The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery, and Invention

Needham, the foremost Western historian of Chinese science, has written 15 volumes of his projected 25-volume Science and Civilisation in China series initiated in 1954. This immense, authoritative work has long needed distillation for the general reader, and British writer Temple impressively accomplishes the task here. Beautifully illustrated, the book describes some 5000 years of Chinese science, discovery and invention from agriculture, astronomy and engineering through industrial technology, medicine, math and music, up to, in an ironic closing chapter, the Chinese genius in warfare, including ancient Chinese usage of mustard gas, gunpowder and rockets. The book is an exhilarating celebration of historic achievements, the breadth of which will astonish the general reader. BOMC alternate; Macmillan Book Club selection. (January 7)