Maoist, devout Christian, linguist, diplomat, biochemist and author of a
magnificent series of books on the history of Chinese science and technology,
Joseph Needham was one of the great polymaths of the 20th century. Maurice
Goldsmith’s slim, readable and admiring biography, Joseph Needham (UNESCO,
£17, ISBN 92 3 103192 9), is a foretaste of a larger work on the great
man, who died in Cambridge last year.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
The world's fastest spider tops 3.5 metres per second
2
Babies are born with the neural foundations for maths
3
Where, when and how to watch the 2026 solar eclipse
4
I’m the first person whose life was saved by CRISPR base editing
5
Our verdict on The Selfish Gene: An unpopular piece of popular science
6
We’ve uncovered a master gene that switches on human development
7
Humans sleep the least of all apes – is it the secret to our success?
8
Remote-controlled cockroach swarm can now breathe underwater
9
US government wants to have a useful quantum computer by 2028
10
The most detailed survey of the universe ever conducted starts now
