:
A Storm of Witchcraft
The Black Dahlia

4.25⭐️

This was such a well done telling of the life and lasting impact of Alexander con Humboldt. I never knew about him before reading this book but I learned about how much he had influenced many of the people in environmental history that I greatly admire. This book starts with his early life and continues through his career and worldly travel till his death; after which it is followed by the influences he had on people in the field.

Darwin. Thoreau. John Muir. These were just a few of the people he inspired, yet most people have never heard of Alexander von Humboldt (myself included). This was a fascinating biography and history lesson (I was shocked to read the word "scientist" didn't even come into the language until 1834). Fans of the Romantics and nature writing will enjoy this. Wulf has an eye for detail but the narrative moves at a quick pace.

Following along with my audiobook ☺️ Really enjoying not having to do anything today but getting together with family for our block party in a few hours.

#audiobook #relaxing #nonfiction #chicago #il

I‘ve found the perfect reading spot for the day, thanks to my cousin. She‘s done quite well for herself. Loving this book so far.

Y‘all if you didn‘t know, there was an alligator set loose in Humboldt Park a little over two weeks ago. Seeing as Chicago is Chicago, they named him Chance the Snapper and gave him a bow tie. I just thought it‘s great because I‘m reading the history of the name sake of the park!

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chance-the-snapper-alligator-caught-humbol...

#chicago #funny #Illinois

I love this book. It feeds my nerdy history and nature loving interests in a well written and readable manner.
5⭐️

I didn‘t know much about Alexander von Humboldt prior to this read but I was awed by his understanding of the interconnectedness of living things — inspiring Darwin, Thoreau, Goethe, and the modern understanding of life. The book describes Humboldt‘s impact on science as so great that he‘s lost to general science education — he created an idea so commonplace that no one asks who thought of it. And that idea was nature. Very cool book.

Happy Earth Day (found at IdealBookshelf‘s Instagram)

Alexander Von Humboldt's fascination with both the science and beauty of nature seems to have been well ahead of his time. His perspective of the way nature is an interconnected web is the foundation of much of our environmental science. He was also one of the first to speak out about the ecological as well as human impact of colonization. Excellent read about a naturalist who had a profound impact on both the scientific and artistic world.

That‘s an 1807 portrait of Alexander von Humbolt.

Wulf writes an homage to von Humbolt and his unified view of nature - everything is connected. Kind of worshipped in his era as an unprecedented poetic nature writer, he would influence Simon Bolivar, Darwin, Thoreau, Muir and others. Wulf writes with a narrow focus, zooming in for adventurous narratives, but with weak context and background. It makes an enjoyable but flawed book.

The next audiobook. I‘ll start this morning.

I'm glad I read this book as von Humboldt was fascinating and his name is everywhere once I started noticing it. I'd had no idea who he was before this book and the author does a good job describes the rise and fall of his fame. The book describes his work and its effects, which are important, but by the end, after he had died, I found the descriptions a bit long-winded. Overall, though, an excellent read!

#relatable

I forgot to post my first readathon book! I tackled a nonfiction biography about the scientist Alexander Von Humbolt. His theories inspired other thinkers of his time and still found to influence environmental science today. The prose is clean and clear and very engaging of a topic. @24in48 #bookriotreadharderchallenge

Humboldt, one of the founders of natural science as we know it today, looks so happy here among the biological majesty of South America. He also doesn't seem to mind that I'm winding a ball of yarn while I read about him.

Starting this one. The prologue is set in Chimborazo (Ecuador) a place I always want to go back to. #alexandervonhumboldt #biography

"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." #Nature #NoteworthyNovember

⭐⭐⭐⭐A biography if Alexander Von Humboldt and a history of his influence on writers and scientists. I listened to the audio book and found this very informative and enjoyed the writing. Explores how Humboldt helped to plant the seed of the environmental movement. Fit in well with the other books I'm reading lately about science in the age of exploration and nature conservation and preservation.

Much more biography than nature writing, in my opinion, and Alexander von Humboldt was a pretty interesting guy (autodidact scientist, naturalist, and adventurer) in an interesting time (that end of 18th century/beginning of 19th century period when scientific discoveries were advancing rapidly in all disciplines). A slow read and it takes a lot of meandering paths into other peoples' lives. But still an interesting book.

"Nature everywhere speaks to man in a voice…familiar to his soul"

Library haul for today #smallstack

Current read: This biography intersperses stories Alexander von Humbolt's life and his influence on his contemporaries.

#junetunz day 3

#aintnobody like Alexander Von Humboldt, the father of ecological science. The reach of his studies and influence made him the most famous scientist of his day, and he remains one of the most memorialized individuals in history.

The book tends to feel rather shallow for the sake of accessibility, which granted falls in line with Humboldt's legacy of bringing scientific thought to the masses. A good read, unlikely to revisit.

#maybookflowers day 29 - #inmemorium

Just got to the death of Alexander Humboldt, the father of modern nature studies, and at the time of his centennial, one of the most famous men in the world (would that scientists today were so revered).

I loved the way Andrea Wulf did scientist-biography in this book. It was fantastic! I would love to meet her and see what she's working on next.
I was going to say "Mary Roach" for the #KostovaGiveaway but I already met her once and I was suuuuper awkward. No need to repeat that nonsense.

Library day. Let's see which ones I actually read this time. (I am halfway through The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society because I started it as an e-book.)

#aprilbookshowers day 26 - #gardentitles

A little too restrictive of a theme for my taste, but I think this works, especially given the mention of Wulf's previous work.

Liking it so far, though its more readable nature makes it a bit less engaging than some of the more dense non-fiction works I've read lately.

I wanted to read this for a long time and was so excited when it was selected for my work book club (I work at a botanical research institution) 🌿 I've spent the last two days reading all that I can about Alexander von Humboldt. He was amazing! #bookclub #humboldt #naturalhistory #naturalist #science #scientist (don't mind the #corgi in the background!)

Hung out with Goethe & Bolivar, and inspired Darwin, while traveling much of the world studying nature and climbing mountains--Alexander von Humbolt's one of my new heroes.

Many things were named after Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), the noted geographer and explorer. #currentlyreading #audiobook

“The effects of the human species‘ intervention were already ‘incalculable‘, Humboldt insisted, and could become catastrophic if they continued to disturb the world so ‘brutally‘. Humboldt would see again and again how humankind unsettled the balance of nature.” #litsyreadingchallenge2017 #takesplaceover150yearsago

A little stop-off at Powell's resulted in a little purchase. Tee-hee! 😎

"As he lay there on his back and looked up at the sky, so far from home and the European instrument makers, he had declared: “Lucky are those who travel without instruments that break.“"

I didn't know nearly enough about Alexander Von Humboldt before reading this; explorer, scientist, abolitionist, unwitting grandfather of the environmental movement, love of my life.

I never knew of Alexander Von Humboldt yet have planned to live in Humboldt county and attend Humboldt state! This book really sucked me in as it involves everything that interests me: Science, philosophy, art, nature, exploring, learning! History (but not a big fan of history hehe.) A fantastic, and even important read. Amazing what a single person can do for the World. Read it!