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Simon Winchester Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Simon Winchester

Simon Winchester

Simon Winchester Biography

Simon Winchester is the acclaimed author of many books, including The Professor and the Madman, The Men Who United the States, The Map That Changed the World, The Man Who Loved China, A Crack in the Edge of the World, and Krakatoa, all of which were New York Times bestsellers and appeared on numerous best and notable lists. In 2006, Winchester was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty the Queen. He resides in western Massachusetts.

Simon Winchester's website

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Interview

In two separate articles Simon Winchester discusses three of his books: The Man Who Loved China, Krakatoa and The Professor and The Madman.

In two separate articles Simon Winchester discusses The Man Who Loved China, Krakatoa and The Professor and The Madman.

A Back-Story to The Man Who Loved China
A Coincidence Most Curious and Telling

During the final months of 2006, when I was starting the actual writing of this book, I found I had developed a habit: I would ask people—all sorts of people, relatives and friends, complete and total strangers—if they had ever heard of the man about whom I was writing: Joseph Needham. I thought I had fair reason. I had no doubt but that, considering his extraordinary achievements in helping the world understand the enigma that is China, he should by rights be a vastly famous man. Yet I had to accept that he was not and that most people would look back blankly on being asked, What do you know about Joseph Needham? So I thought that by asking around, by trying to find out just how well or how little he was known, I would come to realize the magnitude of the task that lay ahead of me—which was helping to make him just as well-known as his achievements suggest he deserves. What sort of people did know of him, I wondered, and what kind did not? Such knowledge would, I thought, allow me ...

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Books by this Author

Books by Simon Winchester at BookBrowse
The Breath of the Gods jacket Knowing What We Know jacket The Perfectionists jacket Pacific jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Simon Winchester but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Diane Ackerman

    Diane Ackerman

    Poet, essayist, and naturalist, Diane Ackerman is the author of many highly acclaimed works of nonfiction, including A Natural History of the Senses -- a book beloved by readers all over the world and the volumes Deep Play, A... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Pacific

    Try:
    The Human Age
    by Diane Ackerman

  • Jasper Becker

    Jasper Becker

    Jasper Becker is a British author, commentator and journalist who has spent two decades as a foreign correspondent mostly in China. Becker has contributed features to Vanity Fair, National Geographic, Marie Claire, Travel & ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Man Who Loved China

    Try:
    The Chinese
    by Jasper Becker

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