The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom (P.S. Series)
Search in google:
In sumptuous and illuminating detail, Simon Winchester, bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman, brings to life the extraordinary story of Joseph Needham—the brilliant Cambridge scientist, freethinking intellectual, and practicing nudist who unlocked the most closely held secrets of China, once the world's most technologically advanced country. The Washington Post - Judith Shapiro In The Man Who Loved China, Simon Winchester, author of The Professor and the Madman, builds on his success in writing about eccentric British intellectuals. Needham makes a great subject. A Cambridge University polymath who made his youthful mark as a biochemist, he was also a nudist, a performer of English folk dances involving ankle bells and sticks, an accordion player and an active Communist…In retelling Needham's story, Winchester focuses on the inventiveness of the Chinese people, whose creativity once surpassed that of all other civilizations. If this resourcefulness can be renewed and harnessed in the service of sustainability, then perhaps there is hope not only for China but for the planet.
Maps and Illustrations1 The Barbarian and the Celestial 112 Bringing Fuel in Snowy Weather 613 The Discovering of China 974 The Rewards of Restlessness 1335 The Making of His Masterpiece 1686 Persona Non Grata: The Certain Fall from Grace 1997 The Passage to the Gate 217Appendix I Chinese Inventions and Discoveries with Dates of First Mention 267Appendix 11 States, Kingdoms, and Dynasties of China 279Suggested Further Reading 285Index 295
