Andrea Wulf

La espléndida biografía de Alexander von Humboldt, el héroe perdido de la ciencia y padre de la ecología. La invención de la naturaleza revela la extraordinaria vida del visionario naturalista alemán Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) y como creo una nueva forma de entender la naturaleza. Humboldt fue un intrepido explorador y el cientifico mas famoso de su epoca. Su agitada vida estuvo repleta de aventuras y descubrimientos: escalo los volcanes mas altos del mundo, remo por el Orinoco y recorrio una Siberia infestada de antrax. Capaz de percibir la naturaleza como una fuerza global interconectada, Humboldt descubrio similitudes entre distintas zonas climaticas de todo el mundo, y previo el peligro de un cambio climatico provocado por el hombre. Convirtio la observacion cientifica en narrativa poetica, y sus escritos inspiraron no solo a naturalistas y escritores como Darwin, Wordsworth y Goethe, sino tambien a politicos como Jefferson o Simon Bolivar. Ademas, fueron las ideas de Humboldt las que llevaron a John Muir a perseverar en sus teorias, y a Thoreau a escribir su Walden. Wulf rastrea la influencia de Humboldt en las grandes mentes de su tiempo, a las que inspiro en ambitos como la revolucion, la teoria de evolucion, la ecologia, la conservacion, el arte y la literatura. Una lectura que cobra importancia en el Dia mundial del medioambiente. La invencion de la naturaleza esta entre los mejores libros del año segun The New York Times, The Independent y Publishers Weekly entre otros.Reseñas:Mi libro favorito con diferencia es esta increible biografia sobre el visionario naturalista aleman cuyas ideas cambiaron nuestra manera de ver el mundo natural y que configuran la conciencia medioambiental moderna. Amigo de Goethe, influyo en Darwin, Thomas Jefferson y Bolivar. El demostro tener una vision unitaria de la vida. Hoy nos ponemos en su piel cuando debatimos sobre cambio climatico. Un pensador pasado por alto, pese a serun poderoso recordatorio de voces que advirtieron sobre sobreexplotacion, contaminacion y derechos humanos.Francesca Thyssen, ABC ("30 libros para una cuarentena") Una lectura sensacional. El estupendo nuevo libro de Andrea Wulf se atreve con la figura de Alexander von Humboldt. La invencion de la naturaleza es un elogio de altisima calidad a una figura cautivadora.Simon Winder, The GuardianUn libro emocionante. [...] Es imposible leer La invencion de la naturaleza sin contraer la fiebre Humboldt. Wulf tiene el poder de volvernos a todos humboldtianos. Por momentos se lee como literatura de aventuras, y la investigacion de Wulf tiene dimensiones casi humboldtianas.New York Review of Books Consigue su objetivo de rescatar la reputacion de Humboldt de la grieta enla que el y muchos otros escritores y cientificos alemanes cayeron despues de la Segunda Guerra Mundial.The Independent Wulf demuestra que Humboldt fue un autentico visionario, cuya perspectiva es hoy mas pertinente que nunca.Booklist Una biografia brillantemente escrita. Como demuestra este maravilloso libro, la figura de Humboldt deberia incorporarse a toda prisa en todos los programas educativos de la Tierra.The Scotsman

