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Reviews tagging 'Slavery'
The Invention of Nature: Alexander Von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf
2 reviews
olorin85's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Slavery
jonwood's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
I found parts of the book hard to follow and get into. The beginning of the book was rather slow and there would be long tangents on other historical figures that sometimes I would be confuse by and leave wondering how does this relate to the topic. For instance, there was a chapter on Thomas Jefferson that felt like it was out of a different biography. Perhaps my confusion at times was the result of listening to the audiobook. Regardless, there were long stretches that left be bored or not knowing what the point was.
After reading, I still don't feel I know what Von Humboldt did or contribute other than his massive Cosmos book that seems quite popular amongst contemporaries. Maybe he was the Bill Nye or Brian Greene of his time, but I'm not sure I could explain to someone why this person was significant. Also, after his death in the book, three following chapters followed each focusing on a different individual inspired by Von Humboldt, which was an odd structure for a biography, especially considering each of these chapters' lengths.
After reading, I still don't feel I know what Von Humboldt did or contribute other than his massive Cosmos book that seems quite popular amongst contemporaries. Maybe he was the Bill Nye or Brian Greene of his time, but I'm not sure I could explain to someone why this person was significant. Also, after his death in the book, three following chapters followed each focusing on a different individual inspired by Von Humboldt, which was an odd structure for a biography, especially considering each of these chapters' lengths.
Content Warnings
Minor: Colonisation, Death, and Slavery
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