When Maren Meinhardt’s “A Longing for Wide and Unknown Things; the Life of Alexander von Humboldt” was published in early 2018 by Hurst Publishers in London, it received quick and widespread praise from both literary as well as scientific reviewers. Unfortunately, as is the case with all-too-many excellent non-fiction works published in Great Britain these days, it never made its way across the Atlantic.
When I think about all the people I know presently involved in science – either actively working in one of the many disciplines from biology to astronomy, studying to one day do so, or working in an occupation supporting the dissemination of discoveries therein or for the greater widespread understanding thereof – the majority who […]
Visitors to Victoria, British Columbia’s inner harbor cannot fail to notice the bronze statue situated at the corner of Government and Belleville Streets, catty-corner to the British Columbia Parliament Buildings. It is of an older woman, surrounded by animals, the most prominent of which is a small monkey perched upon her right shoulder. The woman, of course, if the famous Canadian author and artist Emily Carr; the monkey is the nearly-as-famous Woo.
Like many people, my knowledge of Robert Fitzroy has long been limited to the sole fact that he was the captain of the H.M.S. Beagle during Charles Darwin’s famous voyage upon it. I’d read in Darwin’s own writings that he had held Fitzroy in high esteem, as well as passing mentions elsewhere that Fitzroy and […]