La aventura filosófica de un grupo de jóvenes rebeldes, el Círculo de Jena, que dio lugar al Romanticismo y a nuestra comprensión moderna de la libertad. EL REGRESO DE ANDREA WULF TRAS LA INVENCIÓN DE LA NATURALEZA Magnificos rebeldes vibra con la pasion salvaje y las ideas radicales de un nuevo mundo libre creado a partir de la poesia, el sexo, la musica y el romanticismo. Absolutamente fascinante.SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE ¿Cuando empezamos a exigir el derecho a decidir sobre nuestras vidas? ¿En que momento nos volvimos tan egocentricos como lo somos hoy? ¿Cuando nos planteamos por primera vez la pregunta ¿Como puedo ser libre?. Todo comenzo en una tranquila ciudad universitaria de Alemania en la decada de 1790, cuando un grupo de dramaturgos, poetas y escritores pusieron el yo en el centro del escenario de su pensamiento, su escritura y sus vidas. Este brillante circulo incluia a los famosos poetas Goethe, Schiller y Novalis; a los visionarios filosofos Fichte, Schelling y Hegel; a los polemicos hermanos Schlegel; y, en un maravilloso cameo, a Alexander von Humboldt. En el corazon de este grupo estaba la formidable Caroline Schlegel, gran instigadora de sus deslumbrantes conversaciones sobre el yo, la naturaleza, la identidad y la libertad. La colaboracion entre estas figuras lanzo el romanticismo al escenario mundial. En sus vidas exuberantes se nos revelan peleas epicas, historias de amor apasionadas, penas desgarradoras y, sobre todo, ideas radicales en torno al poder creativo del yo, asi como las mas altas aspiraciones del arte y la ciencia, la unidad de la naturaleza y el verdadero significado de la libertad. Asi fue como estos jovenes romanticos incitaron una revolucion mental que transformo nuestro mundo para siempre. Hoy seguimos avanzando por la misma cuerda floja entre la autorrealizacion personal y el narcisismo destructivo, entre los derechos individuales y las responsabilidades hacia la comunidad y las generaciones futuras. En el corazon de este libro inspirador se encuentra la tension, extremadamente moderna, entre los peligros del egoismo y las emocionantes posibilidades que ofrece la libertad del individuo.La critica ha dicho: Un retrato brillante, ambicioso, atractivo y apasionado. Sentimos la emocion de vivir la epoca. Una verdadera hazaña.Times Literary Supplement Maravilloso.Un apasionante relato del Circulo de Jena que da vida al elenco de manera convincente.Financial Times Una historia brillante contada con gran pulso narrativo e impecablemente investigada. El libro tiene una gracia irresistible y de lo mas apropiada para contar la historia de estas luminosas personalidades. Daily TelegraphUn libro magnifico: una revelacion que facilmente puede convertirse en obsesion. The Spectator Delicioso y estimulante, un digno sucesor de la aclamada biografia de Humboldt. The Times

El emocionante relato de la primera colaboración científica internacional, por la autora de La invención de la naturaleza. Cómo los científicos ilustrados se unieron para medir las profundidades del universo. Durante dos dias en 1761 y 1769, cientos de cientificos de paises europeos y de las colonias norteamericanas apuntaron sus telescopios hacia el cielo para observar un raro acontecimiento astronomico: el transito de Venus por delante de la superficie del Sol. Fueron enviados a los rincones mas remotos de nuestro planeta para observar el encuentro celeste, que permitiria calcular el tamaño del sistema solar. En busca de Venus narra de manera extraordinaria la vida de las personas que se embarcaron en esta compleja y esencial aventura y nos ofrece un vivido retrato de las contribuciones y el entusiasmo que hubo detras de la primera colaboracion cientifica internacional, pero tambien nos presenta las rivalidades y los acontecimientos politicos que fueron obstaculizando cada paso de la investigacion. Un libro rebosante de accion y detalles maravillosos que nos revela el espiritu de la Ilustracion y la eterna obsesion del ser humano por entender el mundo.La critica ha dicho...Una aventura cautivadora. El maravilloso ojo de Wulf para los detalles y su talento a la hora de volver accesibles las complejidades cientificas hacen de este libro una lectura muy recomendable.San Francisco Chronicle Un libro que tanto los astrofisicos como los poetas pueden comprender.The Boston GlobeApasionante. Sin duda sera uno de los libros de no ficcion del año. No se pierdan esta maravillosa obra.The Daily Mail Una historia seductora. La sensibilidad de Wulf para entender las personalidades y su atencion tanto a los registros cientificos como a losdiarios de los astronomos dan vida a sus hazañas como exploradores, pero tambien como aventureros.The Washington Times Un estupendo ejemplo de narracion cientifica. Relatado con elegante pericia.The Times Una historia muy humana y una entusiasta invitacion a la exploracion del universo por placer.The Daily TelegraphMagistral. Wulf relata la impresionante transformacion de Venus de objeto de asombro mitologico a instrumento para la revelacion cientifica.The Guardian Emocionante. Wulf cuenta una historia cautivadora y fascinante.The Independent

