"This most impressive work of historical scholarship is the result of research conducted over the better part of two decades by Stephen Bell, who is indubitably the world authority on Bonpland . Bell gets the very best out of his materials in etching this monographic portrait, as well as augmenting the larger, cosmopolitan portrait that we know rather better by dint of those letters that crossed the Atlantic eastwards. As a professional geographer, he helps the reader with the (many) scientific terms required for a close understanding of Bonpland's experiments, and his department at UCLA has provided us with a ne map through which to trace the peregrinations of four decades. The book is densely populated with learned footnotes (wherein one can almost follow a subsidiary story as well as the comprehensive references)."--James Dunkerley, Journal of Latin American Studies "This well-researched, insightful book is recommended to students and professionals in Latin American history and political science."-- Colonial Latin American Historical Review "Bell's book is both the best and the most complete study ever written on this key figure in South American science and exploration. Bell should be congratulated for having put together a veritable jigsaw of materials on an important topic and having done so in a readable, well-focused way."--Thomas Whigham, University of Georgia.