SCHWARTZ, Joel. Robert Brown and Mungo Park: travels and explorations in natural history for the Royal Society.

This book review discusses the joint study of Robert Brown and Mungo Park, two Scots of the late Enlightenment who were interested in exploration and botany. Both men studied botany at the University of Edinburgh and had connections to James Dickson, an expert in cryptograms. While Brown is known for his work in Australia as a botanist, Park's importance lies in his geographical exploration, particularly his discovery of the direction of the River Niger. The review highlights the thorough treatment of Brown's work in Australia and his institutional role in London in the book. The author also mentions other Edinburgh-educated Scots who made significant contributions to botanical and geographical inquiry during the late Enlightenment. [Extracted from the article]