El libro ilustrado de Alexander von Humboldt, el héroe perdido de la ciencia y padre de la ecología. Alexander Humboldt fue un intrépido explorador y el científico más famoso de su época. Su agitada vida estuvo repleta de aventuras y descubrimientos: escalo los volcanes mas altos del mundo, remo por el Orinoco y recorrio una Siberia infestada de antrax. Capaz de percibir la naturaleza como una fuerza global interconectada, Humboldt descubrio similitudes entre distintas zonas climaticas de todo el mundo, y previo el peligro de un cambio climatico provocado por el hombre. En este precioso libro ilustrado se recoge la historia de su viaje al corazon de la naturaleza.

La espléndida biografía de Alexander von Humboldt, el héroe perdido de la ciencia y padre de la ecología. La invención de la naturaleza revela la extraordinaria vida del visionario naturalista alemán Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) y como creo una nueva forma de entender la naturaleza. Humboldt fue un intrepido explorador y el cientifico mas famoso de su epoca. Su agitada vida estuvo repleta de aventuras y descubrimientos: escalo los volcanes mas altos del mundo, remo por el Orinoco y recorrio una Siberia infestada de antrax. Capaz de percibir la naturaleza como una fuerza global interconectada, Humboldt descubrio similitudes entre distintas zonas climaticas de todo el mundo, y previo el peligro de un cambio climatico provocado por el hombre. Convirtio la observacion cientifica en narrativa poetica, y sus escritos inspiraron no solo a naturalistas y escritores como Darwin, Wordsworth y Goethe, sino tambien a politicos como Jefferson o Simon Bolivar. Ademas, fueron las ideas de Humboldt las que llevaron a John Muir a perseverar en sus teorias, y a Thoreau a escribir su Walden. Wulf rastrea la influencia de Humboldt en las grandes mentes de su tiempo, a las que inspiro en ambitos como la revolucion, la teoria de evolucion, la ecologia, la conservacion, el arte y la literatura. Una lectura que cobra importancia en el Dia mundial del medioambiente. La invencion de la naturaleza esta entre los mejores libros del año segun The New York Times, The Independent y Publishers Weekly entre otros.Reseñas:Mi libro favorito con diferencia es esta increible biografia sobre el visionario naturalista aleman cuyas ideas cambiaron nuestra manera de ver el mundo natural y que configuran la conciencia medioambiental moderna. Amigo de Goethe, influyo en Darwin, Thomas Jefferson y Bolivar. El demostro tener una vision unitaria de la vida. Hoy nos ponemos en su piel cuando debatimos sobre cambio climatico. Un pensador pasado por alto, pese a serun poderoso recordatorio de voces que advirtieron sobre sobreexplotacion, contaminacion y derechos humanos.Francesca Thyssen, ABC ("30 libros para una cuarentena") Una lectura sensacional. El estupendo nuevo libro de Andrea Wulf se atreve con la figura de Alexander von Humboldt. La invencion de la naturaleza es un elogio de altisima calidad a una figura cautivadora.Simon Winder, The GuardianUn libro emocionante. [...] Es imposible leer La invencion de la naturaleza sin contraer la fiebre Humboldt. Wulf tiene el poder de volvernos a todos humboldtianos. Por momentos se lee como literatura de aventuras, y la investigacion de Wulf tiene dimensiones casi humboldtianas.New York Review of Books Consigue su objetivo de rescatar la reputacion de Humboldt de la grieta enla que el y muchos otros escritores y cientificos alemanes cayeron despues de la Segunda Guerra Mundial.The Independent Wulf demuestra que Humboldt fue un autentico visionario, cuya perspectiva es hoy mas pertinente que nunca.Booklist Una biografia brillantemente escrita. Como demuestra este maravilloso libro, la figura de Humboldt deberia incorporarse a toda prisa en todos los programas educativos de la Tierra.The Scotsman

