If you know him as well as she doubts andrea wulf is an expert on alexander from whom bolts life and adventures her biography reintroduced the great naturalist to a new generation of readers and now the world is marking his 250th birthday we made out with andrea wolfe at the Royal Institution in london one of britains foremost establishments for scientific education and research. Whove spent over a decade in the traces of alexander from home both shes written 2 books about him including an illustrated album about his famous expedition to south and central. Erica it depicts the hardships he endured but also his fascination encounters and discoveries and it includes his drawings which fundamentally changed your view of the americas. Q alexander from whom boyd was for sure one of the greatest scientists of previous times of all times well he was the most famous scientist of his time and i think hes undergoing a little bit of a renaissance at the moment and i think quite rightly so because i think his views. How he brings together the arts and the science how he says that we need to use our imagination and our feelings to understand nature i think are actually very relevant today as we are dealing with Climate Change so no one dares to talk about the wonder of nature of the beauty of nature the vulnerable beauty of our planet and i think that something that homework that. Something we could get a bit of that we could probably use today. Alexander was born to wealthy parents in bergen in 769 after a brief career working for the pressured government he used his inheritance to embark on the adventure of a lifetime and set off for america at the age of 30 accompanied by the french explorer and botanist anybody who traveled to venezuela and from there to cuba colombia peru mexico and ecuador he collected plant specimens observed animals and became the 1st european to almost reach the peak of the chimborazo volcano in the n. T. At the time it was thought to be the highest mountain in the world later wrote 29. 00 books about his trip he really cultivated this image of the daring adventure he was he was the best. Publicist to machine ever he would write letters from south america long letters to his friends and then he would end them so i dont mind if you send them to the newspaper so by the time he returns everybody has heard about his adventure so its very much part of his self promotion humboldt is believed to have written a total of 30000. 00 letters luckily for him he was exempted from paying postage by the prussian postal minister. He documented his adventures in the letters and his notebooks describing how his boat capsized on the our noko river and he almost drowned talking about the tough hikes and the damage to his feet the various diseases and the mosquitoes. But he also praised the Natural Beauty and the cultural wealth of the countries he visited. He returned from latin america with a completely new portray of the ancient civilizations so he explained that these ants and south American Civilization had been very sophisticated cultures with rich languages and with sophisticated architecture and he then in turn influenced many many scholars who began to study them his contemporaries the great german writer johann vulcan found gertrude delighted in his intellectual exchanges with he once said in 8 days of reading books you couldnt learn as much as what he tells you in an hour. U. S. President Thomas Jefferson met several times and maintained a correspondence with him for years. I consider him the most important scientist whom i have met. The english naturalist Charles Darwin is said to have been inspired by whom both while writing his most famous book. On the origin of species alexander from humbled was the greatest scientific traveler who ever lived. Europeans have really looked down on the new world and then theres theres another argument where you can say that he was he had a very Strong Influence on scene one would have are they met in paris and agent of just went home returned and later set that home was woke up south americans with his pen so was home alone i think so who almost descriptions of latin america where so vivid and so beautiful he gave the colonists the confidence to fight their fight of independence. The soldier and statesman simone boulevard was instrumental in liberation latin american countries from spanish control. From home world is the true discoverer of america his studies did more for america than the action of all the conquerors before his expedition to south america. To travel permission from the spanish chaney and received a passport for the colonies but he was shocked by how arrogant and brutal the colonial rulers were towards the Indigenous Peoples was he aware of his own privileges as a wealthy european. I dont know if you would see it as we see it today we have to always bear in mind with these historic figures that they live in their times what i can say is that he was unlike other europeans who traveled through south america so unlike other europeans he did not see the Indigenous People for example as savages or as barbarians quite the opposite so he was he respected them he would use them as their guides and he very quickly realized that they were. That they could navigate the jungle in a completely different way so he described them as the best observers of nature as the best geographers he ever met he also collected all their languages and later said there is theres not a language in south america through which we could not express an abstract philosophical or european concept. Yet when he set off on his 1st major expedition on the orinoco one of south americas longest rivers ignored the protests of his local guides and dug up skulls in a Burial Ground in the name of science. Bolt was a man of his time he was committed to the enlightenment but he was also obsessed simply devoted to his research and could also be inconsiderate of others as well as of himself. He pushed himself to his limits he was not well prepared when he set off to climb chimborazo the soles of his shoes were far too thin and he had no gloves his feet was soon blistered and bloody but he almost made it to the top to an altitude of 5917. 