On the Origin of David Attenborough

Oct 2017
The Invention of Nature - Andrea Wulf – John Murray, 2016
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Alexander von Humboldt should be a hero for Guardian readers. Like James Cook he was a scientist-explorer, and his books were a strong influence on Charles Darwin. Unlike Cook, he genuinely seemed to like and respect the native people he met. He loathed slavery and supported radical political causes, meeting and corresponding with Thomas Jefferson and Simon Bolivar. He was probably either gay or asexual - he never married and his surviving correspondence shows that his close emotional relationships were with men, but he claimed that he "didn't know sensual needs". His holistic view of nature led to the establishment of ecology as a discipline, and inspired John Muir who in turn was influential in the creation of National Parks in the United States. I think it is safe to say that without Humboldt, there would have been no David Attenborough.
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