WINNER OF THE 2015 COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARDWINNER OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2016A thrilling adventure story Bill BrysonDazzlingLiterary ReviewBrilliantSunday ExpressExtraordinary and gripping New ScientistA superb biographyThe EconomistAn exhilarating armchair voyage GILES MILTON, Mail on SundayAlexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) is the great lost scientist - more things are named after him than anyone else. There are towns, rivers, mountain ranges, the ocean current that runs along the South American coast, theres a penguin, a giant squid - even the Mare Humboldtianum on the moon. His colourful adventures read like something out of a Boys Own story: Humboldt explored deep into the rainforest, climbed the worlds highest volcanoes and inspired princes and presidents, scientists and poets alike. Napoleon was jealous of him; Simon Bolivars revolution was fuelled by his ideas; Darwin set sail on the Beagle because of Humboldt; and Jules Vernes Captain Nemo owned all his many books. He simply was, as one contemporary put it, the greatest man since the Deluge.Taking us on a fantastic voyage in his footsteps - racing across anthrax-infected Russia or mapping tropical rivers alive with crocodiles - Andrea Wulf shows why his life and ideas remain so important today. Humboldt predicted human-induced climate change as early as 1800, and The Invention of Nature traces his ideas as they go on to revolutionize and shape science, conservation, nature writing, politics, art and the theory of evolution. He wanted to know and understand everything and his way of thinking was so far ahead of his time that its only coming into its own now. Alexander von Humboldt really did invent the way we see nature.

Descritto dai suoi contemporanei come luomo piu famoso al mondo dopo Napoleone, Alexander von Humboldt fu uno dei personaggi piu affascinanti e stimolanti del suo tempo. Nato nel 1769 in una ricca famiglia aristocratica prussiana, rinuncio a una vita privilegiata per scoprire come funzionava il mondo. I suoi viaggi e le sue esplorazioni in ogni angolo del globo ne plasmarono il pensiero e ne fecero un personaggio leggendario, ammirato e citato come diretta influenza non solo da studiosi come Charles Darwin, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson e John Muir, ma anche da letterati come Goethe, Coleridge e Wordsworth; Thomas Jefferson scrisse che Humboldt era tra i principali artefici della bellezza della sua epoca. Tuttavia, questo straordinaria personalita, a cui dobbiamo il nostro stesso concetto di natura e lidea moderna di ambientalismo, sembra oggi pressoche dimenticato, e mentre il suo nome resiste ovunque piante, animali, fiumi e citta prendono il suo nome , le sue opere prendono polvere sugli scaffali delle librerie. Andrea Wulf, acclamata storica e autrice di numerosi bestseller internazionali, si e immersa nelle opere, nei diari e nei documenti personali di Humboldt, ne ha seguito le tracce in tutto il mondo, visitando gli stessi luoghi e scalando le stesse montagne, per restituire a Humboldt, con questo libro, il posto che egli merita nel pantheon della natura e delle scienze. Linvenzione della natura e anche un tentativo di capire come e nato e come si e formato il modo stesso in cui pensiamo il mondo.

WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY MERLIN SHELDRAKE WINNER OF THE 2015 COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARD WINNER OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2016 A thrilling adventure story Bill Bryson Dazzling Literary Review Brilliant Sunday Express Extraordinary and gripping New Scientist A superb biography The Economist An exhilarating armchair voyage GILES MILTON Mail on Sunday Alexander von Humboldt 1769 1859 is the great lost scientist more things are named after him than anyone else There are towns rivers mountain ranges the ocean current that runs along the South American coast there s a penguin a giant squid even the Mare Humboldtianum on the moon His colourful adventures read like something out of a Boy s Own story Humboldt explored deep into the rainforest climbed the world s highest volcanoes and inspired princes and presidents scientists and poets alike Napoleon was jealous of him Simon Bolivar s revolution was fuelled by his ideas Darwin set sail on the Beagle because of Humboldt and Jules Verne s Captain Nemo owned all his many books He simply was as one contemporary put it the greatest man since the Deluge Taking us on a fantastic voyage in his footsteps racing across anthrax infected Russia or mapping tropical rivers ali

