The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom - Simon Winchester

Fascinating account of the life of Joseph Needham, a Cambridge academic biologist who became an authority on China and the history of it's culture and science; and an equally fascinating and unusual insight into China's jack knife social, political and cultural changes since the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Amazon link: The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom - Simon Winchester