Book description
Before fate intervened, Joseph Needham was a distinguished biochemist
at Cambridge University, married to a fellow scientist. In 1937 he was
asked to supervise a young Chinese student named Lu Gwei-Djen, and in
that moment began the two greatest love affairs of his life - Miss Lu,
and China.
Miss Lu inspired Needham to travel to China where he initially spent
three dangerous years as a wartime diplomat. He established himself as
the pre-eminent China scholar of all time, firm in his belief that
China would one day achieve world prominence. By the end of his life,
Needham had become a truly global figure, travelling endlessly and
honoured by all - though banned from America because of his politics.
And in 1989, after a fifty-two year affair, he finally married the
woman who had first inspired his passion.
The Magnificent Barbarian is Simon Winchester at his best - at once
a magnificent portrait of one man's remarkable life and a riveting
exploration of the country that so engaged him.
A bestselling author in both Britain and America, Simon Winchester
was born and educated in England and now lives in Massachusetts. Having
reported from almost everywhere during more than thirty years as a
foreign correspondent, including mainland China and Hong Kong, he now
contributes to a variety of magazines and newspapers.
