Alexander von Humboldt published 12 non-fiction books and 5 other books, beginning with Cosmos (1845).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with Alexander von Humboldt
Non-fiction in order
Aspects of Nature (1808)
Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain (1811)
Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent During the Years 1799-1804 (1814)
The Travels and Researches of Alexander Von Humboldt (1833)
Robert Hermann Schomburgk's Travels in Guiana and on the Orinoco During the Years 1835-1839 (1841)
Cosmos (1845)
Cosmos: A Sketch of a Physical Description of the Universe (1848)
Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Years 1799-1804 (1851)
Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During (1853)
The Island of Cuba (1856)
Views of Nature (2014)
Other books in order
The Appreciation of Music, Vol. Iii: (poesias Premiadas En Los Certámenes Del Consejo Superior (1815)
On Isothermal Lines, and the Distribution of Heat Over the Globe (1820)
Kosmos: A General Survey of Physical Phenomena of the Universe (1845)
Kosmos (1877)
The Fluctuations of Gold (1900)
Free to read
All free classics
About Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher, and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835). Humboldt's quantitative work on botanical geography laid the foundation for the field of biogeography, while his advocacy of long-term systematic geophysical measurement pioneered modern geomagnetic and meteorological monitoring. Humboldt and Carl Ritter are both regarded as the founders of modern geography as they established it as an independent scientific discipline.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Alexander von Humboldt FAQ
- How many books has Alexander von Humboldt written?
- Alexander von Humboldt published 12 non-fiction books and 5 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Alexander von Humboldt's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with Cosmos.
- What is Alexander von Humboldt's last book?
- The Island of Cuba (1856).
- What is Alexander von Humboldt's most famous book?
- Cosmos (1845) is Alexander von Humboldt's most widely read book.
- Can I read Alexander von Humboldt's books for free?
- Yes. 6 books by Alexander von Humboldt are in the public domain in the US and free to read online or download here.
Authors like Alexander von Humboldt
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers, free texts from Project Gutenberg. Last updated September 2026.