Jaguars and Electric Eels

Alexander von Humboldt details his adventures and explorations in Venezuela in 1800 in a beautifully written little travelogue. His intellectual curiosity knows no bounds and his skills at recording his observations are wonderfully lyrical. The flora, fauna, land, rivers, mountains, weather -- nothing escapes his observation. Not even the people who he objectively studies and records with clarity. He is open minded enough to recognize European pretensions and set them aside while living along side those who would be considered from the most primitive of cultures. His observations foreshadow the disastrous man-made changes to the land and environment as natural resources were even then being ripped from the land without thought for the show more future. This is a delightful adventure in the dense green jungle of a primeval land. show less

I’ve come to love nonfiction works from authors who’ve trekked the world thanks. So I couldn’t miss this book written about the author’s journey through Venezuela from 1798-1804. He was a naturalist so he includes many in-depth descriptions of plants and animals, landscapes and people. He was obviously extremely knowledgeable and tough to be able to deal with the harsh terrains of all sorts. He was sensitive to the plight of slaves, but less sensitive to some tribes he labeled lazy. But he was fair, too, identifying the good, the bad, the ugly, and the lovely (and sometimes the crazy) about all the people he encountered. One obviously native man insisted he was white and held himself out as so pretentious it was quite comical. show more Sometimes a bit boring, but overall this was a fascinating peak at a world far distant from our own. show less

A great, innovative and restless thinker, the young Humboldt (1769-1859) went on his epochal journey to the New World during a time of revolutionary ferment across Europe. This part of his matchless narrative of adventure and scientific research focuses on his time in Venezuela - in the Llanos and on the Orinoco River - riding and paddling, restlessly and happily noting the extraordinary things on every hand.

Naturalist-explorer von Humboldt makes his way through often uncharted territory in Venezuela of 1800. He muses on the different plant species- so similar, and yet not identical- to those on other side of the world; encounters piranhas, capybaras, jaguars... (I was mystified by an account of a near-miss with a 'tiger' , given the author's expertise on animals, that he had already referred to jaguars, and that I can find no record of tigers in Venezuela...)and sees stunning scenery.
The locals are Indians of various tribe;, blacks- slaves and freed- and European settlers.
Interesting account.

Although the author wrote of his travels in the early 1800's,he nevertheless speaks to us in these pages with a very modern voice. In the short extracts we are given here,Alexander von Humboldt travels into the Venezuelan jungle and encounters in addition to the jaguars and electric eels of the title,crocodiles,snakes apes and worst of all,the dreaded The way he writes about the various plants that he collects and the way he tells of the natives and the missionaries that he meets are wonderfully described.In short,he is a man who anyone at all interested in exploration,travel or botany would be proud to meet.
The series of' Penguin Great Journeys' of which this is one,is a splendid set of 20 books.In the 100 pages of this particular show more book, we have the essence of a great explorer and by reading this short account,one is drawn to discover more about him and indeed to attempt to discover a fuller account of his travels. show less