00 made his. No european had ever made it that far. Made drawings of everything that he observed so he could show others later. His famous Cross Sectional diagram of chimborazo sheds light on different climate and vegetation science and gives an insight into his understanding of nature. He came up with a new concept. And that concept is that nature is a weapon life that nature is an interconnected whole where everything somehow hangs together from the smallest insect to the tallest tree and he described as a living organism so thats what i mean with the invention of nature that hes not. Then nature was much more seen as a mechanical system not as a living organism. The idea of nature as a living organism in which everything is interconnected was a new one in the 19th century but humbled also warned that humans were a danger to nature he not only wanted people to understand nature but to feel it this is something that we now have to think about in the current debate about the Climate Crisis sensible. We have the ability is just not acceptable so in the scientific world for example in Peer Reviewed articles scientists are not allowed to write about their feelings and their emotions if you speak to scientists most will tell you that they became a scientist because they love nature so i think it is there and there is really time to dare to introduce this into debates again for example i give you one example which you know in the in. Our whole debate about Climate Change we tend to talk about statistics so we say we talk about the increasing acidity of of the oceans but we dont talk about the beauty of wild way. We all know how terrible Oil Production is for our planet but it is the photograph of a. Black oil drenched that makes us kind of stop. Of all space selling book the invention of nature alexander from humble its new world is not only a biography but an adventure story about travels and discoveries full of exciting imagery. Wherever home bottom from plant time during those past weeks who come on or something new called their tension the landscape had to spell over at the palm trees where ornament it was magnificent blossoms the birds and fish seem to compete in their carlos copeck shoes and even the crayfish risk i knew in yellow pink flamingos to one legged at the shore and the palms fanned leaves model the white sand into a patchwork of shade sun there were butterflies monkeys and so many plants to catalog that we run around like fools even the usually on rough and bumps said that he would go mad if the wonders dont stop soon. To get to know her subject will spend hours in archives libraries and private collections all over the world but she also literally followed in whole bolts footsteps. One of the great things when you write a book about an explorer is that you get to travel the world obviously all in the name of research so i had so much fun. Following his footsteps so it was a great excuse to go to latin america where ive never been before and i dont know how other writers do it but i need to i cant describe the landscape ive not seen myself so because im not a wealthy prussian heiress to crap i could not qualify for exploration so i had to kind of pick and choose so i went up to him brought so we are on the edge of our arts and 5000 meters and. And here because football came here and it was here on that you are out so. If you vision. Its nature is unified this is really the moment where you hear is his epiphany he was there high up im giving up here 5000 meters. So that was a spectacular moment also because the weather can be so terrible and we were just so lucky everything was perfect and then there was a moment to sun up which is another of the volcanoes where we actually found the hut in which humboldt had slept at 4000 meters. 6 years later untrainable stood on mt sinai again in the last tree is Company German president franco to shine maya had invited her to accompany his delegation to south america i went to colombia and ecuador and to the collapse because silence in february 29th teen star and my in all great of the whole year to mark the 250th anniversary of birth wolfe was of course the perfect member of the delegation since she had helped to rescue the great explorer from gravity of oblivion. If someone had told me 8 years ago when i sat on my own in an archive reading through home was horrible handwriting that in 2019 i would listen to the german president give a speech in quito about whom was relevance for the environmental debate today i would have never believed it and that for me was very very very important moment a moment with goosebumps and everything because through me the home but that is so important is the one who talks about who warns about the destruction of the environment. More than 200 years ago and to see him being used for this argument again i think is just wonderful it. Has been translated into many languages and sold in dozens of. Countries shes been invited all over the world has received numerous prizes and given dozens of speeches at conferences or on television and shes also on the Program Committee of the homebuilt forum billions new museum for world cultures thats expected to open in 2020 the building that will house it based on berlins form a city palace contains old and new architectural elements. The home bought for a move showcased berlins rich collections of non european cultural artifacts. How would under a of wolf curation exhibition here if given the chance. Of last fall im glad im not a curator just a historian so i dont have to do this but i think i would. Put something in there that deals with this link between the arts and the sciences that bridge that weve completely forgotten so we tend to draw the sharp line between you know we see them as 2 different disciplines but someone like home was very much united and i think thats really missing at the moment so i would look at that. And also because its not just alexander its also will have his name they both have the name whats so it should be also something about languages which i think you could bring like poetry science arts stuff like that together alexanders older brother the statesman an educational reform bill him from whom bolt was also very famous cheering his life time the home Ball Brothers grew up at schloss table losing their father and as a newly age mother was a staunch advocate of education and both of them made the most of this each in his own why. They had they were very different already as children both both set that they had an unhappy childhood. Escaped into books stories of ancient rome and greece and alexander escaped into the forests in tingling kind of stuff little insects in his pocket and collected and and then later as younger mans they were they were not very close. And then relearned was very critical about alexander living in paris and said that you know you forget your job and this and then later as older man theyre so theres this really wonderful shift you can see how they become very close and they begin to Work Together and when you look at. Williams work on language you can see that he does exactly what alexander bass with nature he sees language as a living organism. Vilhelm was the prussian academic alexander the cosmopolitan explorer who became world famous he soon found berlin to provincial and lived in paris when he wasnt traveling his journeys took him to the United States and russia. And though he spent years planning a voyage to india he never made it there as Britains King George the 4th wouldnt give him permission. Home bolt is everywhere in monuments places and geographical features around the world have been named after him including the home both current which flows along the western coast of south america theres also the penguin this lily is named after him even. Named. Its weird when you go to america where hardly anyone knows