The Man Who Loved China

This is my third Simon Winchester book and I enjoyed it immensely. However, if you've never read (listened) to a Simon Winchester book, this is not the one to start with. You will appreciate this book far more after listening to "The Professor and The Madman" because it will help you "get" the Winchester perspective on great works of scholarly importance and the characters in Madman are far more endearing than here.

This is not a topic I would normally have much interest in. I've never heard of Joseph Needham or the book he wrote. But Simon Winchester can make things interesting. It is the story of another eccentric Brit, not unlike the subjects of The Professor and the Madman or The Map that Changed the World. The format is straight biography, but there is an awful lot to learn about China in the story.

I guess the take home message is that China went into a slump for a few centuries while Europe managed to take over the world. Now China is regaining its place as a center of innovation and scholarship. How the future plays out is still open, but Needham made it clear that if the past is any guide, the West has a lot to worry about. A fun listen.

Turn your watch back 70 years and let Simon Winchester guide your mind through Joseph Needman's life and times. Beyond his work in China, Winchester brings you up close to all of the unique and interesting aspects of Needam. Beyond the wonderful way Winchester writes, the English accent is just great.

The UK and International title of this book is BOOK, BOMB, AND COMPASS, describing Francis Bacon's choice of three inventions which most greatly affected the history of mankind. All three were invented in China. For the US version the title of this book was changed to THE MAN WHO LOVED CHINA, and this is a much more apt title. It is a biography of Joseph Needham, not a summary of his work on the history of science in China.

Problem is I wanted to hear the latter, not the former. Only the first 1/3 of the book was interesting to me - his discovery of interest in China and his travels there. The rest about college life and cold war politics I could have skipped. Nevertheless, as an American living in China, it is humbling to hear about the early scholars who helped bridged the gap between China and the West with none of the modern aids we have today.

This is a terrific book which all educated people should read to correct what they were taught. Teachers and historians need this information to pass on the truth. Government and business people need to know this information in order to deal in China. This is not to elevate China to some lofty level or to fear China. It is to understand China, deal with the Chinese people, understand them personally and how they will proceed in the future.

I would give this 10 stars if I could. I have read three other books by Winchester and was honestly rather disappointed with them. But in this work, he has exceeded all his other efforts put together. I was transported into Joseph Needham's world of Cambridge in the first half of the twentieth century. This brilliant man reached the pinnacle of achievement in science, languages, and history. After a remarkable career in biochemistry, he switched to the history of science in China in his late thirties. He not only mastered the Chinese language, but became the world authority on the history of science in China. He recognized that the Chinese were often far ahead of the rest of the world in science. His objective was to write "a" book about the topic, but it soon grew to some 17 major volumes that took 5 decades of his life to complete.
I relished every word of this wonderful work and can't imagine anyone who wouldn't be equally enthralled by this tale. An absolute winner.

again, not his best, story is a little bland but still a good read for people who enjoy a review of history in "novel" form.

he is a wonderful reader. one of the few authors that can read his own work well.

I liked the subject matter of Needham's fascination with China and his adventures in that country, but the story got lost under the mountain of unnecessary facts.

No. But I've read other books and enjoyed them. He always includes a lot of detail, but in other works, those details don't overwhelm the story the way they did in this book.

Even if one knew nothing about China this would still be a fascinating read about an amazing man. The fact that it is written and narrated by a long time China observer makes it even better.

Only on the radio

I love all types of books but just couldn't get into this one. The author couldn't decide if he wanted to write a good story or deliver a really boring lecture at a conference. I really wanted to like this because the topic is interesting but the delivery was disjointed and I found myself tuning out the book and thinking about other things. Don't spend your money; if you're curious, get it from the public library, rip it and be disappointed for free.