Forgotten Inventor of Nature: the Amazing Alexander von Humboldt

In a new mini-review in Public Books, author and scholar Bettyann Holtzmann Kevles alerts us to a scientific genius, overlooked in 21st-century America, who 200 years ago was exploring the world and 150 years ago was honored all around it. Alexander von Humboldt influenced Thomas Jefferson, Charles Darwin, Ralph Waldo …

Coming in January: Writing from Turkey, Nigeria, South Africa, & Iraq

How does globalization look from the other side of the globe? Find out from some of the most exciting literary voices you may never have heard before. Starting in January, I’ll be leading a monthly armchair tour at San Francisco’s venerable Mechanics’ Institute Library. Join us to explore four nonWestern …