The man who loved China : the fantastic story of the eccentric scientist who unlocked the mysteries of the Middle Kingdom / Simon Winchester.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Winchester, Simon.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Needham, Joseph, 1900-1995.

Needham, Joseph.

Scientists--Great Britain--Biography.

Scientists.

Great Britain.

Needham, Joseph, 1900-1995. Science and civilisation in China.

Science--China--History.

Science.

China.

History.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xii, 316 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Harper, [2008]

Summary:

The "New York Times"-bestselling author of "The Professor and the Madman" and "Krakatoa" returns with the remarkable story of the growth of a great nation, and the eccentric and adventurous scientist who defined its essence for the world.

The extraordinary story of Joseph Needham, the brilliant Cambridge scientist who unlocked the most closely held secrets of China--long the world's most technologically advanced country. This married Englishman, a freethinking intellectual, while working at Cambridge University in 1937, fell in love with a visiting Chinese student, with whom he began a lifelong affair. He became fascinated with China, and embarked on a series of extraordinary expeditions to the farthest frontiers of this ancient empire. He searched everywhere for evidence to bolster his conviction that the Chinese were responsible for hundreds of mankind's most familiar innovations--including printing, the compass, explosives, suspension bridges, even toilet paper--often centuries before the rest of the world. His dangerous journeys took him across war-torn China to far-flung outposts, consolidating his deep admiration for the Chinese people. After the war, Needham began writing what became a seventeen-volume encyclopedia, Science and Civilisation in China.--From publisher description.

Contents:

1 The Barbarian and the Celestial 11

2 Bringing Fuel in Snowy Weather 61

3 The Discovering of China 97

4 The Rewards of Restlessness 133

5 The Making of His Masterpiece 168

6 Persona Non Grata: The Certain Fall from Grace 199

7 The Passage to the Gate 217

Appendix I Chinese Inventions and Discoveries with Dates of First Mention 267

Appendix II States, Kingdoms, and Dynasties of China 279.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [285]-294) and index.

ISBN:

9780060884598

0060884592

OCLC:

173748716