A witty, gossipy, sparkling history, full of bright jewels of anecdote... Magnificent Rebels is a triumph THE TIMES, Book of the WeekExtraordinary... A thrilling intellectual history that reads like a racy, intelligent novel, with a cast of unforgettable characters SUNDAY TIMESMagnificent Rebels is a magnificent book: a revelation which could easily become an obsessionSPECTATORA thrilling page-turner, by turns comical & tragic... My book of the year so far TOM HOLLANDElegantly written, deeply researched and totally grippingSIMON SEBAG MONTEFIOREIn the 1790s an extraordinary group of friends changed the world. Disappointed by the French Revolutions rapid collapse into tyranny, what they wanted was nothing less than a revolution of the mind. The rulers of Europe had ordered their peoples how to think and act for too long. Based in the small German town of Jena, through poetry, drama, philosophy and science, they transformed the way we think about ourselves and the world around us. They were the first Romantics.Their way of understanding the world still frames our lives and being.Were still empowered by their daring leap into the self. We still think with their minds, see with their imagination and feel with their emotions. We also still walk the same tightrope between meaningful self-fulfilment and destructive narcissism, between the rights of the individual and our role as a member of our community and our responsibilities towards future generations who will inhabit this planet. This extraordinary group of friends changed our world. It is impossible to imagine our lives, thoughts and understanding without the foundation of their ground-breaking ideas.

Der Weltbestseller - die groe Biografie eines UniversalgeniesEr war seiner Zeit weit voraus: Alexander von Humboldt, Universalgelehrter, unermudlicher Naturforscher, der zweite Kolumbus und Wiederentdecker Amerikas. Wie kein anderer Wissenschaftler pragte er unser Verstandnis von der Natur als lebendigem Ganzen, als Kosmos, in dem alles miteinander verbunden ist und dessen untrennbarer Teil wir sind. In ihrer vielfach ausgezeichneten Biografie fuhrt Andrea Wulf durch das abenteuerliche Leben Humboldts und sein Werk. Er begreift die Natur in ihrer ganzen Fulle als Lebensnetz und pragt damit auch unser Wissen um die Verwundbarkeit der Erde. So bleibt er unverandert wichtig - bis heute.

Chosen as a BOOK OF THE YEAR in The Times, The Spectator, Prospect, Sunday Times, Economist, New Statesman, Telegraph, Financial Times, TLS, New York Times, and Washington Post. 'This is ridiculous. No book about German philosophy has any right to be this fun.This witty, gossipy, sparkling history . . .fizzed with creative energy' The Times, Book of the YearMagnificent Rebels is - well - magnificent. This is how such books should be written, with clarity, passion and delight. A thrilling intellectual adventure' JOHN BANVILLE, Book of the Year'History writing at its best' The Spectator, Book of the Year'A thrilling page-turner, by turns comical & tragic...

Naturaliste, géographe, explorateur, Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) est le grand scientifique des Lumières. Il a donné son nom à des villes, des rivières, des chaînes de montagnes, à un courant o

Oubliez Paris : dans les années 1790, la véritable révolution a eu lieu à Iéna, une ville universitaire tranquille où les rebelles n’étaient ni soldats ni politiciens, mais poètes (Goethe, Schiller,

WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY MERLIN SHELDRAKEWINNER OF THE 2015 COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARDWINNER OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2016A thrilling adventure story Bill BrysonDazzlingLiterary ReviewBrilliantSunday ExpressExtraordinary and gripping New ScientistA superb biographyThe EconomistAn exhilarating armchair voyage GILES MILTON, Mail on SundayAlexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) is the great lost scientist - more things are named after him than anyone else. There are towns, rivers, mountain ranges, the ocean current that runs along the South American coast, theres a penguin, a giant squid - even the Mare Humboldtianum on the moon.His colourful adventures read like something out of a Boys Own story: Humboldt explored deep into the rainforest, climbed the worlds highest volcanoes and inspired princes and presidents, scientists and poets alike. Napoleon was jealous of him; Simon Bolivars revolution was fuelled by his ideas; Darwin set sail on the Beagle because of Humboldt; and Jules Vernes Captain Nemo owned all his many books. He simply was, as one contemporary put it, the greatest man since the Deluge.Taking us on a fantastic voyage in his footsteps - racing across anthrax-infected Russia or mapping tropical rivers alive with crocodiles - Andrea Wulf shows why his life and ideas remain so important today. Humboldt predicted human-induced climate change as early as 1800, and The Invention of Nature traces his ideas as they go on to revolutionize and shape science, conservation, nature writing, politics, art and the theory of evolution. He wanted to know and understand everything and his way of thinking was so far ahead of his time that its only coming into its own now. Alexander von Humboldt really did invent the way we see nature.

On two days in 1761 and 1769 hundreds of astronomers pointed their telescopes towards the skies to observe a rare astronomical event: the transit of Venus across the face of the sun.United by this momentous occasion, scientists from around the globe came together to answer the essential question: how can the universe be measured? In Chasing Venus Andrea Wulf paints a vivid portrait of the rivalries, triumphs and misfortunes that befell these men, along with their passion and determination to succeed. This extraordinary book tells their story and how one single event prompted the first international scientific collaboration.

A follow-up to Andrea Wulfs award-winning and critically acclaimed history of British gardening, this is the story of how George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and James Madisons passion for nature, plants, agriculture and gardens shaped the birth of America.Through a series of vignettes spanning the Declaration of Independence to the death of Adams and Jefferson exactly fifty years to the day afterwards, these stories that weave the political, the personal and the botanical and are in turns funny, fascinating and moving. The Founding Gardeners shows that it is impossible to understand these visionary men and the American nation without considering their love of gardening.

A breathtakingly illustrated and brilliantly evocative recounting of Alexander Von Humboldts five-year expedition in South Americafrom the author of Magnificent Rebels and the New York Times bestseller The Invention of Nature.Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was an intrepid explorer and the most famous scientist of his age. His restless life was packed with adventure and discovery, but his most revolutionary idea was a radical vision of nature as a complex and interconnected global force that does not exist for the use of humankind alone. His theories and ideas were profoundly influenced by a five-year exploration of South America. Now Andrea Wulf partners with artist Lillian Melcher to bring this daring expedition to life, complete with excerpts from Humboldts own diaries, atlases, and publications. She gives us an intimate portrait of the man who predicted human-induced climate change, fashioned poetic narrative out of scientific observation, and influenced iconic figures such as Simon Bolivar, Thomas Jefferson, Charles Darwin, and John Muir. This gorgeous account of the expedition not only shows how Humboldt honed his groundbreaking understanding of the natural world but also illuminates the man and his passion

A NEW YORKER ESSENTIAL READ From the best-selling author of The Invention of Nature comes an exhilarating story about a remarkable group of young rebelspoets, novelists, philosopherswho, through their epic quarrels, passionate love stories, heartbreaking grief, and radical ideas launched Romanticism onto the world stage, inspiring some of the greatest thinkers of the time.A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times The Washington Post "Make[s] the reader feel as if they were in the room with the great personalities of the age, bearing witness to their insights and their vanities and rages. Lauren Groff, best-selling author of MatrixWhen did we begin to be as self-centered as we are today? At what point did we expect to have the right to determine our own lives? When did we first ask the question, How can I be free?It all began in a quiet university town in Germany in the 1790s, when a group of playwrights, poets, and writers put the self at center stage in their thinking, their writing, and their lives. This brilliant circle included the famous poets Goethe, Schiller, and Novalis; the visionary philosophers Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel; the contentious Schlegel brothers; and, in a wonderful cameo, Alexander von Humboldt. And at the heart of this group was the formidable Caroline Schlegel, who sparked their dazzling conversations about the self, nature, identity, and freedom.The French revolutionaries may have changed the political landscape of Europe, but the young Romantics incited a revolution of the mind that transformed our world forever. We are still empowered by their daring leap into the self, and by their radical notions of the creative potential of the individual, the highest aspirations of art and science, the unity of nature, and the true meaning of freedom. We also still walk the same tightrope between meaningful self-fulfillment and destructive narcissism, between the rights of the individual and our responsibilities toward our community and future generations. At the heart of this inspiring book is the extremely modern tension between the dangers of selfishness and the thrilling possibilities of free will.

