Bomb, Book and Compass: Joseph Needham and .

Synopsis: The seventeenth-century philosopher-statesman Francis Bacon famously declar ed that nothing had changed the world more profoundly than three great inve ntions: gunpowder, printing and the compass. What he didn't know was that t he Chinese had been successfully using all three, long before the west ever 'invented' them. And yet it was another 300 years before a remarkable man called Joseph Needham embarked on his epic, lifetime's work which would fin ally set the record straight. Inspired by a wartime mission to occupied Chi na, he started writing what would become a twenty-four-volume masterpiece, chronicling the nation's astonishing history of invention and technology ov er five thousand years. It was, and remains, the greatest work on China eve r created in the Western world. In "Bomb, Book and Compass", Simon Winchest er tells the story of Joseph Needham, his magnificent book, the passion tha t inspired it, and the remarkable rise of the Chinese nation that continues to this day. About the Author: Simon Winchester was born and educated in England and was a foreign correspondent for 30 years, reporting for much of that time from Asia, including mainland China and Hong Kong. His many highly-acclaimed and bestselling books include The River at the Centre of the World, The Surgeon of Crowthorne and The Map that Changed the World. He now lives in New York and in western Massachusetts.

Product Info

ISBN: 0141011580

ISBN-13: 9780141011585

Publisher: Penguin Books

Year: 2009

Type: Used

Binding: Softcover

Seller Info

InfinityBooksJapan

Address: 1F Komagata Heights Bldg Tokyo,

Website: https://www.infinitybooksjapan.com

Country: Japan