Biography & Autobiography : Science & Technology

In sumptuous and illuminating detail, Simon Winchester, the bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman ("Elegant and scrupulous"— New York Times Book Review ) and Krakatoa ("A mesmerizing page-turner"— Time ) brings to life the extraordinary story of Joseph Needham, the brilliant Cambridge scientist who unlocked the most closely held secrets of China, long the world's most technologically advanced country. No cloistered don, this tall, married Englishman was a freethinking intellectual, who practiced nudism and was devoted to a quirky brand of folk dancing. In 1937, while working as a biochemist at Cambridge University, he instantly fell in love with a visiting Chinese student, with whom he began a lifelong affair. He soon became fascinated with China, and his mistress swiftly persuaded the ever-enthusiastic Needham to travel to her home country, where he embarked on a series of extraordinary expeditions to the farthest frontiers of this ancient empire. He searched everywhere for evidence to bolster his conviction that the Chinese were responsible for hundreds of mankind's most familiar innovations—including printing, the compass, explosives, suspension bridges, even toilet paper—often centuries before the rest of the world. His thrilling and dangerous journeys, vividly recreated by Winchester, took him across war-torn China to far-flung outposts, consolidating his deep admiration for the Chinese people. After the war, Needham was determined to tell the world what he had discovered, and began writing his majestic Science and Civilisation in China , describing the country's long and astonishing history of invention and technology. By the time he died, he had produced, essentially single-handedly, seventeen immense volumes, marking him as the greatest one-man encyclopedist ever. Both epic and intimate, The Man Who Loved China tells the sweeping story of China through Needham's remarkable life. Here is more...

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Strong at the Broken Places is the remarkable story of five ordinary people trapped in the complex world of serious chronic illness. In this intimate portrait, acclaimed journalist Richard M. Cohen probes lives of sickness as these individuals struggle to cope. In 2003 Cohen published Blindsided , a bestselling memoir of illness. The outpouring of support revealed to him that not only does the public want to hear from people who overcome the challenges of illness, but that in the isolated world of illness, there are people who want their voices to be heard. Strong at the Broken Places was born of the desire of many to share their stories in the hope that the sick and those who love them will see that they are not alone. Cohen spent three years chronicling the lives of five diverse "citizens of sickness": Denise, who suffers from ALS; Buzz, whose Christian faith helps him deal with his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; Sarah, a determined young woman with Crohn's disease; Ben, a college student with muscular dystrophy; Larry, whose bipolar disorder is hidden within. The five are different in age and gender, race and economic status, but they are determined to live life on their own terms. Intimately involved with these patients' lives, Cohen formed intense relationships with each, talked to their families and friends, and shared joy, even in heart-breaking setbacks. Though each individual's illness wreaks havoc in a different way, Cohen shows how their experiences are strikingly similar and offer lessons for us all—on self-determination, on courage in the face of adversity and public ignorance, on keeping hope alive, and on finding strength and peace under the most difficult of circumstances. We are strong at the broken places, stronger than we think. In sharing these inspirational and revealing stories, Richard M. Cohen and his fellow warriors against illness offer a chorus of hope. more...

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Learn more about 100 Most Influential People of all times - from Buddha and Hammurabi to Thomas Edison and Brothers Wright. Their lifes, views, and careers illustrated with drawings, photographs, and maps. Fully illustrated with drawings, photographs, and maps. Navigate from Table of Contents or search for the words or phrases. Written in clear and concise language,. Table of Contents. Kings, Emperors and Politicians. Religious Leaders. Humanitarians. Thinkers and Philosophers. Scientists. Inventors. Explorers and Pioneers. Musicians and Composers. Writers. Painters, Sculptors and Architects. Stage, Screen and Photography. Kings, Emperors and Politicians. Menes (ca. 3100-3000 BC) - united Upper and Lower Egypt into one kingdom. Hammurabi (c.1792-1750 BC) - first king of the Babylonian Empire. Cyrus the Great (ca.576-530 BC) - founder of the Persian Empire. Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) - king of Macedon; he conquered most of the world known to the ancient Greeks, never losing a battle. Asoka (304-232 BC) - emperor of India who converted to and spread Buddhism. Qin Shi Huang (260-210 BC) - Chinese Emperor; unified China, initiated construction of the Great Wall of China. Hannibal (247-183 BC) Carthaginian military commander and politician. Julius Caesar (c.100-44 BC) - Roman military and political leader; key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. ... Religious Leaders. Zoroaster (c.1200 BC) - ancient Iranian prophet and the founder of Zoroastrianism. Buddha (c.563-c.483 BC) - founder of Buddhism. Jesus Christ (c.6 BC-c.30 AD) - founder of Christianity. St. Paul (b. c. 10-d. c. 67 AD) - proselytizer of Christianity. Muhammad (c.570-632 AD) - Prophet of Islam; conqueror of Arabia. ... Thinkers and Philosophers. Lao Zi [Lao Tzu] (c.600 BC) - founder of Taoism. Confucius (551-479 BC) - founder of Confucianism. Socrates (469-399 BC) - ancient Greek philosopher who is credited for laying the foundation for Western philosophy. Plato (c.4 more...

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A riveting history of the men and women whose discoveries and inventions at the end of the eighteenth century gave birth to the Romantic Age of Science. When young Joseph Banks stepped onto a Tahitian beach in 1769, he hoped to discover Paradise. more...

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From the frontier to the university, this exciting collection traces the development of the nursing profession through the biographies of individual nurses since 1925 that helped to create its unique history. Among the notable nurses featured in this volume are Faye Abdellah, Virginia Henderson, Margaret Kerr, Thelma Schorr, and many more. more...

Price: $80.00