Tableaux de la nature
Ou, Considerations sur les déserts, sur la physionomie des végétaux, et sur les cataractes de l'Orénoque

A rigorous scientific study of the natural world in a greater aesthetic and philosophical context, published in French in 1828.

Alexander von Humboldt (Author), J. B. B. Eyriès (Translated by)

9781108052757, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 August 2012

540 pages
21.6 x 14 x 3 cm, 0.68 kg

Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), 'the greatest scientific traveller who ever lived' according to Darwin, made groundbreaking contributions to the fields of geography, oceanography, climatology and ecology. In 1804, he returned from a five-year exploration of Latin America with an incredible wealth of specimens and data which provided the foundations for his theories on the natural order. He expounds them in this book, which was printed in German in 1808 before being translated by the geographer Jean-Baptiste Benoît Eyriès (1767–1846) and published in French in 1828. Humboldt does more than provide descriptions of the great features and phenomena of the Earth, ranging from the geological character of immense plains and steppes to the structure and action of volcanoes. He combines a rigorous scientific approach with his emotional and aesthetic responses to the natural world, thereby constructing a true 'philosophy of nature'.

Préface du traducteur
Préface de l'auteur
Volume I: Considérations sur les steppes et les déserts
Éclaircissemens et additions sur les steppes et les déserts
Considérations sur les cataractes de l'Orénoque
Éclaircissemens et additions sur les cataractes de l'Orénoque
Volume 2: Idées sur la physiognomie des végétaux
Éclaircissemens et additions sur la physiognomie des végétaux
Sur la structure et l'action des volcans dans les différentes régions de la terre
Éclaircissemens et additions sur la structure et l'action des volcans dans les différentes régions de la terre
La force vitale, ou le génie de Rhodes.

Subject Areas: History of science [PDX]