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37 of 38 found the following review helpful:
 woefully incomplete, poorly edited, superficial introduction Nov 21, 2004
By bachelormachine
Much as I'm glad to have at least some of von Humboldt's very important travel writings availible, this edition is sadly emasculated.
While it does include the initial Amazonian phase of Humboldt's South American expedition, the narrative is cut short at mid-point, von Humboldt's stay in Cuba. It's inconceivable to me that the editor would have omitted all of the author's writing on his exploration of the Andes, and in particular the volcanoes of South America.
Those excluded descriptions are not only fascinating to read today, but were also what most inspired readers in von Humboldt's own day. As a matter of fact, von Humboldt's account of the Andes so inspired the 19th-century imagination, that the era's greatest landscape painters, such as Frederic Church, actually travelled to South American specifically to witness and depict the vistas which von Humboldt had recorded in print. The integral von Humboldt, in contrast with the one presented here, wanted not simply to view and record exotic cultures and climates, but far beyond this to attempt as much as possible to experience the totality of the Cosmos in microcosmic form. The closest von Humboldt came to this impossible experience was his rapid ascent of the large volcanoes of South America, insofar as in this manner he could pass, virtually, through all the Earth's various climates in a single day--an astounding and Romantic feat completely unavailable to anyone using this edition as an introduction to von Humboldt.
But none of the above can be glimpsed even remotely by the reader equipt with only the Penguin edition. Because of the premature truncation of the text, one entirely loses sight of von Humboldt's overarching project, which was not merely a geographical descripton of the Earth's surface, but rather a geodetical construction of the World as an organic Unity. Thus abbreviated, von Humboldt appears scarcely different from his Enlightenment precursors; we lose all view of him as writer who has passed through defiles of Romanticism. Not the real von Humboldt at all.
Rather than making one rash cut down the middle, the editor would have served the reader much better by extracting key episodes from von Humboldt's entire journey. As I said above, something is generally better than nothing at all. But in this particular case, not much better.
21 of 23 found the following review helpful:
 Entertaining account of 5 years in S.America Oct 31, 2002
By A. J. Watson
"Bones"
Alexander von Humboldt (of the Current fame) was a famous polymath during the age of enlightenment. Like many noblemen, he used his money and leisure time in esoteric pursuits, such as collecting flora & fauna and trying to find the deeper meaning of it all.This particular volume has been well-translated from the original - there is none of that stilted 'I haf von the Cherman translated been' style - it reads conversationally (assisted by the editing-out of long passages where Humboldt takes one of his many diversions) yet it also gives us an idea of what the man was really like. There is an extensive set of notes at the back, not just references, but elaboration of the point, which I found very illuminating. His travels to South America span 5 years, during which time he collects and measures EVERYTHING - for at this time in history, no-one knew what was going to be pertinent or useful to science or economy. There are some amazing descriptions where he was the first educated person to see places; the problems of travel in uncharted, trackless & mountainous country make terrific reading. We may scoff at the zeal of the man, but if Hiram Bingham hadn't done the same, we wouldn't have the fantastic ruins of Macchu Picchu to study. We also learn of the relatively tight circle of 'scientists' at that time - almost everyone knew everyone else, either via letters, Society writings or personal contact - and they knew it all; there was as yet no division between geology, biology, zoology etc - it was just 'Natural Philosophy' and one studied the lot (of course some dedicated themselves to a favourite pursuit). What is amazing to us now is the most simple things were unknown; for example, a sailor at death's door deep in the bowels of the ship, 'miraculously' recovers when taken on deck, out of the fetid miasma of the orlop - well, who wouldn't?... There are many similar incidents. Slightly heavy going at times, because of the writing style of the period, it is nevertheless chock full of interesting snippets and amazing discoveries, giving a great insight into the mind and motives of a typical adventurous philosopher of the time. *****
8 of 9 found the following review helpful:
Just a glimpse of the Journey May 24, 2006
By Pablo M. Coronel
"titrisol"
I bught the book, and was expecting it eagerly.
Once it arrived I realized I had make a mistake by not realizing it was just an exceprto from the real deal.
Only a small part of the trip is described and nothing in the parts I was interested is even mentioned.
I hope the other parts will come at any time soon.
23 of 31 found the following review helpful:
 My Opinion Thusly Mar 03, 2000
By Noah Count
I have to admit that just as I was starting to savour this thin slip of a book I found that it was, indeed, mere selections. The whole narrative is actually three volumes, over four hundred pages a volume. I was left with a craven empty feeling like a fiend for his needle. Humboldt's writing presages Thoreau and through him ponders the transcendent raptures of the natural world. Reading through the visit to the Caribs reminded me of my visits to the Grenadines where their presence is still redolent in the shadows under the almond trees. I felt that I had imbibed the same air as Humboldt.
More fun than I expected Dec 17, 2011
By S. Clark
I just got done reading Darwin's "Voyage of the Beagle", so I was prepared for an other suffocatingly self-absorbed narrative. The first 100 pages of this are kind of deadly, like an older relative strapping you to a chair and forcing you watch 100 reels of their old travel slides. Things pick up after that when he and his companion penetrate into the interior of the jungle and spend time with the indigenous peoples.
Many anti-civilization sentiments are expressed, which is, for me, very gratifying. There are a lot of fun little facts and observations, too.
This edition has been very well edited, which enhanced it's readability for me, a layman.
I think it's safe to say that Humboldt was gay, which makes the prose lighter and more emotional. A big plus for me.
The text itself is only 300 pages. The info for the book says it's 400 pages in all. I guess there is a long introduction, but I don't think it was 100 pages long.
I did find myself rushing through the last quarter of the book, so I guess it wasn't that engaging or satisfying. But I'm not a science buff.
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