A concise history of Chinese thought and creativity, covering not only scientific ideas and inventions, but religion and philosophy, government, trade, farming, and more. From the obvious (the invention of paper and printing) to the unusual (the creation of an early seismograph), the information is presented clearly and spans centuries and sources of endeavor. Each page contains extended information on a given topic, such as the relationship between salt production and natural gas lighting, along with frequent sidebars of relevant facts and stories. A combination of full-color illustrations and photographs of artifacts convey plenty of information; some uncredited black-and-white drawings are of lesser quality (they look like old copyright-free prints, reproduced too many times to be useful). Nevertheless, the book is intriguing, as much fun to browse as it is to sink into for research. (maps, diagrams, chronology, index) (Nonfiction. 9-13)
