Review: The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World

The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I confess I read this out of guilt. Humboldt's name is one that I had heard before and thought I should probably know something about, but really didn't. Anyway, I'm very glad I picked up this book.

Humboldt was certainly a character, and probably one of the first to decide to live freely, and not be confined by states or politics, in order to discover the world. He also was pretty much the precursor to Darwin's theory of evolution.

The last section of the book seemed like a bit of a stretch, since it dealt with people who were inspired by Humboldt, and then people who were inspired by the people who were inspired by Humboldt, etc. But it was all very enlightening.

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Review: Bolívar: American Liberator

Bolívar: American Liberator by Marie Arana
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm glad I read this book, since I knew next to nothing about Bolivar, and he seems to be an oddly neglected conqueror and leader. All in all this was very new and enlightening to me. I was amazed at how involved Europeans and Americans were with everything as well. And pretty much by definition this is also a history of the origins of many of South America's countries.

There were many fascinating characters, but I would especially like to know more about Boves, who seems repulsive but also oddly fascinating. I would also like to read more about Jose de San Martin.

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