The Humboldt Current: Nineteenth-Century Exploration and the Roots of American Envionmentalism

The Humboldt Current: Nineteenth-Century Exploration and the Roots of American Environmentalism Alexander Von Humboldt is hardly a household name in American History, but the Prussian naturalist deserves more than the footnote he usually gets. Aaron Sachs has provided both a detailed biography and perspective in "The Humboldt Current: Nineteenth Century Exploration and the Roots of American Environmentalism>" <br />Humboldt influenced others, including Louis Agassiz of Harvard; Rear Admiral George W. Melville, and Clarence King. His work also influenced literature and art, including that of Thoreau and Edgar Allen Poe and panoramic artists. <br />It also propelled the relatively new US government toward developing the Natural Park Service and the US Geological Survey. <br />Sachs has done his homework in this excellent book. However, it still resembles a doctoral dissertation, from which, in fact, it derives. <br />A River Running West: The Life of John Wesley Powell <br />Another Western study deserves reading as well. "A River Running West: The Life of John Wesley Powell" is an exhaustively researched, well-written account of the life and times of the one-armed explorer of the Colorado River (he lost an arm in the Battle of Shiloh) Powell also contributed to the study of the geology and geography of the Southwest, as well as the role of Native Americans.

In an era of specialized science, when most practitioners of the field attempt to understand the mechanisms underlying natural phenomena down to the last detail, it may be difficult to have a grasp of the big picture and embrace a holistic approach to nature and the universe as Alexander von Humboldt did in his time. Indeed one major premise of Aaron Sachs' book is that with increasing specialization that the progression of science entailed went the likes of Humboldt, his contemporaries, and the scientists, explorers, and adventurers who he inspired. Yet there still are scientists who can not only manage to provide a holistic framework to their specialties, but also look beyond their area of focus and appreciate other areas of interest to almost the same level of dedication. Thus we have Jane Goodall, Oliver Sacks, Jared Diamond, and the late Stephen Jay Gould and Carl Sagan, to name a few. The spirit of Humboldt lives in the mind of the Renaissance man and woman who are willing to share and communicate their interests to a larger audience, most of whom may not have the time, background, and resources to have similar pursuits. Because Sachs writes well, the book is hardly the dense material you would expect from work about 19th century exploration and the roots of the American environmentalism. From Humboldt to J.N. Reynolds, from Clarence King to John Muir and George Wallace Melville, we find that their mystical and spiritual experiences from their work and exploration alternated with the mundane struggles of getting the funding and validation of their endeavors and the respect from their peers--and merely getting on with their personal lives. The conditions under which their lives ended were far from ideal, but they never questioned or regretted their passions. The 19th century might have provided the last opportunities for what we now consider the romantic quest for adventure, but political situations were always in flux and the competition for recognition was fierce. And then the Humboldtian way of scientific inquiry was threatened by the increasing specialization of science. When Clarence King and John Muir climbed the mountains of the Sierra Nevada, there was not a single road that traversed the mountain range. The Sierras were open wilderness remote from centers of civilization. But, to this date, one can still get lost or harmed in this wilderness with lack of preparation or plain happenstance. Likewise, one can get lost, in the figurative sense, in the mystical experience from the magnificence of these mountains. The spirit of Humboldt lives in those who endeavor to appreciate the connectedness of the natural world and the universe. The book provides a human context to this type of experience that hikers, naturalists, and lovers of the natural world, scientists included, have. One of my favorite parts of the book is an excerpt from Emerson in The Journals and Miscellaneous Notebooks of Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Is it not bet

After glancing at the previous review, I decided that I must weigh in on this book. I read The Humboldt Current right after it was published. I found it effective on various levels. First, it allows us to understand Humboldt and his desire for a unified view of the natural world. Second, it takes us on a journey into early geographers and explorers in America, many of whom followed Humboldt's ideals. Third, in the conclusion, Sachs raises a host of important issues for present-day environmentalism. Readers should also know that Sachs writes in a sprightly, engaging fashion. If on occasion, his prose runs away from him, it also brightens most of the pages along the way.