First published 2008
Joseph Needham was a Cambridge biochemist living a conventional academic life until 1937, when he fell in love with a Chinese student who changed everything. This tall, unconventional Englishman followed his mistress to China, where he embarked on expeditions across the ancient empire's frontiers. Needham searched for proof that China had invented hundreds of technologies centuries before the West, from printing and the compass to explosives and suspension bridges. His travels through war-torn China deepened his admiration for Chinese civilization. After the war, Needham committed himself to sharing his discoveries with the world. He began writing Science and Civilization in China, a monumental work describing the country's long history of innovation. Working almost single-handedly, he produced seventeen volumes by the time of his death, becoming history's greatest one-man encyclopedist. Winchester tells this sweeping story of scientific discovery and cross-cultural love, revealing how one man's passion transformed our understanding of Chinese contributions to human knowledge.
Genres: biography, 20th-century, academic, history-of-science
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, passion-project
Setting: China, Cambridge
Period: 1937, 20th-century
316 pages · Hardcover · Harper (NYC)