Quando i soldati prussiani arrestarono Caroline Bohmer sembro che una rivoluzione fosse stata stroncata sul nascere. La giovane donna, che viaggiava in compagnia della piccola Auguste di soli sette anni, era stata tra quanti, in Germania, avevano appoggiato loccupazione di Magonza da parte dei repubblicani francesi. Caroline venne catturata e imprigionata senza processo assieme a coloro che avevano sognato di ripetere, in quella terra ancora feudale, lesperienza della Rivoluzione francese. Eppure, di li a pochi anni, Caroline sarebbe stata il cuore e la mente di un gruppo di giovani donne e uomini che avrebbero cambiato il mondo in modo ancora piu profondo e duraturo di quanto fatto dai giacobini in Francia. La storia di questa rivoluzione, una rivoluzione dello spirito e della mente, e raccontata oggi da Andrea Wulf in Magnifici ribelli. Il luogo e Jena, non una grande capitale ma una piccola citta della Germania centrale dove si incontrarono, nello stesso posto e nello stesso momento, il burbero filosofo Johann Gottlieb Fichte, lenigmatico poeta Novalis, la scandalosa scrittrice Dorothea Veit, due coppie di fratelli geniali, gli Schlegel e i von Humboldt, il tormentato Friedrich Schelling e i piu anziani Friedrich Schiller e Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Al centro di questa galassia di menti brillanti il grande poeta Johann Wolfgang Goethe, adorato come una divinita da quella compagnia di giovani ribelli che, in un mondo cosi diverso dal nostro e difficile da immaginare, intuirono come allorigine di ogni liberta ci sia lIo, la parte nascosta di ogni essere umano che rende capaci di sognare, sperare e creare universi e alla quale loro per primi riuscirono a dar voce. Alle origini della nostra modernita ce questa scoperta, quella di un Io che, libero di autodeterminarsi, ci consente, come diceva Fichte, di essere quello che siamo, perche vogliamo esserlo. È per questo insegnamento che oggi, secondo Andrea Wulf, non possiamo che dirci romantici.

Andrea Wulf belongs to the small, splendid canon of writers unafraid to render fact with feelingMaria Popova, creator of The Marginalian and author of FiguringAn inspiring biography of the remarkable naturalist, explorer and revolutionary, by the bestselling author of The Invention of NatureGeorge Forster was a man out of time: he journeyed to the far reaches of the known world and challenged the worldviews of eighteenth-century Europe with radical ideas about equality and freedom. Celebrated during his lifetime, he knew Goethe, Benjamin Franklin, Mary Wollstonecraft and Alexander von Humboldt but has since been largely forgotten by history.The Traveller seeks to restore Forster as one of the great visionaries of his era. At the age of seventeen he joined Captain Cooks second voyage an exploration of vast contrasts from the icy world of Antarctica to the tropical islands of the South Pacific. A brilliant mind driven by boundless curiosity, he studied the diverse nature, people and cultures he encountered and came back imbued with a deep belief in the equality of races. On his return he was feted in England, France, Germany and Poland, using his fame to advocate freedom and human rights and argue against empire, racism and slavery. He admired strong and educated women and was proud to have daughters. The book traces how inspired by the French Revolution he became a leader of the short-lived Republic of Mainz and was eventually forced into exile in Paris during the Reign of Terror.Following in Forsters footsteps from Europe to Tahiti, and drawing on a wealth of correspondence mostly unpublished in English, Andrea Wulf paints a portrait of a remarkable, passionate figure unbound by place, people or establishment. She vividly conveys his extraordinary quest to find what connects us rather than what sets us apart.