alexander from home theres so many places named after their best for example there are 13 towns named after him there are 4 counties theres a bay there is a river there is a university named after him best the cheese some some younger. Kids kind of teenagers early twentys people know his name because the best marianna comes from humboldt county so they have heard is there for they dont know who he is 150 years ago it was a different story in 106910 years after his death and on the 100th anniversary of his birth who both was only with fireworks around the globe why was he only put forgotten afterwards. Theres not a single big discovery attached to him was the name so he did not come up with the theory of evolution or he didnt discover. A natural law he came up with this idea that nature is a weapon of life weve taken this idea for so technical so so much for granted that weve forgotten the man behind this idea i think thats one thing another thing is that hes the his way of doing science of saying yes on the one hand you have to measure everything but on the other hand you also have to use your imagination was absolutely not accepted in the early 20th century anymore and then last but not least at least in the English Speaking world he theres a very strong anti german sentiment with world war one so thats the thats the moment when hes going to get pushed out of the public memory here. Many of whom both scientists seem to address contemporary problems not only because were increasingly dealing with the effects of Climate Change but also because more and more people are asking what they can do to halt it such as those taking part in the fridays to future movement headed by swedish chain richard to. Realize 2 centuries earlier that human intervention in the Natural World can have terrible consequences. Theres a moment in his diary in 81 when hes and when hes in in latin america where he actually says that one day we might travel to distant planets and if we do that we will bring who take our lethal mixture of greed arrogance and while its with us and we will leave those planets as ravage as weve already done with so i think he sees this trajectory what we are what we are. About to whats about to happen i mean he in 832. 00 he says there are 3 ways in which the in which humans can affect the climate he says is through deforestation through irrigation and through the great masses of steam and gas at the Industrial Centers 832. 00 so that was pretty good prediction pretty prophetic. But the time bill finished. Writing the invention of nature she thought she knew everything there was to know about alexander from one boat but then state library acquired his diaries which hadnt been accessible to the public before and both knew she wasnt tom little boat yet. There is actually one moment i can tell you exactly when i decided that i had to write a 2nd book about which was when. When his legendary south american diaries were born so they had been in private ownership until then but at the end of 2013 they were bored by the process and Heritage Foundation and. They were made Available Online so this was the moment when the 1st pages became available at the end of 2014 this was the moment when i was just handing over my manuscript for the invention of nature. So i couldnt use them. For the imagination which was not a problem tons of content because we had transcriptions but seeing the actual paper pages 4000 pages with hundreds of little sketches and drawings i knew i wanted to do a book that would also show on boards artistic visual side because you did not just understand nature intellectually but also visually so thats when i decided to do whatever you want to call it a kind of graphic novel or graphic nonfiction illustrated. Journey of discovery or whatever it is but something that would show his stuff this trial and based on the adventures of alexander from whom bold shows that the book does more than summarized south american adventure he recounts his 1st encounter with the continents Indigenous Peoples his fascination with its Natural Beauty his discoveries and his observations about manmade disasters illustrator lynn milchig many of whom original texts and drawings into this wonderful graphic novel. So in a way he became the collaborator so i wrote it lilian drew it and about every single page there something that did his manuscripts his his engravings his original plan specimens his maps is so his his handwriting is everywhere. Untrainable spent a decade researching the life of alexander one who holds in archives libraries and private collections she traveled the world following in his footsteps to find out what he saw and felt on his expeditions she learned about the hardships he endured and the diversity of nature theres no doubt that alexander from whom was a fascinating figure. How do you close the pool from someones song vibrant and does she even want to. What i think i want to have to say goodbye forever hes just going to be like an old friend you see not as much as anymore. Im pretty sure that ill continue being interested in him i mean this is the same with my previous books one about the Founding Fathers i still do talks and events about it i still do interviews about it not as much as and anymore but i do have the feeling in the last almost 4 years since the invention came out ive been home was opposite to lady alice kind of time to step back at some stage so. In 2020 im going to finally write another book you know so so i will see less of it i wont get completely divorced but i also will have some new friends which i will have to entertain not just him. Untrainable smear project is another historical biography this one is about several people though she wont reveal who however she doubt shell ever encounter another figure as exciting im fearful and and important as alexander from him bolt the great gem a naturalist and explorer. In the. Cold africa. Garbage and not many construction materials. For. The garbage bottles to build. This. All the bottles i hear. A simple solution for a serious problem. He could have for. 30 minutes doubled. In. Hundreds of people gathered together to sing them to produce a small miracle. Songs more of the heart last. In 60 minutes. But literature invites us to see people in particular that i like to see myself as the kids find the strength. To share work and find beautiful. To do the books on youtube. Christmas time. Was the speech of his life perhaps his past. His most difficult chancellor addresses the people of east germany shortly after the fall of the wall. For the. Journalist who was at the scene. 30 years later looks back on the. December 19th. W. This. Sardines have swarmed at the squares of. Protestors turned out in the italian capital to show their opposition to the immigrant leak party led by divisive politicians. Also in the show. Gridlock at the Un Climate Conference with crucial deadlines looming World Leaders still cant agree on funding or International Rules to slow Global Warming climate activists there want to mediate i