Reply to post #13 (show post):
Yes, plate tectonics. I feel like I should have kept a list right from the beginning of the book of all the things he nailed before anyone else. I'm not sure at this point whether I am still just impressed with the guy, or whether this is now a bit of a weird crush. This is made even more intense by the Alex&Jules connection.

There is a small part of me that has the sneaking suspicion that "Ah, but Humboldt discovered it first." will be my new favourite answer to shut up those people parties who go on about the latest breaking news about climate change or history etc. they have just found in a Facebook post.

The isolationism is very evident in this part. On his return from South America, the world around Humboldt is driven by international politics, more so by the selfish agendas of a small group of people who hold a lot of power and care nothing for collaboration.

It was quite scary to read about this with the current Brexit negotiations in the background.

I did enjoy, tho, that he did actually become friends with Davy, and I really wonder if they had talked about mining and lamps. :D

Reply to post #15 (show post):
That is an interesting idea. I have little knowledge of the conditions, so wouldn't want to diagnose, but it would kinda make sense.

I don't think Wulf has brought forth any theory about this, but the very fact that she hasn't made me realise another reason why I like her book so much: the author does not bring herself into the book constantly by adding those theories. The mere telling of his story is enough to create a portrait of the man and his times.

Reply to post #17 (show post):
Yes! You've nailed it - she doesn't speculate! It's fantastic; so many authors now speculate and make it try to sound like an authoritative explanation and it makes me so angry I end up yelling at the book.

I thought she was going down this road earlier in the book when she broached the subject of his sexuality, but I thought she handled that so well; she acknowledged there was basis for the question, but quoted Humboldt himself saying he was sexless (or words to that effect) and left it at that. No further speculation or theorising. I love it; this is the way biographies and histories should be written.

So I finished all of Part III last night and the prevailing theme that stuck with me this time is DENIED. Poor Humboldt could not get any love whatsoever from the East India Company, no matter how many friends he had in his corner. Does anyone know if he ever made to the Himalayas? I checked the maps at the front and they indicate he did not.

He must have felt so utterly defeated at this point - no trip to India and a summons to return to Berlin; the last place on earth he wanted to be.

The whole chapter on Simon Bolivar I could have done without though; I get Humboldt's influence on Bolivar (who, by the way, was a terrible poet if that chapter opening was any indication), but I didn't need the blow-by-blow account of the South American revolution. The level of detail made it feel like off-topic.

Reply to post #18 (show post):
Yes! I was quite relieved. The constant speculation about people's love life drove me nuts in Mackrell's Flappers. I am so glad that Wulf decided not to go down this path and instead focus on the man's life and thoughts - which is rather more interesting and what he should be measured by. (Sorry, I can't get the word measure out of my head since reading Kehlmann's book - getting more annoyed with Kehlmann every time I compare his work to Wulf's!)

"Denied" is such a great summary of this part. I felt so sorry for him and could feel the frustration he must have felt. There he was being invited to all sorts of parties, like he was a novelty exhibit himself, and yet nothing allowed him to connect with the East India Company.

It really goes to show how closed off and powerful the Company was. I think Wulf describes them as a state within a state. (I wonder if that was the same for the Hudson Bay Company, btw. but haven't read much about it, yet.)

As for Bolivar - I rather liked that this was included. Humboldt obviously had a great influence on Bolivar, and usually this kind of connection is just mentioned, but never drawn out to the far-reaching impact the friendship had. In a way, I liked it as an example of the "web of life" applied in a social context. ;D

Reply to post #20 (show post):
That's a very good point (re: web of life comparison) - I just don't like dry 'and then they invaded x and the enemy turned tail and ran' types of histories. :D

Reply to post #21 (show post):
Fair point. I think I liked it because it was new to me, I don't really know that much about Bolivar and the South American independence movement. But, yeah, compared to the rest of the book, this part was probably the least engaging so far.

I am surprised that Humboldt had an opinion on the British subjugation of the Subcontinent. Surprised but loving it!

Interesting idea. You could be right.

Reply to post #23 (show post):
Yeah, but he had strong views (opposing) colonialism and slavery in any form. So, it is not that surprising.

A line from the book comes to mind. I'm paraphrasing but it went something like Humboldt's idea being so common sense that we stopped crediting him for them!

Reply to post #26 (show post):
Very to the point. I think that is a reason together with the increasing specialisation in the sciences and political agendas.

(http://booklikes.com/thread/3070/part-iv-influence-spreading-ideas?p=1#thread-post-31638)

It appears I cannot escape references to the East Indian Company:

In Around the World in Eighty Days, Jules Verne writes the following:

"The celebrated East India Company was all-powerful from 1756, when the English first gained a foothold on the spot where now stands the city of Madras, down to the time of the great Sepoy insurrection. It gradually annexed province after province, purchasing them of the native chiefs, whom it seldom paid, and appointed the governor-general and his subordinates, civil and military. But the East India Company has now passed away, leaving the British possessions in India directly under the control of the Crown."

This was written in 1872. So, the East India Company ceased to exist only a few decades after they denied Humboldt access.

Reply to post #28 (show post):
Ha. One of the stories I read in The Dead Witness mentions a Humboldt Bay. :)

(I meant to mark it to mention it in my review, but didn't, and now I can't find it, of course.)

Reply to post #29 (show post):
I suspect there are more than a few Humboldt Bays scattered across the world. I grew up next to one. :) Is the setting in Dead Witness real or fictional?