A world traveler, bestselling writer, global celebrity--Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) lived a long, influential life, yet his impact has largely been unexplored. This compendium offers a
corrective and will serve as a reference and a starting point for further research. Editors Clark (Germanic languages and literatures, U. of Kansas in Lawrence) and Lubrich (German and
comparative literature, Universit瓣t Bern in Switzerland) have assembled 100 literary selections that either refer to Humboldt or reflect his influence. They are arranged chronologically
according to date of publication, from 1809 (Goethe's Elective Affinities to 2005, Kelmann's Measuring the World). Some are quite brief (less than a page); others are much lengthier.
Thirty-eight of the authors represented are German-language authors; 20 are from the US and Britain; 18 from Latin America; two from France; and one author each from Denmark and Sweden. Many
are presented for the first time in English. Annotation 穢2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
