Invention of NatureAlexander von Humboldt (1769 1859) is the great lost scientist: more things are named after him than anyone else. There are towns, rivers, mountain ranges, the ocean current that runs along the South American coast, there's a penguin, a giant squid even the Mare Humboldtianum on the moon. Taking us on a fantastic voyage in his footsteps, Andrea Wulf shows why his life and ideas remain so important today.

in a book in a class

hid revolvers in loaves of bread and jars of marmalade

illustrated in colour

leading to widespread death in Gaza

When a mysterious child appears on the grounds

come face to face with Anansi the Spider in West Africa and fly over the powerful Thunderbird of North America

The compulsively readable

This is their story of trying to fight a pandemic as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances

the storks and frogs

In the months that followed

including insect relatives suchs as slimy slugs and scuttling centipedes

a timeless tale unfolds