#3 in Nature & environment
The Invention of Nature
- 555
- Pages
- about 10 h
- Reading time
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Our view
“The Invention of Nature” is a lively, clearly written portrait of Alexander von Humboldt and his idea of nature as one connected whole. Andrea Wulf follows him from childhood through his Latin American journey and back to Europe, then traces his mark on figures such as Darwin and Thoreau. Some readers find her warm portrait too uncritical and would trade parts of the chapters on his heirs for more of the travels.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World is a non-fiction book released in 2015, by the historian Andrea Wulf about the Prussian naturalist, explorer and geographer Alexander von Humboldt. The book follows Humboldt from his early childhood and travels through Europe as a young man to his journey through Latin America and his return to Europe. Wulf makes the case that Humboldt synthesized knowledge from many different fields to form a vision of nature as one interconnected system, that would go on to influence scientists, activists and the public.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.3 across 97 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 40% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Nature & environment average of 8.1. That is how 8.2 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.5 | 15 | 16% |
| Hardcover | 8.3 | 82 | 85% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Invention of Nature?
It has 555 pages — longer than 83% of the ranked books in Nature & environment.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Nature & environment — with scores between 7.8 and 8.7, closest to this book.
