The Traveler: One Man's Quest for Humanity from the South Seas to Revolutionary Paris by Andrea Wulf

Step into the life and times of George Forster, the eighteenth-century naturalist who sailed the world and made waves with his revolutionary ideas about humanity and freedom—from the bestselling author of The Invention of Nature. "[A] thrilling biography-cum-adventure story." —Hampton Sides, author of The Wide Wide Sea “Enthralling. Superb. The Traveler is hypnotically successful and wonderfully restores George Forster as a major historical figure.” —Richard Holmes, author of The Age of Wonder From an early age, it was clear that George Forster possessed a brilliant mind. At just ten years old, he became a botanist when he accompanied his irascible father, Reinhold, on a wild expedition to Russia. By the time he was twelve, they had moved to London and the young boy soon became the breadwinner by publishing translations of the most popular travel accounts of the day. Then, in 1772, at the age of seventeen, George Forster joined Cook’s second voyage, the most daring expedition of the time. The HMS Read more