by Alexander Von Humboldt (Author), Alexander Von Humboldt (Author), John Black (Translator), Alexander Von Humboldt (Author)
The acclaimed Prussian naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was referred to by Charles Darwin as 'the greatest scientific traveller who ever lived'. Several of his works were in the library aboard the Beagle, including the multi-volume Personal Narrative of Travels, two books on geology and Tableaux de la nature (all reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection). Darwin's copy of this two-volume 1811 New York edition of Humboldt's Political Essay (originally published in French earlier that year) is inscribed 'Buenos Ayres', suggesting he acquired it there in 1832-3, without its accompanying atlas (forthcoming). Humboldt had spent a year in Mexico in 1803-4, and was struck by its 'civilization' as compared to regions of South America that he had visited earlier on his expedition. Volume 2 of his account contains information about the population, language and key features of each district of Mexico, and about the country's agriculture.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 382
Edition: Reprint
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 06 Nov 2014
ISBN 10: 1108077900
ISBN 13: 9781108077903
Book Overview: The two-volume 1811 New York edition of Humboldt's account of Mexico, which Darwin later had with him aboard the Beagle.