Paper Prompt
Read the following book and write a book review.
The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World by Andrea Wulf
Prompt:
Your goal for this paper is to answer the following question: How successfully does your chosen author produce their history?
You have now engaged with numerous examples of narratives, “counter-narratives” and corresponding primary source materials. Given this, it is now your turn to critically assess your author’s success.
First, who is your author and what is the subject, area and time under consideration? What specific argument (or arguments) does your author make? Are they concerned with other historians and prior approaches to their topics (and thus other narratives)? Are they concerned with a gap in the historical record (perhaps a missing or poorly known narrative)? Do they make any notes about misinterpretations?
Next, please consider if the author is successful in their depiction (quote and cite specific examples from the book). What sources do they rely upon and how do they deploy them to make their case (again, provide specific examples)?
Finally, how successful is the author of your book? Having constructed a review in which your argument hints at your view in which your view is, in other words, implicit feel free to use your concluding paragraph or paragraphs to make your view explicit.
